Introduction
A prospective employer may ask you for a list of references after your interview; this is a sign that you are either the top candidate or one of a group of people they are considering hiring. (Some companies may do a reference check at the beginning of the interview process, but this situation rarely occurs).
Preparing your reference list
Please prepare your list of references well in advance of your interviews and well before a prospective employer asks for them.
List four or five people who have agreed to speak enthusiastically and knowledgeably about your accomplishments, strengths, skills and the effectiveness you can bring to the company.
Example of a list of references
Communicate with your referees
Once a prospective employer has requested your list of references, call each of these individuals as soon as possible to let them know that a human resources representative or staffing officer will be contacting them.
Information to be provided to references
- the name of the company that is considering hiring you;
- the title of the position for which you could be hired;
- the main needs of the position;
- Your skills and accomplishments that may qualify you for this position;
- Key statements you would like your references to make during the reference interview.
Be sure to send a thank you message to your references once they have spoken or met with the recruiter.
Questions about references
One way to prepare your references is to provide them with a list of questions that recruiters and human resources representatives often ask to assess the candidate’s chances of success as a prospective employee.
Some of these questions:
- What do you know about this person’s abilities?
- Can you describe this person’s responsibilities while working for (or with) you?
- What are the strengths of this person?
- What are the weaknesses of this person?
- Why is this person effective at their job?
- Have you known this person for a long time?
- In what capacity do you know this person?
- Why did this person leave their last job?
- If you were this person’s manager, would you hire them again?
- What are the major personal characteristics of this person?
A warm reference to you and your skills can make all the difference between getting a job offer or not. Take the referral process seriously.