By Diane Loud, Resource Partnership, Employment Specialist (former)
Once a company has called you back for one or two interviews, you probably feel pretty good about your chances for getting the job. But just because you can see the finish line does not mean you will win the race. At this point in the interviewing process, you need to provide references to your prospective employer. Who you choose and what they say can mean the difference between a job offer and a rejection.
Who Should I Ask?
Most employers will ask for three professional or work-related references. Ideally, you should provide them with the names and contact information for at least one current or former supervisor or manager, one colleague who knows you in a work environment, and possibly one subordinate or customer, depending on your industry. Providing references from people who know you from a variety of work relationships will ensure that the employer gets a good sense of the range of your abilities: as a supervisee, a coworker, a supervisor, a vendor---whatever you have done that is relevant to the job you are applying to. Someone who knows you from church or a civic organization is considered a personal not a professional reference. While that is usually better than no reference at all, a personal reference should relate to your career goals. It’s just not enough to have someone say, “Yeah, Joe’s a good guy. You should hire him.”
When you go on an interview, bring contact information for at least three references. Be sure to include name, company, email, telephone, and a sentence or two about the person’s relationship to you and the type of work you’ve been involved in. This makes it easier for you to provide the references in a timely manner. Delaying providing references because you are scrambling to get information may cause your prospective employer to be concerned that you are having trouble coming up with three people who could say good things about you. Also, be sure that you have told your references that your prospective employer may be calling them.
Developing References
Reference selection and preparation requires good communication. Think carefully about whom you have worked with in the past and how they can speak to your abilities. This requires you to keep in touch with former coworkers and others in your industry, even when you are not actively searching for a job. Since the average person stays in a job only three years, you don’t want to be trying to track someone down for a reference, only to find that they have moved from the last position you knew that they held. A prospective employer does not want to hear, “Oh, I can’t provide you with references from my last 2 jobs. The companies closed and people have moved on.” Employers do not care about this! Employers want references, and if they can’t get them from you, they’ll probably move on to the next candidate who can provide references. Websites such as Google or PeoplePages make it easier to track someone down that you have lost touch with, or perhaps others from the company where they last worked can help you locate them. It’s critical that you do this ahead of time. If you are still trying to track people down after you have been asked to provide references, precious time is ticking away, and your candidacy for the position is being jeopardized.
What Should I Say?
If you keep in touch with your references it will be more comfortable to ask them to speak to a prospective employer on your behalf. It doesn’t feel good to only talk to someone when you need a favor; so keep them updated on your progress between job searches. Make sure they have a copy of your current resume. This not only helps refresh their memory of what you did at their company, but it helps them see how you have grown as a professional and what skills you are currently using. When you provide the names of references to your prospective employer, call the people whose names you have provided so that they will not beput on the spot by an unexpected phone call. Send them the job description for the position you are applying to, as well as any other relevant information about the company. Go a step further and remind them about skills you showed, projects you worked on, or accomplishments that you achieved during your work with them that are relevant to the position. “I know that this employer is looking for someone with strong leadership skills. When I worked at X Corporation, I led several team projects, including the Y project, and I think this employer would really like to hear about that success” is the type of information that makes it much easier for someone to provide a well-thought-out reference.
What Should They Say?
The person checking your references will want to know about any technical skills or knowledge areas that are relevant to the position you are seeking. However, they will also want to know about your “soft skills”: how you interact with others, how you respond to supervision, how you yourself are as a teammate and a supervisor, whether you are reliable and trustworthy. A common question is, “If you had the chance to hire this person again, would you?” Make sure that your references are going beyond the basics and portraying you as someone who is a real asset to any company you work for.
Don’t ask them to provide only glowing information, though. It’s important that references be honest about your limitations and areas that need improvement, too. This not only seems far more realistic to the person checking your references, but it also helps to ensure that your skills really do match the requirements of the job. A reference that helps you bluff your way into a job that is above your abilities has not done you any favors, nor have they made themselves look very reliable and honest.
What if you don’t have any good work references?
If you have left some or all of your recent positions under less than ideal circumstances, finding people to serve as references for you can be a challenge. You will need to be somewhat more creative and proactive to make sure that you can provide an employer with the names of people who can speak to your work abilities. Think about coworkers, customers, or colleagues from the same industry or from professional associations. Don’t forget that volunteer work cannot only help you learn or maintain skills, but it can provide you with a current reference.
Also, consider reaching out to former employers even if your departure from their company was under difficult circumstances. Don’t ask for a reference if you never showed up for work or did something illegal while at a job. But if your overall performance was good, and circumstances changed or your disability contributed to poor performance, you may consider calling this employer and having a frank conversation. It will be uncomfortable at first, but worth a try. Remind them of some of the good work that you did for them, acknowledge what was problematic, and indicate how you have changed or grown. Ask them directly if they are able to provide a positive reference that highlights your accomplishments and good qualities. You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that people are more willing to help than you initially feared they would.
The Final Touches
Again, we are getting back to communication. Let your references know whether or not you were offered the position, and thank them for their assistance no matter what the outcome. Let them know that you are willing and able to provide a reference or testimonial for them, if appropriate. When you do start your next position, drop a line or make a call to the people who served as references, letting them know your new contact information and how the new job is going. Stay in touch with them, even though you will hopefully not need them to provide reference for a long, long time!
[back to top] [back to articles]
The Resource Partnership
251 West Central Street, Suite 31, Natick, MA 01760
P) 508.647.1722 Toll-Free) 1.877.YES.WORK F) 508.647.9622 TTY) 508.652.7284
info@resourcepartnership.org
[View Our Sitemap] [Home]
Email the webmaster if you have any accessibility problems with this web site.