A professional reference is a recommendation from a person who can vouch for your qualifications for a job. A professional reference for an experienced worker is typically a former employer, a colleague, a client, a vendor, a supervisor, or someone else who can recommend you for employment.
Recent college graduates might also tap professors, coaches, and college personnel who were advisers for your activities. The key is picking references who have observed you acting in a productive capacity where you displayed your skills and credentials for employment.
These differ from personal or character references, which are much more personal references. The professional reference is speaking mainly to the applicant’s employability and work-related qualities, as opposed to their personal or character traits. Personal references may be helpful at times, but don’t be tempted to submit a personal reference as a substitute when the job listing or interviewer specifically requires a professional reference.
...Let me describe {{Name}}’s abilities in the context of some of the courses {{he/she}} has taken. {{he/she}} has experience working with many chemical theories and principles (e.g. applications of {{topics / theory}}, and {{he/she}} has been able to integrate various of these theories, as appropriate, to describe phenomena observed both in classes and in the laboratory. {{he/she}} is skilled at using evidence to evaluate situations and inform {{his/her}} decisions. {{he/she}} has gained experience using many of the modern analytical techniques, such as NMR, MS, UV-VIS, IR, and basic separation techniques, and {{he/she}} has brought specific of these techniques to bear on projects in various places in {{his/her}} academic career.
For example, as a first-year student, {{Name}} engaged with a partner in a 2-week independent project in each of Principles of {{Department Name}} and Equilibrium and Analysis. These projects gave {{Name}} and {{his/her}} partner opportunities to take the skills and ideas from the course and lab in which they were engaged and try them out on a system of their choosing. The projects were self-directed and required learning the details of the system they were investigating. Both of these projects culminated with a presentation to the class or the professor, respectively. In each project, {{Name}} showed mastery of what {{he/she}} did and why {{he/she}} did it, and an attention to detail that characterizes {{his/her}} approach in all courses in which I have worked with {{his/her}}, since. {{he/she}} easily seems to understand where {{he/she}}}} could go further, had {{he/she}} had more time, and {{he/she}} presented {{his/her}} work in a confident and clean way.
{{Name}} had a more significant opportunity for an independent project, also with a partner, after declaring {{his/her}} major, in the Chemical Kinetics Laboratory. This project required {{Name}} and {{his/her}} partner to navigate the chemical literature and to find a publication that described an experiment in which measurements of chemical kinetics were used to understand a system. Most of these projects come from {{Researcher}}, and {{Name}} and {{his/her}} partner chose a project that they were interested in, but which they didn’t know much about. They chose a technique that required them to work with some instrumentation that is known to be finicky, and they were energized by this opportunity! Although the project didn’t work well all the time, and the information presented in the paper was not always borne out in their experiments, {{Name}} and {{his/her}} partner worked together well to push the edges of the information in the paper they were following, and they were able to take the project in a direction of their own choosing, as well. Thus, this 5-week independent project was really a mini-research project; {{Name}} and {{his/her}} partner not only based their experiments in the literature, but they took it to a new place.
Their presentation about their project to their classmates was very well put together and was entertaining, as well! I believe that {{Name}} has graduated with the ideal set of skills that we would wish for any {{Department Name}} major, and I believe that {{he/she}} is, therefore, qualified to pursue any number of challenges, post-{{College Name}}. If {{he/she}} chooses to pursue graduate studies in {{Department Name}}, {{Name}} has the background to learn new sub-disciplines in {{Department Name}}, and to be able to identify and pursue key questions in the field. {{he/she}} will be an excellent group-member, contributing {{his/her}} own knowledge and skills while also learning actively from {{his/her}} peers. {{Name}} will also be a stellar TA, as {{he/she}} is not only likeable and easy to get along with, but {{he/she}} is very talented at explaining things from a variety of perspectives. {{he/she}} is patient when working with others, and is so cheerful as {{he/she}} goes about {{his/her}} tasks that {{he/she}} makes those {{he/she}} works with, peers and younger students alike, want to do their very best for {{his/her}} sake and for their own sake. Should {{Name}} pursue medical studies, I believe that {{his/her}} {{Department Name}} background will help {{his/her}} to bring evidence to bear on {{his/her}} decisions about patient care, and also to think systematically about various situations. While {{his/her}} specific {{Department Name}} knowledge will be useful, I believe it is more {{his/her}} maturity as a problem-solver, which I have seen in the laboratory, in particular, that will be a very valuable skill in medicine. If {{Name}} continues on in a non-chemical field, {{his/her}} knowledge of complex systems, data-driven arguments, and presentation of complex ideas will serve {{his/her}} well no matter what {{he/she}} is doing. I believe that {{Name}} is ready to take the next step as a {{job title}}. {{he/she}} knows enough to be able to think critically about a new problem and to get to the heart of it, and {{he/she}} has good hands and good instincts in the laboratory, making {{his/her}} well suited to pursue interesting new problems.
Overall, {{he/she}} is curious and fearless scientifically, and is undaunted by topics that are difficult or
about which {{he/she}} is initially unsure. I am very proud of {{his/her}} accomplishments and excited to see how {{he/she}} will apply {{his/her}} knowledge of {{Department Name}} to {{his/her}} future endeavors.