Potential employers will contact job references as part of the hiring process. During the job search your biggest concern is the quality of these employment references from your past employers.
Find out how to optimize your employment references. Use the sample references as a guide. These reference resources will ensure your references work for you.
For job seekers, it is important to start planning and preparing your employment references in advance of your job interview and not leave it until the interviewer asks you for a list of references.
Job seekers should strategically consider who to ask to serve as employment references and who will be best able to answer the reference check questions that a prospective employer asks.
Ideally you want to organize about three to five references that meet the following selection criteria:
What is a Professional Reference?
Before listing the person as a reference check, contact them in advance and get their permission. It will reflect very badly if the prospective employer contacts them and the reference is taken by surprise.
Ask the reference "Do you feel you are familiar enough with my work performance to give a valid reference and answer questions about me?"
Or send a email requesting they act as a reference for you. This sample email will help you.
If they are comfortable with acting as a job reference check verify all their details you need to put on your job references list including correct spelling of full name, current position and title, phone numbers, email address.
Follow up with an email thanking them for agreeing to be your reference. Send it with a copy of your resume so they are familiar with the information that the prospective employer will be asking questions about. Keep them up to date with details of your job interviews
This helps them to be prepared for the phone calls or emails they may get.
Sending a polite thank you for your reference note is important in maintaining your professional connections and ensuring you receive further recommendations.
You can ask your references to each write a letter of recommendation that you can use as a ready-made reference to give the interviewer.
This letter will also give you a good idea of the sort of responses they will give when they are contacted by phone for more information.
Be aware that a potential employer will usually not consider a letter of recommendation as sufficient but will follow up with a verbal reference.
For entry level job candidates a personal or character job reference can be used. Find out more plus examples of these type of references below.
Use this sample job reference list to format your references list properly.
Are job references checked?
The simple answer is yes.
Employment checks
Find out about the employment background check