Before Beyonce
Back before Beyonce was just Beyonce, she was in Destiny’s Child, who broke on to the scene with a song called, “Bills, Bills, Bills.” The song is written as a parable about men with wayward financial tendencies and in one line, Beyonce croons, “You triflin’, good for nothing type of brother. Silly me, why haven’t I found another.”
I use this line as a reminder about the ill effects of being trifling: you may not only have a song written about you, but you may end up without a job.
Just last week, I overheard a professor say to a student, “I got a call from Company X. They said you listed me as a reference…” The professor clearly had no idea, that he was listed as a reference for this particular student.
Webster’s dictionary defines trifling as being, lazy or shiftless. It’s lazy, inconsiderate, and poor etiquette to assume someone will serve as a reference for you. Maybe they are too busy? Maybe they will be out of town? Or maybe they don’t think highly enough of you to do so?
Always be sure to first ask if someone will serve as a reference for you. Then, let them know the job you are applying to, the reason why you are asking them to be a reference, and provide them with a copy of your resume (and even the job description if you have it).
After all, you don’t want some professor (or Beyonce) singing a top 40 song about ya’, do you? (Unless of course you are getting royalties… j/k!)