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References for Your Job Search

The following rules are important when considering references for your job search:

  1. Always ask a person for permission before you use them as a reference. You want to be sure the person you ask is not surprised by a call and that they are willing to give you a positive report. According to a survey by Accountemps, 34% of job candidates are removed from consideration for a job after their references are checked.
  2. Do not list your references (or “references by request”) on your resume. You want to shield your references from being bothered by every potential employer—they should receive a call only from employers who consider you a strong candidate.
  3. If a former or current boss is not a good reference for you, look for options: a different manager or supervisor in the company who is familiar with your work; a coworker; a vendor or customer with whom you worked closely; or someone who provided a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile. If you made a significant contribution as a volunteer in a nonprofit, you should be able to find someone there willing to act as a reference for your job search.
  4. Hiring managers and recruiters might ask your references about your strengths and weaknesses (38% of managers according to the Accountemps survey), so make sure your resume is accurate and that your references have a copy to refer to. You do not want to be caught in a lie or put your references in an awkward position at this stage of the process.
  5. Your resume can be used to provide “recommendations” in two ways. First, you can include information gathered from your reviews at work. For example, a reviewer might score you particularly high on collaboration with colleagues, a fact you can add to your resume. Second, you should list relevant awards, speaking engagements, and publications which show that you are respected by your peers and industry.

If you are concerned about any aspect of gathering and using references for your job search, please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help.

What Not to Include in Your Resume

  1. Your high school education, unless you are applying for your first job after high school. Generally, employers only look at—and care about—your post-secondary education.
  1. Badly outdated skills. No businesses are currently using WordStar or mimeograph machines.
  1. Skills you do not have. If your German is not fluent, then say that it is “conversational German” or “basic German.” Do not lie and do not exaggerate.
  1. Your religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or political party, unless you are applying for a position where that information might be important—for example, secretary for a church or campaign manager for a politician.
  1. Personal information that employers are legally not supposed to ask you about, such as your marital status, number of children, race, religion, and health. If you will need accommodation for a disability, you can bring that up when it seems appropriate. If you absolutely cannot fulfill the duties of the position (“must lift 50 pounds” or “driver’s license required”), then you should not apply.
  1. A personal email that sounds too personal, such as greatdude@aol.com. The contact information that you include should be professional.
  1. Your references. While references may be crucial later on, you should wait until the company asks for them. You do not want your references bothered over every potential position, only the ones where you are an actual candidate.
  1. Overlong explanations about a job loss or gap in employment. Most job losses do not need to be explained at all. You should be honest about gaps, but a short sentence is enough (“Moved to Los Angeles to care for a relative”).

It can be difficult to sift through content to know what is and what is not important. At Robin’s Resumes®, we know what to include and what to delete. Let us help you choose relevant information for a comprehensive application.

Your Resume Goals in College

Soon many of you will be starting or returning to college. Your first priority is to concentrate on your studies, but one of your other priorities should be looking ahead to when you join the workforce. This day may arrive earlier than you expect if you are working your way through college, taking required or independent internships, or hoping to serve as a teacher’s aide or laboratory assistant.

Regardless of how closely your current work (if any) relates to your future career, you want to start thinking about how you will present yourself as a valuable employee after you graduate college.

In terms of your resume, you should try to build credentials in the following areas:

  • Work Experience: If you can find employment that relates closely to your future career, grab it. However, any work experience is valuable because it shows your discipline, teamwork, and value to a previous employer.
  • Achievements: Keep track of your college achievements, especially completion of a presentation, practicum, thesis, or project related to your field. Also keep note of any awards or scholarships you receive. They help to differentiate you from the crowd of job applicants. Team projects are just as valuable as independent projects.
  • Leadership and Teamwork: Join and participate in a campus organization. Try for a position on a board, committee, or executive council, to hone and demonstrate your leadership skills.
  • Knowledge and Skills: Keep a list of the college courses that relate most directly to your future career. You want to show on your resume that you come with knowledge in your field and have met the educational requirements.
  • References and Referrals: Talk to your professors and your current employers. They are excellent sources of references and may also be excellent sources of referrals—if they know you.

When it is time to write your resume, remember that your college’s career office is focused on creating resumes for on-campus recruiters. In the wider world, those resumes are inadequate at best because they do not account for the hiring procedures at companies (such as the use of electronic Applicant Tracking Systems). Please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help with your resume.

The Ten Big Do Not’s of Resumes

This week’s blog is a list of resume Do Not’s. Next week we will list the big resume Do’s.

  1. Do not use the words “I” or “me” or “my”—they can be used in the cover letter, not in the resume.
  2. Do not lead with a goal in your resume (“to find a job that will engage my talents…”)— lead with a summary of your accomplishments and skills.
  3. Do not write your life story. You can summarize jobs that are more than 15 years old (“Earlier experience includes:”) and drop those that have no relevance at all (“delivered newspapers to local residents”).
  4. Do not give excuses for leaving a job (but if the company was bought out and you were retained for a while, you might want to mention that—it shows your value to the purchasing company).
  5. Do not worry about keeping to 1 page. As long as the information is relevant and tightly written, your resume can be 2 pages or more.
  6. Do not write your resume for “any job.” You aren’t qualified or interested in every job in the world and your job search becomes totally unwieldy if you search for anything and everything. Focus.
  7. Do not say “references on request.” It’s a waste of space.
  8. Do not give information about health, family, hobbies (unless they are relevant to the job), religion or politics (again, unless you’re apply for a job in a church or for a political organization).
  9. Do not proofread online; proofread on paper. Make sure you look especially for punctuation errors, inconsistencies, missing or duplicate words, and misspellings. Ask someone else to proofread if you can.
  10. And most important: Do not seek resume advice from every family member and friend. They will contradict themselves, and you will never finish.  At some point, your resume has to leave your house whether everyone approves or not.

So where do you find advice you can trust? At Robin’s Resumes® we have more than 12 years of experience, industry certifications, a BSChE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and national recognition (including speaking and teaching engagements). Contact us today.

“References on Request”

Modern resumes avoid stating the obvious, such as “references on request.” But sometime during the interview process, you will be asked to provide references. You need to prepare for that moment.

Do not rely on your current company or manager to give you a good reference. Many companies, in their fear of lawsuits, have prohibited their Human Resource department and managers from providing details on any employee’s performance.

  1. Make a list of both personal and professional references from among your friends, coworkers, vendors, suppliers, community contacts (for example, civic leaders), educational contacts (for example, professors) and similar sources. Leave family members off the list. You need a short list of perhaps three personal references and three professional references.
  2. Make sure the references are comfortable with referring you. Do not assume they are. Verify their contact information and their preferred method of being contacted (for example, some references may not want to receive phone calls at work).
  3. Give your references plenty of advance notice. A company might contact a reference without notifying you first.
  4. Send a copy of your resume to each reference person. You want to prepare your references to answer questions and to support you appropriately in the career you have chosen.
  5. Check out what your references are saying about you; you may be surprised. Be sure they speak positively of you. You can use a company such as Allison & Taylor  for checking what folks say about you online.
  6. Send references a thank you once your job search has ended, whether or not they were contacted by a company. Show your gratitude for their willingness to support your job search.

Like the companies you apply to, your references need a resume that is clear, accurate, and up-to-date and that highlights your achievements. To make sure your resume is fulfilling all those criteria, please email Robin’s Resumes®.

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