Don't be surprised if, despite your professionally written résumé, well-written cover letter, and your excellent interview skills, your new suit in which you might look smart and your skill in marketing your self do not land you in a job. All these are important but they may not be able to get you a call if you do not have references.
Your résumé and how well you handle an interview are very important, but if you do not have good and strong references, you will not make it. Job seekers must keep in mind; companies are seriously interested in references. Your references play an important role in determining your success.
"They will never do that!"
You must be thinking companies cannot do that, they are bound by certain policies. They cannot give negative references. Here you are completely wrong. A company does give a negative reference, an indifferent one or even a doubtful one. A bad reference might slightly differ from a mild one to an intense one, depending on the intensity of the words they may choose. You will be surprised to know about all the bad references a person gets.
What needs to be done? The list below will guide you when you sit to select yourself a list of references for your self and also a checklist to ensure that you don't get surprised.
Be careful while choosing your references
Your choice of reference is very important. Your reference has to be strong. Your present boss is usually the most important reference; you can also choose others who might be able to give good detail about your job expertise. For instance, you can make your client your reference. He knows your work and can speak about your skills in a different light. Attesting your job skills with 3-5 references, whoever it be, your boss, your colleagues, your clients, your team members and others who know your job skills is important. Better not to include personal references. Your employer will make sure that your references are legitimate and not hollow. Remember he does verify your references.
Do not keep any surprises
When you choose your references, do inform them about it. Talk to them and get their perception about your performance. Know what they have to say about your strengths and weakness, about your success. Give them a copy of your résumé, let them the latest knowledge about yourself and also revive the accomplishments they might have forgotten to mention.
