You have effectively interviewed for a position by clearly articulating your skills and accomplishments. Now the potential employer wants further evidence for what you have claimed about yourself. This is where your carefully selected references come in. They can support your claims and bolster the image of you as someone whom others can easily work with to achieve organizational goals. Here are some important considerations when choosing employment references.
1) Who to Ask to be a Reference
The range of potential references is wide. There is no need to restrict yourself to supervisors and managers. These are of course important sources, but do not forget co-workers, customers, vendors/suppliers, and colleagues from your volunteer work. All of these people can come from present or past employment. If you are a supervisor or manager, then you might provide a reference from a superior and one from a direct report. Have at least three names ready to present to a potential employer.
Many organizations these days will not provide detailed references and may have policies that restrict managers or supervisors from giving such references. Human resources departments may only provide your job title and employment dates. Despite the official policy, you should not assume that managers will not provide some kind of reference for you. So feel free to open a discussion with anyone who could be a good reference.
2) What are You Looking for in a Reference
Ultimately, it depends on who you think can effectively support your job application. Each reference does not have to support you in exactly the same way. One reference may be able to speak more strongly about your technical skills while another may be able to better present your people skills. All of them, however, should have directly witnessed you “in action” and should speak to your professional abilities as they relate to the job that you are applying for. Do not provide personal references from family and friends.
Former or present bosses with whom you had/have a bad relationship do not necessarily have to be chosen as references. It may be the case that other people had more direct experience with you in doing your job. If you are presently employed, it may be understood that you do not want to make it known that you are looking for other work. Formal policies which restrict managers from providing references may offer a convenient reason for not naming bosses who will not be good references.
3) Ask the Reference for Permission
Before naming a person as a reference, ask them for permission. Many people will see this as very flattering. But some people may simply not be comfortable giving a reference. They may have principled reasons for not doing so. You do not want to compromise your relationship with them. Most importantly, they are unlikely to provide the kind of energetic reference that can best assist you with landing a new job.
4) Record a Reference’s Complete Information
Prepare a document which includes these details about each reference: full name, current title, company, preferred phone numbers, email address, and business address. You should be prepared to present this document to a prospective employer at the interview, but only after being asked.
5) Make Sure References are Fully Informed and “Coached”
Give your references the job posting and the resume used to apply for the position (on paper or electronically). These materials will provide your references with an idea of what the employer is looking for and refresh their memory about your past experience and accomplishments. Optimally, you should schedule a conversation with references to discuss your specific skills and achievements, including projects that were successfully completed and targets that were reached or exceeded.
You might coach references as to what they could say to best support your application, especially after you have interviewed for a position and have a better idea about what the prospective employer is looking for. If there are issues that you feel could have been better addressed in the interview, you may ask your references to bolster what you did say. Time will be of the essence after an interview. You must contact the references right away, before the employer does. Whether or not you intend to coach references, give them notice that the employer will be contacting them soon so they can prepare to make themselves available.
The idea is to guide your references in tailoring responses to highlight your strengths in relation to the role that you are seeking. This process can begin even before you are actually asked to provide references by a potential employer. At step 3, above, when you seek permission from a person to be your reference, you might provide them with your resume, an outline of the kind of role you are targeting, and a brief synopsis of your skills and accomplishments.
6) Thank Your References
In your job search, thank everyone who has assisted you or offered to assist you, including your references.
7) Maintain and Update Your Reference Network
Stay in touch with references or potential references throughout your career. Continue to gather new potential references who have current knowledge about you and your accomplishments. You never know when you will need them.
8) Be Prepared to Help Others
If you are asked by someone to be a reference, and you can honestly and effectively support them, then do not fail to say yes.
John Bozzo, owner of CareerSpark , is a qualified career counsellor and coach who is dedicated to helping clients clarify and achieve their career goals. After over two decades of practicing law, he made the transition into the coaching and counselling field. Please contact him to learn how his personalized career services can help you.
1) Who to Ask to be a Reference
The range of potential references is wide. There is no need to restrict yourself to supervisors and managers. These are of course important sources, but do not forget co-workers, customers, vendors/suppliers, and colleagues from your volunteer work. All of these people can come from present or past employment. If you are a supervisor or manager, then you might provide a reference from a superior and one from a direct report. Have at least three names ready to present to a potential employer.
Many organizations these days will not provide detailed references and may have policies that restrict managers or supervisors from giving such references. Human resources departments may only provide your job title and employment dates. Despite the official policy, you should not assume that managers will not provide some kind of reference for you. So feel free to open a discussion with anyone who could be a good reference.
2) What are You Looking for in a Reference
Ultimately, it depends on who you think can effectively support your job application. Each reference does not have to support you in exactly the same way. One reference may be able to speak more strongly about your technical skills while another may be able to better present your people skills. All of them, however, should have directly witnessed you “in action” and should speak to your professional abilities as they relate to the job that you are applying for. Do not provide personal references from family and friends.
Former or present bosses with whom you had/have a bad relationship do not necessarily have to be chosen as references. It may be the case that other people had more direct experience with you in doing your job. If you are presently employed, it may be understood that you do not want to make it known that you are looking for other work. Formal policies which restrict managers from providing references may offer a convenient reason for not naming bosses who will not be good references.
3) Ask the Reference for Permission
Before naming a person as a reference, ask them for permission. Many people will see this as very flattering. But some people may simply not be comfortable giving a reference. They may have principled reasons for not doing so. You do not want to compromise your relationship with them. Most importantly, they are unlikely to provide the kind of energetic reference that can best assist you with landing a new job.
4) Record a Reference’s Complete Information
Prepare a document which includes these details about each reference: full name, current title, company, preferred phone numbers, email address, and business address. You should be prepared to present this document to a prospective employer at the interview, but only after being asked.
5) Make Sure References are Fully Informed and “Coached”
Give your references the job posting and the resume used to apply for the position (on paper or electronically). These materials will provide your references with an idea of what the employer is looking for and refresh their memory about your past experience and accomplishments. Optimally, you should schedule a conversation with references to discuss your specific skills and achievements, including projects that were successfully completed and targets that were reached or exceeded.
You might coach references as to what they could say to best support your application, especially after you have interviewed for a position and have a better idea about what the prospective employer is looking for. If there are issues that you feel could have been better addressed in the interview, you may ask your references to bolster what you did say. Time will be of the essence after an interview. You must contact the references right away, before the employer does. Whether or not you intend to coach references, give them notice that the employer will be contacting them soon so they can prepare to make themselves available.
The idea is to guide your references in tailoring responses to highlight your strengths in relation to the role that you are seeking. This process can begin even before you are actually asked to provide references by a potential employer. At step 3, above, when you seek permission from a person to be your reference, you might provide them with your resume, an outline of the kind of role you are targeting, and a brief synopsis of your skills and accomplishments.
6) Thank Your References
In your job search, thank everyone who has assisted you or offered to assist you, including your references.
7) Maintain and Update Your Reference Network
Stay in touch with references or potential references throughout your career. Continue to gather new potential references who have current knowledge about you and your accomplishments. You never know when you will need them.
8) Be Prepared to Help Others
If you are asked by someone to be a reference, and you can honestly and effectively support them, then do not fail to say yes.
John Bozzo, owner of CareerSpark , is a qualified career counsellor and coach who is dedicated to helping clients clarify and achieve their career goals. After over two decades of practicing law, he made the transition into the coaching and counselling field. Please contact him to learn how his personalized career services can help you.