Are employer's reference letters still commonly asked for in R&D (Central Europe)?

Question

I am wondering how important it is to have an employer's reference letter made by your supervisor if he already agreed to serve as a reference person (for your resume/CV)?

The circumstances are that I quit working as a R&D intern (software/algorithm development) in order to proceed as PhD in computer science.

1. Is it common practice to have reference letters from your past employers or are reference persons in your CV state-of-the-art and sufficient?

2. Does this similarly apply to long-term company interns?

I ask this because I got the opinion that tailored recommendation letters (for a specific application) or contacts of reference persons are mainly used/asked in contrast to employment reference letter.

Sidenote: I do not have such a reference letter yet as I primarily studied until now and I do not want to regret having not asked now when there is the chance.

EDIT: It relates mainly to central europe (Germany) and research and development (close to academia) companies.

Answer 1

In corporate Germany (academia may differ), you are supposed to have an "Arbeitszeugnis" (job reference/certificate of employment) for each job you previously held. Referencing actual people as contacts is pretty much unheard of. You can do it, but you will probably get a few raised eyebrows because you will be the only person to do this. Best case, people will think you are a US citizen.

"Arbeitszeugnis" is only relevant for actual jobs you had. For purely academic experience, when you apply for jobs, your degree is sufficient.

Answer 2

In start-up Germany, real written-paper reference/recommendation letters ('Arbeitszeugnisse') are usual but not required. Some people manage their references on LinkedIn or similar tools and usually only provide these in digital form. Reference contacts to call are often times are very valuable - mainly because IT or start-up people just tend to know one another.

Either way, in germany the rule of thumb is still to collect all written documents you can get your hands on that speak well of you (see the 'corporate germany' answer), and provided you don't drown your future employer in paper, those certainly do no harm in the start-up world either.

Answer 3

German-speaking countries have special traditions and laws regarding employers' references. Here are some select passages from the current version of the wikipedia article about it, which corresponds to my experience as an expatriate living in Switzerland:

"An employment reference letter (German: Arbeitszeugnis) is a letter from an employer about an employee's qualities, common in German-speaking countries. An employment reference letter can be written by co-workers, customers, vendors and colleagues. This letter can then be used to help the employee find a new job at another company. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Bulgaria are the only countries in Europe where employees can legally claim an employment reference, including the right to a correct, unambiguous and benevolent appraisal.

...

Most potential employers will verify the information provided in the employment reference letter."