Professional References- An Important Component to the Interview Process

December 22, 2011 at 2:05 pm · Filed under Career Advice, For Candidates, General and tagged: Goodwin & Associates, Interview Tips, Professional References

One of the most important parts of the interview process, yet often the area least thought about, is professional references. In the mind of a hiring manager “past performance indicates future performance” so it is very common for a company to want to speak to former employers. While many companies have a no reference policy and will only verify dates of employment and eligibility for rehire, it is still commonly expected that a job seeker can supply names and phone numbers of former supervisors and colleagues. A good rule of thumb is to be able to offer the name and phone number of a former supervisor for your last three employers. More often than not, a hiring manager prefers to speak with someone who managed you as opposed to a colleague, someone you managed, or vendor. Very rarely will a company look to speak to a personal reference so be prepared with appropriate contact information.
In addition, it is imperative that the people whose names and numbers you provide are aware they are references for you and are willing to chat with potential employers on your behalf. Every time you are in search mode, you should be updating these people so they can be prepared to expect calls and return calls in a timely manner. If a reference doesn’t follow up to an employer within a timely manner, that is usually detrimental to your overall presentation to the client.
The other sticky situation is being able to provide a reference from your current employer. It is always helpful if you can provide someone at your current job, but many companies understand that is not always possible. This is when it may be appropriate to offer the name and number of someone who is currently working there in a lateral position to you as opposed to a supervisor or maybe even a former supervisor who is no longer with the company. If you truly feel there are no options to provide a reference from your current employer, let them know that you are discreetly searching and no one at your current place of employment is aware, but if an offer is extended you would be happy to provide someone at that time.

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