• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Did his/her personal life ever interfere with his/her work_________________________?

What were his/her titles_________________________________________________?

Did he/she cooperate with supervisors______________________________________?

Did he/she cooperate with coworkers ______________________________________?

Did he/she take work home very often_____________________________________?

What are his/her primary attributes________________________________________?

What are his/her primary liabilities_________________________________________?

Is he/she eligible for rehire______________________________________________?

Can you confirm the information he/she has given us___________________________?

Overcoming Sensitive Areas and Objections

Review any sensitive areas with the reference. Assume you were going through a divorce when you worked with your reference and he remembers that it interfered with your work. Don’t leave his or her response to chance. Say something such as:

I was going through some rough times during that period. I wouldn’t have made it without you. How will you answer questions about my productivity?

Confront a ghost and it vanishes. Fear it, and it haunts your hunt. People don’t tell the truth, even if they try. People tell their perception of the truth.

If a reference objects to something you wrote in your materials or remembers it differently, listen and make changes. It’s rare, but you might hear:

Reference: I don’t know about this computerized sales reporting system you say you installed. I know you were involved, but the controller was really responsible. Could we just say you participated in choosing and installing a system?

You (graciously): Of course. It’s more accurate, and sounds good. That’s fine.

When your review is finished, summarize the key points, and tell your references you’ll notify them who’ll be calling, when, and why.

Notifying Professional References

If you know that you’re getting close to a serious offer, call your references and alert them. Make sure they have your materials on their desks.

Communicate with your references throughout your job search. Don’t call without a reason, but make brief, time-conscious calls to inquire if they received expected calls and how the conversations went.

Press gently but firmly for any key points of discussion. You may want to work them into presentations with other potential employers if this job doesn’t work out.

Check to see if they’ll be available for future calls too. You don’t want to give the name of a reference who won’t be there. If one is traveling on business, ask if he’ll be checking in with the office for messages and returning calls before he returns.

Using Professional References for Job Leads

When you contact all your references, you advertise your availability. One might say, “I know Ron Davis, who’s in charge of manufacturing at Nexus Instruments. Maybe I can put you in touch with him.”

Never refuse an offer like that. Even if your references don’t offer, ask. If they can’t help directly, maybe they know someone who can.

Here’s an example:

Amy was stalled in her job as a writer of technical manuals for a small software manufacturer. She’d been with the company for three years and had been promoted to supervisor of her department of four writers and a technical editor.

Although her undergraduate degree was in computer science, she studied at night to complete an MBA in marketing. Amy believed that her education combined with her knowledge of user needs prepared her for a marketing manager position. But her company had only one such position, and it didn’t look as if it would be vacant soon.

So Amy decided to review her contacts to find a few superstars who could become superreferences. She wanted them to supercharge her into a bigger company where she could maximize her marketing education. She decided on:

• Joseph, a former co-worker who left to start a small software company. Although Joseph’s company only