Who Should You Use as a Reference?

Recently, one of my coaching clients reached the final stages of a lengthy interview process. After being informed that he was likely to be extended an offer, he was asked to provide professional references before his new employer would formally deliver an offer letter. Even stranger, this employer asked to speak to someone from my client’s present company, a very abnormal request indeed! Fortunately, my client felt comfortable with these requests and was happy to provide all the necessary material. In fact, using his present company as a reference worked like an unintended counter-offer, and my client was offered a raise and promotion if he’d reconsider moving on.

A happy ending, but my my, what a risky decision! We strongly recommend against using present employers as references if at all possible, especially before an offer is made. A company’s response is simply too unpredictable, especially if they were unaware that you’ve applied for employment elsewhere. And if your application does not ultimately result in an offer, you might find yourself stuck on a burning bridge.

The above situation is certainly an unusual one, but it forces us to ask a vital question: If we should avoid using individuals at our present company as references, well, who should we ask?

We touched on this topic last year in the blog, “Gathering References Professionally,” which focused less on who we should seek references from and more on how we should go about seeking that reference. That said, the following tidbit of information remains extremely relevant:

“Whenever leaving an organization, or when your time there seems to be approaching its end, reach out to mentors, peers, or managers to ask if you can use them as future references.” 

This is not only evergreen advice, but it helps clarify today’s question. When you are currently employed by a company, the individuals therein —no matter the nature of your relationships with them— must act as emissaries of the company itself. Only once your business relationship with an employer has ended can your former superiors and colleagues revert back to what you need them to be: individuals you’ve forged relationships with. 

The best references are carefully-selected colleagues who can speak to certain strengths or aspects of your character. Unencumbered by their responsibility to a shared employer, your relationship with a manager, for instance, may prove a fruitful reference for demonstrating your dependability. And a trusted former colleague may have something insightful to say about your character, or about how you navigate a team environment. 

We want to use our references to further prove whatever thesis we’ve argued about ourselves with our resumés, cover letters, and interviews. Ideally, your professional references are A) as current as possible, B) a mix of individuals with different hierarchical relationships to yourself, and C) likely to speak to the specific qualifications you’ve laid out in your application process. 

You can probably imagine the stress of trying to whittle down a list of such individuals from a company you currently work for. However, it’s not impossible. You will always have the best sense of whether your relationship with a current colleague might supersede the kinds of corporate responsibilities we previously mentioned. Talk to individuals at your current employers if and only if you have a strong sense of how your company will react to the news of your searching for a position elsewhere. Regardless, this all just further highlights the need (as everything seems to) for preparation.

Make sure that before embarking on a serious job search, you have a list of references already compiled. We have seen candidates battling through serious interview processes suddenly scramble trying to gather references. It happens prior to and after receiving offers, and it is never pretty. Be warned: most offers are contingent upon reference checks. Make sure to have yours up to date. 

And with this, make sure your references expect to receive communications from prospective employers. You should have previously spoken with these references, making sure to discuss the best way to reach them and at what time of day. Inform them of who exactly will be contacting them as soon as you yourself know. Not only is this ethically the right thing to do, but having all this information ready, and having your references prepared as well, is a quiet but powerful reminder of your professionalism. 

Finding quality references will definitely be harder in certain situations: Towards the beginning of one’s career, for instance, or should your tenure with a previous employer end negatively. But transparency is the best antidote for such situations. We’ve discussed navigating these types of situations in an earlier blog, “Discussing Difficult Career Questions.”

If you’re still having trouble sourcing references, reach out to me, Nancy, at www.idealinterviewco.com/contact or on LinkedIn today!