When you’re applying for a job and you’re asked to provide references, it’s easy to just throw on a couple of old bosses or coworkers and call it a day. However, as Redditor Deactivation notes, you might want to have a friend call those people up to see what they really think about you first.
Picture: Daniel Lobo/Flickr
Obviously, you still want to keep in touch with your referees, but if you’re using an old boss or a coworker you don’t see much, you might want to give them a test run. Deactivation explains:
Pretty straight forward. I’ve hired around 60 people a year for the last 4 years, and you would not believe how many bad references I get. Obviously if someone gives a bad reference, you are pretty much disqualified for the job.
So before you even consider putting them on your resume, have a friend call and ask for a reference to find out what past employers really think about you. Some people are arseholes.
Of course, it’s not just for making sure your referees don’t secretly hate you, it’s also to see if they make good interviewees. Sometimes, you might think a coworker will give you an amazing review, but when the time actually comes, they don’t really have that much to say.
You always want to let a person know when you’re going to list them, but if you’re struggling to pick who would work best this is a way to weed out the bad ones. After all, if you’re going to practise for an interview, you might as well give your references a chance to practise too.
LPT: Have a friend call your references on your resume before using them as references. [Reddit]
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