What’s the Deal with Reference Checks?

The one portion of the recruiting process that employers make easy for you is reference checks. Employers ask you to choose three people in your life to say great things about you, so don’t mess this portion up!

1. Pick at least one recent manager. The others can be clients or peers. If employers want more than one manager, they’ll let you know.
2. Prep your references by reminding them when you worked together and what you did. They are likely to be asked what it was like to work with you and what your strengths and weaknesses are; so, give examples to refresh their memory.
3. Pass along the job description to your references so they know how to frame their answers. If you have ideas on how they should do this, don’t be shy.
4. Ask your references each time if they can act as a reference for a specific job even if they generally agreed to be on your list some time ago. You need to check with them every time because they could be traveling or in the middle of a business matter, and employers wanting the reference can’t wait more than a week (or sometimes not even a few days).
5. You should have a good idea what your references will say about you; so, if you detect any kind of reluctance from someone to serve as your reference, choose someone else. The employer knows you are stacking the deck, so any reference that is less than stellar is viewed very negatively.​