Reference Check Please!

Professional references can make or break your job search. Don’t assume your friends, colleagues, previous bosses will represent you the way you want them to represent you with another organization. It is absolutely your responsibility to prepare every single one of your references, both professional references and personal references prior to giving their contact information to an organization.

• Don’t assume they know what to say about you.
• Don’t assume they understand the job opportunity you are pursuing.
• Don’t assume they will not say something that creates concern about your candidacy.
• Don’t assume that your references understand how to assist you with landing the job offer.
• Don’t assume…

A savvy interviewer knows how to ask good questions, that may seem innocent to a reference. But understand that people who verify references are looking for inconsistencies or what I call out of alignment experiences. If you say you are an excellent widget maker and your friend, or colleague makes a joke about some mishap with a widget you were making, you now have an out of alignment experience. In other words, what you said, and what the reference said are inconsistent. If that happens too many times, you will find that you will no longer be considered for the job opportunity. Take some time and discuss your expectations with your references.

• Tell them about the organization
• Tell them about the job you will be doing
• Give them things to highlight that are consistent with their relationship with you
• Give your references some guidance on what you would like them to say about you

Don’t ask people to lie for you. Don’t over prepare your reference. Professional and personal references should have a natural conversation with the organizational representative calling to verify your references. But their focus, their ultimate goal should be to assist you with the job offer. They are a critical variable in the hiring process. Do organizations verify references? Absolutely! Do all organizations verify references? Nope! However, don’t let that knowledge hinder your preparation. Assume that the organization will verify your professional and personal references. Take the time to prepare each and every one. Your investment in their preparation will translate into job offers. Let your prepared references be an extension of your interview so that the hiring manager gets information that assist them with their hiring decision.