References

After months of searching you have finally found the job of your dreams. You are in the final round of interviews when the company asks you for references. What do you do?

Don’t panic. This is not as hard as it might seem. Tell your interviewer that you will get back to her with a list of references. Then go home and make things happen. But before you pull names out of the air consider the following.

• Employers really do check references so you need to give careful thought to the selection of references and what they might say. Identify three or four people with whom you have worked over the past several years, and who are familiar with your job performance and responsibilities. If you haven’t been in the workforce, identify professors or colleagues in volunteer positions. 
• Contact these people and ask if they would be willing to be references for you. Give them specifics about the position you’re interviewing for, so they can focus their comments on areas that might help you secure this position.
• Make sure that you select people who will give your potential employer honest feedback. If you know someone tends to exaggerate, leave him off the list. You don’t want to be hired because your employer thinks you can put together a huge budget when you’ve never even created a spreadsheet. Also, if a reference only has good things to say about you that, in itself, may send up some red flags. After all, no one is perfect. Your potential employer may be wondering what the reference provider is hiding.
• Give out references sparingly. Giving references can be time-consuming. Not everyone is willing to spend his/her day chatting with different people about your background. If you can, keep a few names in your back pocket. Then you can alternate and save some of your contacts for another day and another position.
• Provide your potential employer with detailed information, including the reference giver’s name, his or her title, company or organization, relationship to you, phone number, address and e-mail address.
• Don’t waste your time collecting letters of reference. These letters don’t give a potential employer the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. Besides, when was the last time someone you know received a letter of reference that contained information other than a glowing report on a former employee’s performance?

Follow these simple tips and you will find that you will have the references you need to secure that perfect job.