Overall, I'm not the biggest fan of references as a way to make an offer to a candidate. In my experience as a recruiter I have only had a handful of people give me references that were negative. And honestly, I question the candidate's judgment more for giving me a name of someone that turns out to be a bad reference. They should know better.
References were once a way to learn more about a person's background outside of what they told you in an interview. Now, with some many legalities involved, it's nearly impossible to get some quality information about the candidate.
So here's some tips about how to get the best out of your references when they talk to the company/facility you are interviewing with:
The reference must know who you are. Believe it or not, this happens. Nothing is worse than calling a reference and having them question who you are. Even if it was only for a brief time, give the name of someone who you worked closely with or immediately under.
Call them before the HR Rep or Recruiter will call. This is probably the most important tip I can give, and yet so few people actually do this. It helps you control the information about what they say. Simply tell your reference: "I have applied for a job and the recruiter will be calling you today to ask some questions, and I would appreciate your help." Added tip: give them information about the job and ask them to relate past experiences that would help show your abilities in that frame of reference. Also, ask them to call back ASAP because sometimes the recruiter is under a time crunch and its' hard to wait for call-backs that can take a week or more sometimes.
Professional is best. I trust that your uncle, cousin, pastor, scoutmaster and the parents of the kids you babysat for are going to say great things about you. That's a given. But what really helps me is to know how you react in stressful situations in a work environment. That's what my clients want to know. How did you add value to the organization? Personal references most of the time can't answer those kinds of questions from a first hand experience.
So, if you work these 3 tips you have a chance of really knocking the recruiters socks off. And if you are in a competitive situation with another candidate, this just might be the thing that makes the organization go in your favor. Good luck!
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