When I was 19, I wanted to work at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Ca. My aunt, who was an employee at the time and still is today, allowed me to put her name down as a referral on my application. She even made a phone call on my behalf to the casting department which helped me get an interview and eventually led to employment as a cast member of the magic kingdom. (After working there for awhile, the magic kingdom morphs into the tragic kingdom).

Since it was her referral that got me the job, I wanted to be a good, dependable worker so that her referral was not made in vain. If I had been a lazy, unreliable worker, one, I would have made my aunt look bad and two, the casting department could have lost trust in her abilities to bring on good workers to the resort. My actions had a direct relation to her reputation as my referral.