Professional References

Many organizations will require you to submit a list of references at some point in the interview process, oftentimes once you have completed the initial stage(s) of interviewing.

Be wise in who you select to serve as a reference

It’s critical that each individual who serves as a reference is able to provide you with a strong recommendation. There are a few additional considerations in selecting your references:

  1. It is better to have people who know you well and can speak to your abilities to do the job requested, rather than someone who is well known in your field.
  2. If an application provides specific instructions detailing required/preferred references, adhere to those guidelines.

It’s more likely, however, that an application won’t specify who to list as your references. In these instances, only select professional references, specifically those who can specifically discuss your related skills and accomplishments. Note that a professor is acceptable if the opportunity is academically focused and/or involves research, but should otherwise not be used unless they have supervised you on a project. When in doubt, talk with a career coach about your options.

It is best to have compiled this in advance after you have reached out to each person to discuss the position. The list that you submit to the employer should include the following information for each individual on your list: full name, job title, employer, your relationship to the person (if not obvious), phone number and email address. If this person is in a different time zone or will be unavailable for a period of time, you should include this at the time of submission, so it does not hold up the process. Be sure to ask the person in advance by sending them a copy of the job description and your résumé, so that they are able to be as specific as possible when discussing your related skills.

For example:

References

  1. Reference’s First & Last Name
    Job Title, Company/Organization
    Company/Organization Address
    Phone
    Email
    One or two sentences describing how you know the reference
  2. Reference’s First & Last Name
    Job Title, Company/Organization
    Company/Organization Address
    Phone
    Email
    One or two sentences describing how you know the reference
  3. Reference’s First & Last Name
    Job Title, Company/Organization
    Company/Organization Address
    Phone
    Email
    One or two sentences describing how you know the reference