It astounds me how many people marginalize the importance of references. This is not a mere matter of protocol! Hiring managers and HR use these conversations to confirm or, in some instances, make an actual decision to hire. And today employers are trained to ask far more sophisticated questions then in the past. Will your references meet the challenge?
The days of providing a uniform set of professional references or having pre-written reference letters is over. As a job seeker, you must customize your references to the company, job and even the hiring manager themselves to gain the upper hand.
You must start by understanding what every manager needs at this stage in the process. With this knowledge, you can then select the right people to speak on your behalf, coordinate availability to ensure contact is easily made and prepare your references to provide the most compelling endorsement of your background.
SELECT
Skip personal references and always stick to recent, professional relationships only (they don't want a manager from 8 years ago or your old tennis coach!). Past that, do find out if they want a Manager, Peer or Subordinate so you can target the right "level" person for them. next, think about the job you are interviewing for and ask yourself who would be the best sales person for your background. In other words who do you think the Hiring Manager would hear and believe the easiest. Always try to match the reference choice to the person who will be checking the reference. Never give blanket references out for every job (specifically listing them out on your resume or an application). This will limit your ability to change your mind or customize your choice later. Just say "References furnished upon request". A good way to select a reference is to simply call them yourself (not email them) and ask them if they would do this for you. Describe the job you are interviewing for and ask them what they think. Their natural reaction and general disposition about doing this for you will tell you everything about whether or not this person would make a good reference.
COORDINATE
What does it say about you if your reference doesn't return the employer's call for a week or longer? Managers are typically pretty urgent when they get to this stage and a delayed response (or no response) will not bode well for you. it's your job to coordinate things to the bets of your ability to facilitate prompt communication between the two parties. Begin by giving multiple contact means. Always provide the reference's email in addition to both work and cell phone numbers. Secondly, always know when or if your references will be on vacation or traveling so that you can dodge any unintentional phone tag. when providing the reference contact information, you can make the employer aware of any difficulties by suggesting a day that would work better than others given certain scheduling conflicts on either side. This isn't pushy, it's thoughtful and smart.
PREPARE
And finally, prepare your reference to do their best (for you). Doing their best means helping to optimize "what" and "how" they speak about you. begin by giving them all the details of the job (make sure they get an emailed copy of the job). Inform them where you think you stand (#1, #2??) and what you think the HM likes or might be concerned about with regards to your background. Given them some info about the person that is calling them and what you think they may ask. And finally, a great answer isn't just about saying the right things, it's about how things get said. You can guarantee a much higher degree of enthusiasm from your references by taking the time to personally thank them for doing this and reminding them how important this reference check is to the company's decision process (and of course how much you want this job). Bribery works too ;) ! tell them if you get the job, you'll treat them to lunch.
Don't blow it at the reference checking stage. Your job search is not over yet and you'll need to put some effort into handling this important phase so that things run smoothly.
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