References, both formal and informal, play a critical role in the job search. After you’ve been interviewed, if an employer is seriously considering hiring you, you will typically be asked for the names and contact information of people willing to speak on your behalf—generally no more than five.
Why? Because as impressive as you may sound during an interview, an employer needs to take what you have to say about yourself with a grain of salt. You’re a biased source of information. Yes, employers are interested in what you think about yourself, how much confidence, energy, and enthusiasm you exude, and how you present yourself and your set of skills. But they also want input from people who have worked with you in some capacity: in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting. Your references will be quizzed about your performance, skills, capacity for growth, ability to work with others, efficiency, productivity, punctuality, honesty, reliability, and general attitude.
Choosing Your References Wisely
Be strategic in deciding whom to ask for a recommendation: Don’t just reflexively go after your three most recent supervisors. If possible, your first choices should be people who have openly admired you and your work. Also consider your recommenders’ personalities. Ideally, they speak and write well and have the ability to be enthusiastic, positive, and responsive. If you know a particular supervisor is notoriously bad about responding to calls and e-mails, try to choose someone else; after a few attempts, your prospective employer may give up.
Whatever their qualifications, the best references are those who know you well; even better are those who work in fields relevant to the jobs for which you are applying. Appropriate parties include:
- Previous employers or internship supervisors
- Colleagues
- Clients
- Volunteer supervisors
If you have no employment directly relevant to the job you’re pursuing, that’s okay.
No matter what the job is that you’ve had, you should look for managers and employers who can speak to your maturity, responsibility, trustworthiness, punctuality, and other good qualities.
If you don’t have professional references, consider using a coach or teacher—someone who can attest to the fact that you are diligent, disciplined, and self-motivated, that you ask questions when you don’t understand things, give 200 percent to the task at hand, and work well with others.
If you’ve just graduated from college and have never had a job or internship, you may also use professors; the key is to prepare them adequately.
About Ellen Gordon Reeves
Ellen Gordon Reeves is a workplace and career expert who has lent her expertise to a variety of media outlets, including CNN’s Your Money, NPR’s Morning Edition, and The Atlantic. She is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Master of Arts in Writing and Teaching Writing from Northeastern University. To learn more about finding, landing and keeping a job, you can read her book: Can I Wear My Nose Ring to The Interview? by Workman Publishing.
