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References are one of the most important yet least understood aspects of a job search. Even the most experienced leaders can struggle to maintain a reliable list so that it’s ready when needed. It can also be a challenge to maintain relationships with references to ensure they are available and still willing to speak on one’s behalf.
We get it: Building and keeping a solid team of references isn’t easy. It requires steady attention, even when you’re not actively looking for a new position. Identifying and reaching out to potential references often involves awkward conversations with people you’ve worked with in the past. The simple question “Will you serve as a reference for me?” is fraught with complexity: Did they like working with me? Did they like my work enough to give me a glowing recommendation? If I’m uncertain what they might say, should I still use them? And finally, am I needlessly bothering or inconveniencing them if I ask them to be a reference?
Given these myriad considerations, our most essential piece of advice is to dedicate time and effort to contemplating, building, and maintaining your references before you need them. Don’t leave them to chance when you apply for a new role.
In this article, we’ll offer our recommendations for building and nurturing your references – a mix of what to do as well as what not to do.
Shining a Light on Your Capabilities
First, let’s consider the context of how employers use references. References are intended to shed light on your capabilities and professional demeanor in order to confirm that employer’s impression of you. Along with your resume/CV, interview performance, suitability for the role, and other factors, references are a puzzle piece employers use to create a holistic picture of you. Only rarely will a reference make or break your candidacy. Most often, your references confirm what an employer already suspects, provide nuance to your strengths or areas of need, or provide a unique perspective on you that might not otherwise have been considered.
Know that if you are a strong candidate, your references aren’t likely to change that. There are a few possible damaging scenarios, such as a reference disclosing information you should have revealed earlier or giving you an unflattering recommendation. The reference is to blame for neither of these situations; it is your job to ensure these issues don’t arise in the first place.
On that note, let’s get started with our advice:
Before Your Job Search
The really hard work of references comes well before you need them. Think of your reference list as something to cultivate as part of your ongoing professional activities, no different than maintaining your resume.
1. Be proactive — seize upon opportune times to add a reference to your list. While you can inquire about someone’s willingness to be a reference at any time, look for times in which that person is acutely aware of your work and value. Maybe you and a trusted colleague are having coffee and assessing your careers at a conference. Or you’ve just left a job and are emailing colleagues to thank them and wish them well. These can be good times to go one step further: “I value our relationship. Would you serve as a job reference for me?”
If you’re hoping to enlist the support of a reference but are not sure whether they’ll provide a strong recommendation, you might ask: “Would you be able to provide a positive recommendation for me?” It is an awkward question, we admit, but it gets the issue out there in the open. It gives the other person an out to say to you: “I valued your work but might not be able to provide the kind of recommendation you’re looking for.”
What not to do: Reach out to someone on a Friday night or Saturday morning as you’re preparing materials to send to an employer on Monday morning. Don’t make your urgent need their urgent problem, and don’t leave to chance that they’ll give you a strong testimonial.
2. Don’t feel like you’re inconveniencing someone. Remember that serving as a job reference is part of the professional contract we all abide by. Just as you would expect to serve as a reference for others, so will they be happy (even honored) to serve as your reference if you’ve built a strong relationship. The caveat, of course, is if you reach out to someone at the last minute and expect them to serve as a reference right away or, in some cases, to provide a written reference on short notice. (See item #1 above.)
3. Consider five the magic number. You should always have at the ready a current/former supervisor, current/former direct report, and at least three current or former colleagues. If you’ve worked for multiple institutions, or multiple departments or schools within a single institution, seek a variety of references from these experiences. All references from a single employer can raise a red flag and may be something you’ll want to explain when you submit them.
4. Choose judiciously. As we imply above, select references who are qualified to speak about you. These are people you’ve stayed in touch with or who know that you are keeping them as a reference and won’t be surprised if you reach out. Furthermore, select references who can speak to any issues — perceived or real — that might raise questions for the committee or hiring manager. For example, did you transition out of an administrative job and go back to the faculty? Ensure you identify someone who can speak to the transition and confirm it was not related to performance issues.
What not to do: Select a reference for their name, title, or reputation. As nice as it might seem to have a prominent person like the president or notable academic at your former institution as a reference, this strategy will backfire if they can’t speak in detail about who you are and the work you do. (If a noteworthy person in your field can offer an authentic reference for you, that’s great!)
5. Let the list evolve. At some point in your career, your early references (college professors, research supervisors, internship coordinators, or the manager of the restaurant where you bussed tables) give way to people who really know your most recent and important work. There’s something to be said for a reference who’s known you for 20 years, but only if that person can speak reliably on who you are today, how you’ve grown, and what you offer an employer. Always be on the lookout for someone to add to your reference list so you may omit the last person on your list (or keep them for break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situations).
6. Keep contact info and job titles up to date. Don’t provide a potential employer with an email address that’s no longer valid or an office phone number that goes to a main switchboard (get a direct office or cell number, instead).
7. Keep in touch. We don’t mean to suggest you have to send holiday cards and invite the reference to dinner every few months (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Your “relationship” could be as simple as you sending an email every couple of years saying, “Hi Jane! Hope all’s well. I’d like to schedule a call with you soon to catch up!” This will make the ask of “I’m checking in to see if you’re still comfortable with me listing you as a reference as I might be ready for my next career step” go a lot farther. A short text or email is usually all you need to keep a reference engaged and on your side. We both have references whom we only touch base with occasionally but know that their ability to serve as a reference is rock solid.
During Your Job Search
1. See if they’re available. Your references are busy human beings with their own lives and challenges. Any of them might be on a trip abroad, dealing with a family crisis, or just swamped with their own work. The earlier in the job search process (even before you apply or as you are submitting applications) you can reach out to your full list to gauge their availability, the better.
What Not to Do: Leave references’ availability to chance. We’ve had good candidates submit reference lists where the first few people were not available to speak. This leaves a negative impression that can be hard, though not impossible, to overcome.
2. Bring them up to speed. Give your references a sense of why you’re interested in a job and employer and how it fits into your career and personal goals. Get on the phone with them if need be. Send them the leadership profile or job specification. This will be essential background for them to speak knowledgeably about how your past work and professional qualities will align with this future opportunity.
Let them know who will contact them and approximately when. For a job opening for which a search firm is involved, expect one of their consultants to contact your references. When a search firm is not involved, the hiring manager or a talent acquisition professional from the employer will typically reach out. You’ll want to inquire about this so you can help your reference know what to expect. Some institutions also utilize a skills evaluation survey that is sent to references you list. If this is the case, make sure to let your reference know and also have that correct email!
3. Ask them to be positive but honest. You want your references to speak about you in glowing terms, but let them know they can also discuss areas of need or things that you can continue to work on. No search consultant or hiring manager just wants to hear sunny proclamations from your cheer squad; they’ll assume the references aren’t being candid.
4. Follow up! It’s so simple but it needs to be said: whether you get the job or not, send a note to each of the references you tapped to thank them and let them know the outcome. This will ensure they feel respected and will want to speak for you again in the future. It also gives you a chance to see if there was anything that surprised them: Did the search consultant or employer ask a lot of questions about one quality or qualification? Were there any inappropriate questions or general lack of professionalism that might give you pause about a potential employer?
Also, remember: Show your gratitude even if a reference wasn’t contacted, just to let them know you appreciate their willingness.
Building and keeping your reference list requires intentional effort over many years. Done proactively, you can maintain your reference list in the natural course of staying in touch with important people in your career who want to know how you’re doing and are happy to support your continued advancement.
