Getting back to work after a career break in India
How to explain a career break on your resume and in interviews, who to ask for references and which routes back into work help most. With lines you can use.
Guides
Straight answers for your job search.
Each guide answers one question, in its first paragraph. Useful whether or not you ever use GoodWord.
Experience letter format, with a sample you can share with HR
What an experience letter in India should contain, a sample format, how it differs from a relieving letter and what to do if yours has a mistake.
How to ask for a LinkedIn recommendation, with messages to copy
Who to ask, how to send the request on LinkedIn and what to say, with samples for a manager, a peer and a client. Written for job seekers in India.
How to follow up on a job application, with messages you can copy
When to follow up after applying, who to write to and exactly what to say on email and LinkedIn. Written for job seekers in India.
The best way to get a job in India: have someone vouch for you
Referrals, direct messages, job portals and campus hiring, ranked by how much proof each one carries. With messages you can copy.
How to ask someone for a reference, with messages you can copy
Who to ask, when to ask and the exact words to use on WhatsApp, email and LinkedIn. Written for job seekers in India.
How to write a reference for a colleague, with samples
What to say when a colleague asks you for a reference. A simple structure, what to leave out and samples for a note, LinkedIn and a recruiter's call.
Reference check vs background verification in India
One checks facts, the other asks people. What each covers in India, when it happens during hiring and how to get ready for both.
Reference letter format, with samples you can copy
The parts of a reference letter in order, with three samples to copy, from a manager, a professor and a client. Written for India.
Reference letter vs experience letter vs relieving letter
The three documents job seekers in India mix up most. Who issues each one, when you need it and what to do if your employer will not give it.
Who to ask for a reference when your manager has left
Your manager moved on, the company shut down or you cannot tell your current boss. Who to ask in each case, with messages you can copy.
Should you put references on your resume? What to do instead
Why Indian recruiters do not expect references on a resume, when the rule has exceptions and what to prepare so you are ready the moment someone asks.
Company not giving your relieving letter? What to do
Steps to take when an employer in India delays or refuses a relieving letter, what a new employer may accept in its place and messages you can send.