Referees on your resume – a yes or no question?

When it comes to providing referees on your resume there is no black and white answer or recommendation. This comes down to a few different things and in the end is a personal preference for you to decide on.

Writing a resume can be difficult, often because people do not like to write nice things about themselves or under appreciate the work that they actually do on a daily basis.

Potential employers (or their recruitment agencies) can read through these documents; however they do need something to back these claims up. This means that they want to speak with someone (verbally or via online forms/emails) to confirm the information you have provided is correct.

Therefore – are referees important? – YES, of course!

Should you list their names and contact details on your resume? – Let’s discuss!

DO YOU WANT TO LIST REFEREES?

First thing is first – you need to decide if you are wanting to list your referees. There are a few things to consider here.

• Do you have relevant and credible referees?
• Does your current employer or manager know you are looking to apply for a new job?
• Are you happy to let your referees know that you are applying for a new job?
• Will your referees be willing to complete a reference check for you?
• Are you willing to contact your referees first and give them a breakdown on the job/s you are applying for?

These will be your deciding factors. For example if you are going on an application spree and applying for 10 jobs – do you think your referees are going to prepared for these 10 jobs (that you need to brief them on) in order for them to give the best reference?

Versus, you are applying for one job, you can call your referee’s or meet with them to chat about the job so that they are ready for the call.

If you decide that you DO NOT want to supply them, this is okay – you can simply list ‘referees available on request’ (or similar). This way it provides you time to brief the referee’s before any calls are made.

If you decide that you DO want to supply your referees, here is what to do.

1. Who to choose as referees?

• The first step is deciding who to put. Ideally your referees should be:
• Previous employer, manager, team leader etc.
• Current employer, manager, team leader etc if they are aware of your application to find a new working position.
• A credible person who is willing to provide current and correct information about your work in that position.

If however, you are applying for your first job, a high school leaver per say, credible referees could include:

• Some one you have completed volunteer work for.
• A teacher or year advisor at your school or education establishment.
• A business worker or credible person within your township/area.

The same principle applies for resume and cover letters as it does for referees. Your referees should be customised, depending on the job you are applying for. By adjusting your referee list you are able to list people who are relevant to the position you are applying for. This may mean listing a manager from an older position, that was similar to the one you are now applying for.

2. Gain Permission

Once you have selected who you feel will be credible referees, you need to go to the second step, check with them first. Asking them for their permission is a must, you do not want a potential employer calling them and them not be happy to provide a reference

3. Brief Your Referees

Now that they are happy to be involved there is the third step is to brief them on the job/jobs you are applying for. Contact them and let them know the basics:

• The business names
• Job duties
• Contact person’s details (if known)
• Any further information you may know

This will allow them to prepare for the call and leave the best impression of you when contacted.

4. Thank Them

And finally, the fourth step – make sure you thank your referees!

Breaking this all down into basic steps:

Decide (based on your situation) if you want to supply referees.. If you do

• Select appropriate referees
• Make sure they are willing to be involved
• Brief them and keep them up to date on jobs
• Thank them
• And most of all, Goodluck with your job hunting

-Kaitlin-