References are people the company can contact to enquire about you. References for job interviews can be given in the form of letters pre-written by someone from a higher level like a professor from a college. Reference letters render the impression that interviews require. Reference by phone is one of the common methods adopted, where the company contacts the referee to enquire by phone. Reference can also be done by email. This is similar to a reference letter with the only difference being that the referee gives it on request from the company.
Important points to be noted for a job reference to end up successfully are:
Update resume :
It is important to update your resume frequently. Updated resumes should contain references from the latest job. Citing references from a job done five years ago does not help. It also creates a negative impression on the interviewer. Freshers can mention references from college like professors, project co-coordinators etc. Experienced candidates can cite professors as references even after many years of completing college, if they maintain continual contact.
References for experienced candidates can be team leaders, managers and sometimes even colleagues.
Contact information :
Give up-to-date contact information of your references. You may not want the interviewer to end up dialing a wrong number or receiving a bounced email. Provide information such as name of the referee, role in the company, work phone number, personal phone number and email address. In addition, mention the referee's preferred time and mode of contact. Ask the referee before giving his/her personal phone number.
Update changes :
If the referee is not from your present job, inform them about your job changes. You would not want the referee to provide old information to the recruiter.
Permission :
Talk to the referee before including them in the reference list. Some people may not want to refer you or some may be out on of town on business trips or vacation and they may not want to be disturbed. Talking to referees before adding them gives an idea if they want to refer you genuinely. You can stop negative references by this. Also alert references after a job interview that they may be contacted anytime sooner.
General questions to referees include: