Just after 8 on Thursday morning, the phone in my room rang. At that hour, I assumed it was another teacher in my building, but as I picked up the receiver, I did not recognize the name displayed.
“This is Adrienne,” I said, curious about the mystery person on the other end.
“Hi, Adrienne, I’m K, the VP at XXXXX Middle School. So-and-So applied for a job in our library and listed you as a reference. What can you tell me about her?”
I don’t get this sort of call often, but I was more than happy to talk about So-and-So. We had worked together in the library and had just clicked.
The year before had been hard. The library assistant job had been eliminated and I had relied on a small group of volunteers, some more reliable and competent than others. The next year, the position had been restored and I spent part of the week before school started interviewing potential library assistants. When it was all over, So-and-so had been my first choice. It had been a good choice.
When my library position was eliminated, she had been expected to run the library on her own. She ended up resigning a few weeks into the school year. She was being asked to do a job she hadn’t signed up for, or been trained to do.
We kept in touch and now, almost seven years later, I had the opportunity to help her out. I gave her a glowing recommendation – all of it true. I had no reservations, not one single doubt, that she wold be perfect for the job.
I have yet to hear if she got the job or not, but I sure hope she will.
booksandbassets 
An unexpected call at that time of day but one you were well equipped to answer. You had the first hand experience of working with X and knew what an asset she would be in this position. X also thought highly of you because she listed you as a recommendation. Hope she gets the job.
Nice! When I give a good recommendation I always feel like am paying forward a kindness that I have received. I often offer to write recommendations for people because I know how hard they can be to ask for.