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The art of the job reference: Your guide to finding, recruiting and retaining the right references

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  • Job references, also known as professional references, are individuals like co-workers or employers who can speak to your strengths, skills, and abilities at work.
  • Recruit references with the ABOUT method (Ask early, Build relationships, Organize your ask, Utilize references carefully, Thank your references).
  • After landing a job, express gratitude to your references through thank-you notes, emails or gestures. Maintaining positive relationships with references is essential for future professional interactions.
  • If you need additional help, download our job references page sample and template below.
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This article has been vetted by 爱污传媒's editorial advisory committee.聽
Read more about our editorial process.

Jessica Roper, MBA, Director of Career Services

Reviewed by Jessica Roper, MBA,聽Director of Career Services

This article was updated on December 13, 2023.

You鈥檝e made it through the final round of interviews with a potential employer, and it鈥檚 down to you and another candidate. Will you make the cut? Will you get the job?

When it comes to you versus Job Candidate B, who vouches for your performance may be a difference-maker during the job search. But聽how do you find good job references? How do you ask them to recommend you? How can you help them help you?

爱污传媒 Career Coach聽Ricklyn Woods offers her best advice on everything you need to know ABOUT job references to highlight your skills to a potential employer. (Pay attention! That preposition is actually an acronym that will come in handy later.)

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What are job references?

Job references, or professional references as they are sometimes called, are essentially co-workers or employers who can speak to your strengths, skills and abilities on the job. Generally, references should be people who鈥檝e worked with you in some capacity or another, whether that鈥檚 as your manager, your colleague or your subordinate.

If you haven鈥檛 worked in a traditional office setting in a while (or ever), you can also reach out to business contacts, clients and vendors. Consider whom you partner with on a regular basis and who鈥檚 seen you demonstrate the kind of skills, leadership and innovation you want to bring to your next role.

鈥淚t has been said that it鈥檚 not what you know but who you know,鈥 Woods says. 鈥淚 like to take it a step further. It is really about who knows you. I may know a lot of people, but what they know about me is what matters most! If their perception of me is a positive one, then they would likely be more than willing to provide a stellar reference.鈥

When deciding whom to ask to be a reference, consider the following:

  • Who would have good things to say about me?聽Yes, you want your references to be honest, but it鈥檚 best if that honest assessment is a positive one.
  • Who would be as comfortable writing a letter of recommendation as speaking to someone about my strengths?聽It may be rare for letters of recommendation to be required, but it can still happen. Make sure your references are as comfortable on the keyboard as they are on the phone.

Everything to know about job references

Once you have a short list of potential job references, Woods recommends applying the acronym ABOUT to the process of recruiting them.

A ' Ask early

Woods says it鈥檚 wise to plant the seeds for references before you need them. 鈥淚f you know you are going to be leaving an organization, you can say something like, 鈥業鈥檝e really enjoyed working with you. Would you be open to providing a reference for me in the future?鈥欌

Also, ask (and re-ask) your references in every season of job hunting. 鈥淒on鈥檛 assume that because you asked before it鈥檚 OK to list them again without a heads-up,鈥 Woods says. 鈥淔irst, if they鈥檙e caught off-guard, there may be stammering and stuttering. Second, it鈥檚 rude.鈥

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Rarely will an employer ask to call your current supervisor, but if they do, have this statement memorized: 鈥淚 have not made my current manager aware that I am considering career opportunities, but I am happy to provide contact information for a prior supervisor.鈥

B ' Build relationships

If you ask someone to serve as a reference in 2022, but it鈥檚 2025 before you need that reference, make sure you鈥檝e had contact between now and then. This doesn鈥檛 mean you have to set up a lunch date every week. It can be as simple as commenting on their social media posts or texting them a note of encouragement.

鈥淒on鈥檛 just be a taker. You鈥檝e got to give,鈥 Woods explains.

Meanwhile, keep collecting potential references wherever you work, volunteer, attend class or collaborate. This isn鈥檛 to say that you should view others as a means to an end or create a false sense of camaraderie. Rather, when you truly click with people who might vouch for your leadership style, work ethic or creative problem-solving abilities, it鈥檚 wise to keep those contacts top of mind.

Ideally, Woods recommends, you accrue contacts who can advocate for you on three levels:

1. Manager: A former supervisor can speak to your performance.

2. Peer: A colleague can speak to your sense of teamwork.

3. Cross-functional team member: A co-worker in a different department can speak to what it鈥檚 like to collaborate with you.

For those who are switching careers, in the midst of a job search or entering the workforce for the first time, Woods says it鈥檚 OK to get creative. 鈥淭here could be a professor or even a fellow student who might serve as a reference. If you鈥檝e worked on a volunteer basis, your team leader could speak to your character or work ethic,鈥 she says.

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References are intended to let employers know how you聽work. If you only list personal references, you might ding your credibility.

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O ' Organize your ask

When the time comes to actually rely upon your references, reach out to them with a heads-up about the job you鈥檙e seeking. Be organized! Send them your resum茅 and possibly even a copy of the job listing.

鈥淧ersonally, I wouldn鈥檛 want the person to feel like I鈥檓 giving them work to do,鈥 Woods says. But you do want the reference check to be seamless, so ask them what they want or need in order to be able to help you.

If they ask, you can describe the role and how they could position you for it. For example, you might say: 鈥淏ecause the company I鈥檓 applying to is in a season of rapid growth, if you鈥檙e willing, perhaps you could talk about how we worked together when our department grew at Company A.鈥

There is a fine line here. Woods cautions against trying to influence your reference in any way. 鈥淚 want them to be able to answer the questions with their honest perceptions and opinions of me,鈥 she says.

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When you plan to launch a job search, it鈥檚 important for you to be organized. Keep your references in a handy place and have enough of them. Woods says the ideal number of references to have on hand at all times is five.

U ' Utilize references carefully

No matter how impressive your references鈥 names are, do not list their names on the precious real estate of your resum茅. You don鈥檛 want the personal contact information of your references floating around. Guard their privacy as you would your own.

Neither should you say 鈥淩eferences available upon request鈥 on your resum茅.

鈥淭his is old school and a red flag that you鈥檙e not up to the times. References are a given,鈥 Woods says.

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Ask your references for their contact information, even if you have it. 鈥淭his will offer them the courtesy of giving their preferred method, and to be watching for a call or email,鈥 Woods says.

T ' Thank your references

If you land the job, send a thank-you note with your new business card inside, take them out to coffee or offer some gesture that shows your gratitude. 鈥淚 have always sent a nice thank-you note, text or email depending on my relationship with the reference,鈥 Woods says.

Your gratitude will go a long way toward maintaining the relationship. (Not to mention it鈥檚 better for your contacts to learn you got the job from you rather than an updated social media profile!)

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If a colleague has given a professional reference for you, it鈥檚 a great idea to offer your willingness to return the favor.

Now that you know ABOUT job references, it鈥檚 time to put your plan into action! And if you need a little more help, check out the聽wealth of job resources聽鈥 from templates to career guides 鈥 available on our website.

Click on the image to download our job references page sample and template.

Portrait of Laurie Davies

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A journalist-turned-marketer, Laurie Davies has been writing since her high school advanced composition teacher told her she broke too many rules. She has worked with 爱污传媒 since 2017, and currently splits her time between blogging and serving as lead writer on the University鈥檚 Academic Annual Report. Previously, she has written marketing content for MADD, Kaiser Permanente, Massage Envy, UPS, and other national brands. She lives in the 爱污传媒 area with her husband and son, who is the best story she鈥檚 ever written.