How to Ask For a Personal Job Referral

When making your referral request, ask your contact whether she is comfortable providing a referral. While you might be eager to cut to the chase by asking directly for an endorsement, a wishy-washy or noncommittal referral can be worse than no referral at all, so don't take it personally if she refuses. But hopefully you've carefully considered your relationship with this person so that the answer is a confident "Yes!"