The job search is time consuming and involves many activities. One area which you probably aren’t spending enough time on, is your job references. What you should know, is that a bad job reference can make you lose a job offer which was coming your way.
Most companies will get in touch with people you have worked with/for previously and ask them about your behaviour and performance. This includes people you have provided as job references and might also include people not on your list.
The information received from these people is often seen as a credible, independent and first-hand perspective. When speaking over the phone it is also possible for employers to probe for details and read between the lines. So it certainly carries more weight than the job reference letters you might have received, which are too generic, often contain similar words for everyone and frequently have positive statements which might not be true (and employers know this).
If one of your important references (such as a previous supervisor) says negative things about you, this can make employers change their mind about hiring you and pick another candidate. You obviously don’t want this to happen and here are a few things you can do to avoid such a situation:
Select Each Job Reference Carefully
This goes without saying. You should select people who will be more likely to say positive things about you.
Provide Enough Job References
Don’t provide just 1-2 job references. Go with 3-5 so that employers feel they have enough people to talk to, which reduces the chances of them contacting people not on your list.
Take Permission From Your Job References
It is a good idea to call people you intend to use as a job reference and ask them if it’s alright for potential employers to contact them. If you already took their permission during a previous job search effort, then make sure to give them a heads-up the next time you are looking for a job, so they know that people might be calling them to talk about you and can prepare accordingly.
Train & Arm Every Job Reference
If possible, have a discussion about what they could say and provide them with enough information/data/reminders about all the good work you did.
And Here’s The Best One – Test Drive Your Job References
You never know what people might do and there is no harm in taking some precautions. So ask a friend to pose as an employer and call your job references, to ensure they aren’t saying any bad things about you.