References Available Upon Request

Well, you finally left that miserable job and all those crabby co-workers. And that miserable boss! After a short job search, you found another job that you like better, but after a year things aren’t going so well, and you’re in the job hunt again. Surfing the job websites, you found the job of your dreams, and you’ve landed an interview. When you arrive, to your horror, the hiring manager is one of those “crabby co-workers” that you “told off” when you left a previous job. Ooops!

Every day on the job you are building references. They are invaluable when you are trying to land a job, especially when you are moving up to the next level. A glowing reference may be the deciding factor in selecting you over other equally qualified candidates. You can never have enough of them. Just as you move on to another job, those you have worked with will, too, and you may find that an administrative assistant you worked with years ago has become a Vice President and has the deciding vote on who gets the job. How well did you work with that person? What will they remember about you?

How you work with others, how you do your job and your overall professionalism makes an impression. You want those you work with to have a favorable impression now and after you have moved on. How would your co-workers respond to a call from a hiring manager checking references? What about your boss? It’s not too late to start building (or repairing) working relationships. Are you always late to meetings? Don’t respond to emails on time? Spend a lot of time complaining about the work and the job? These are things you can improve on now—give your potential references something positive to say.

While most people are hesitant to say anything negative in a reference check, there is a telltale sign that things may not be so positive. In my experience as an HR Director, when a reference hesitated before answering, or sounded hesitant or guarded, it was a sign. You want your references to launch into a glowing report of your work, work habits and positive attributes.

To ensure that you have positive references, be sure to contact them when you get an interview to reaffirm that they will be a good reference. Let them know about the job and the particular qualities or skills that the job requires and how your past experience shows you are a good match. If you have developed good working relationships along your career path you will have no lack of positive, strong references as you move along.

Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for BusinessWorkForce.com. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and helping clients discover what they love and spend their life on it. You can read more of her blogs at businessworkforceblog.com and view additional job postings on Nexxt.