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You are so excited. You just found out you are one of the top three candidates for an excellent position at an outstanding and dynamic company. This is an important career move for you and you need this new job. But…now they need a list of your references. Who should you put down? You can barely remember any of your past supervisors.
As you achieve higher levels of success, you will find yourself competing more and more with highly qualified men. You need to take the extra steps to insure you will stand out from the crowd. You can not afford to leave any stone unturned. Many of us spend all of our time and energy putting together nice resumes and preparing for good interviews, but sometimes we neglect an important part of the entire picture we are presenting to our potential employer – the list of references. The feedback received from your list will "make you or break you" in the final selection process.
Most employers prefer a list of your previous supervisors. Since many managers are aggressively pursuing their careers, they may move from job to job. Therefore, it is very important to keep the contacts on your list updated with current information. Do you have their most recent phone number, company name and position? At the minimum you need to call everyone on your list and make sure they are all still reachable at the same number. It would be very embarrassing if your potential employer received an old number. Ideally, it is preferable to maintain continuous contact with your key references. Give them a call every couple of years to maintain contact and ask them to contact you if their position changes. These short, informal calls will keep you in the forefront of your previous supervisor's mind.
Prior to releasing your list of references, call all your contacts and alert them to the possibility of a call from your potential employer. Give them the name of the person who will call along with the name of their company and their position. Briefly describe the position you are applying for including the specific qualifications the interviewing company is looking for and help your contacts formulate some good, solid comments catered specifically toward the position you are interviewing for. Never leave anything to chance. Take these extra steps with your list of references and you will insure effective comments that will propel you to the top.
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