MidLifeCrisis

When you add references on your résumé, do they have to be ex or current employers or can they be anyone who will talk about you in a glowing light and make you out to be an outstanding member of the public with awsome intellect who will be an invaluable asset to your prospective employer?

just thought I'd ask!

Mid.

stevo

Just in case you are worried, I dont think that employers are allowed to give bad references anymore, its either "yes, you worked there", or "yes you worked there and had an awesome intellect".
I also think that previous employers references are just as good as current employers.
Not sure about anyone else though. Perhaps a reference written on a beer mat from the landlord of your local watering hole would not be OK.
Refs from JP's, Doctors, etc may do the trick if they know you well enough.
Regs,
S

suzimc

You can have personal references as well usually, but in most instances I'd make sure that you have at least 2 from employers, and at least one of those being your current/most recent. I was actually advised to consider clients/suppliers as well as employers as all the employer ones said pretty much the same thing!

MidLifeCrisis

It's just that I have a good friend who a good public speaker with very good communication skills, I thought he would make a good reference but then he has no connections to my ex or current employers

Mid

MidLifeCrisis

In my situation I don't really have any clients/suppliers, so that's a 'no go'.

When you say "all the employer ones said pretty much the same thing" Is that because you attached their reference letters to your résumé? I was just going to put contact details on my résumé but thinking about it, it would probably be better if I had my references write up letters than attatch them?

thanks for the info,

Mid

suzimc

It's just a bit easier with time differences, plus the fact that less and less employers give references these days. I've found that people really appreciate me attaching them, althought they do still check up to make sure you really did work there, but I think you'd probably expect them to, and that's a quick and easy email too.

DaveTheCat

Sorry, but that's just wishful thinking. I managed to get my hands twice on the super-secret'n'special questionnaire the recruiter/HR person was sending out to the previous employer; there were questions like "Tell us about two of his/her greatest conflicts with colleagues or clients" or fill-in-the-blanks phrases like "His/her greatest weakness is... and he/she can be a major annoyance because of his/her...". (I just made up "major annoyance", because I can't remember the exact wording, but I think you're getting my drift).

And yes, I'm talking about HR/recruiters from Down Under!

stevo

Bummer.

esperanza

I would definitely include previous/current employer - if you don't, that will make them ask questions about why you left it off.
I don't see why you couldn't include other references if you want to, as long as they are relevant - eg not your mum's best friend saying how lovely you are.

I have statements from a few people I have worked for/with and plan to include them with my resume when applying from jobs in Australia - they all say good things and they can all be confirmed with an email. i figure it can't do any harm.

DaveTheCat

Of course not, but those statements have a limited value. Recruiters and, especially, potential employers want to have references "preferably from a direct manager" (their words, not mine) and less from someone who could be your work buddy.

Dorothy

I work at a recruitment agency and have done too many ref checks to count. We do not bother with personal references because frankly we couldn't give a toss whether you are a stand up guy playing football. We want to know how you perform in the workplace. Some of the questions on our ref check form include "What were X's strengths?" "What areas do you think X could improve?" "If you could hire X again, would you?"
When we recruit for the big companies we ask for and expect 3 references and we check all 3.

comet555

What about references from people who you were supervising?

My husband will have no problems getting references from his supervisors, but I wondered if it would be good to see what his team said about him.

Dorothy

Unfortunately, one of the first questions on most recruiters' questionnaire is "did you supervise X directly or indirectly". If they were not a supervisor then it was really pointless to ask the other questions, such as "would you hire them again".

comet555

That makes sense, thanks for that.

So when you first get in touch with a recruiter you give them your references, and then they contact them and get more information?

Just curious because my husband will be calling a few recruiters directly next week on his next set of days off.

Alex Hall

I do not list references on my resume, I just put they are available on request. One thing you can do that will make life much easier is to try and get written references from a boss/manager whenever you leave a company and keep a couple of copies of these. Trying to get these historically can be a bit of a pain, however if you are going through the visa process you will probably need these anyway.

I have written references from my various managers etc as well as from HR from my first job through to my last one. On coming to Australia I provided these to the firms wishing to hire me and I would say it worked in my favour.

Obviously the company may decide to phone the referee to confirm. In my case this did not happen, I am assuming as it was apparent from the interview that I was competent and legit.

It is very rare these days in my experience and from talking to recruitment firms to have negative references provided in writing/taped from a phone call due to the risk of litigation. However on the phone a manager may be more honest/dishonest about any issues he feels there have been as no record will be kept. In reality therefore in most cases the reference doesn't really achieve anything these days.


hth

Alex