Employment References
Who To Use
Key to Securing Employment
Utilizing great Employment References is key to conducting a successful job search. Who you choose
and what they say about you to a prospective employer can make or break your chances of
securing the job that you want.
Keep It Professional
Do not use a friend or family member for a reference. All your references should be professional references.
Most often you will need three strong references when applying for a job.
Don't Use Friends
As Employment References!
Your Reference will provide the prospective employer with an "image" of you.
What type of image will they portray?
Unless you are in the entertainment industry, the image being portrayed to the employer
should be a professional one, not a fun loving one.
The employer wants to know about your work ethic and skill set from
someone who is an unbiased source.
The best person to provide that information is your previous
or current supervisor, not someone that you see recreationally.
In addition, a friend or family member may give out more information than
you want an employer to have access to!
Who to use as an Employment Reference
Pick your references carefully; how they respond to the employer's inquiries about you may be the very thing
that sets you apart in a positive or negative way from the other candidates they are considering.
When choosing Employment References, your first picks should be the last 2 supervisors
that you worked for. They are in the best position to give an accurate account of your work habits,
skills and accomplishments, and they are most believable to a prospective employer. List these as the first
and third references on your
Resume Reference Page.
Other Employment Reference Ideas
Here are some additional ideas for reference sources: A Shift Leader or other Professional where you work,
your Employer's Human Resource Department, a Professor or Teacher that can verify your work ethic, an Organizational Leader
whose group you are a member of, a Pastor or Clergy Member, a Leader of a Sports Team you participate in,
a Professional from an Internship Position you held, and Former Customers, Vendors, or Business Acquaintances.
Use your least strongest reference for your second employment reference.
Employers will not usually call all three references, but will choose two out of the three you have listed.
Often they will call the first and the third one listed, so it is good to put your two strongest references
in the first and third slots.
Obtain Permission: A Funny Story
Always obtain permission from each person before using them as a reference and give them a copy of your
resume to keep your skills and accomplishments fresh in their memory.
I have to tell you a funny story about what happened to me. My name is well known as a Job Search
professional in the local community where I live. I run regular Job Clubs where I assist individuals in
finding employment and have been doing this for over twelve years now.
When a person starts this Job Club, I always ask for a copy of their resume and references. Many times
I can suggest some minor (or major) changes to a resume that will result in the Job Club Member
getting interviews where they were not before.
Anyway, I was collecting the resumes of my new Job Club members one day, and later sat down to review
the new resumes and make suggestions where needed. One of my members whose name I faintly remember from
giving her a job lead 6 or 7 years ago, had brought in a beautiful resume and I was glad to see that she
had taken the time to get the resume professionaly done and printed on resume quality paper. She had even
included a copy of her Resume Reference page with the resume.
How surprised was I to see my own name, professional title, business address, and business phone
number listed at the very top of her Reference page! I had not seen or heard from her for 6 or 7 years.
Apparently, I had made a great impression on her, because she wanted to use me as a reference! If an employer
had contacted me regarding her, I would not have been prepared to discuss her abilities, much less remembered
who she was!
Prepare Your Employment References
Once you have decided who you prefer to use as your references, you should contact those individuals.
Make sure that you give them a copy of your most current resume and explain the type of position you are
looking for. It is a good idea to review the major skill sets that the prospective employer is looking for
and point out for your reference how you meet those requirements. (Make it easy for them!)
Another benefit to doing this is that it gives you a chance to network... those references in the business
community may have some great job leads that you can reap the benefit from!
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