Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The best reference: A friend that you trust who you know will say nothing but positive things about you, but have him pretend that he is your former supervisor. Just put down his cell phone number on the application and say that the number belongs to your old boss.
Or you could keep a good relationship with your bosses so that you can use them without having to lie. If a person has to lie to get a job, that person is doing something very wrong with their career management.
I'll add that bosses are tricky because if you are looking for a job and still working, you are not going to use your current boss unless your last name is imbecile.
A trick I've used is using peers whom have moved on to other companies or other offices within the same company whom I can trust.
Another reason references are utterly useless other than to prove that you are not completely incompetent.
When you have to give references, who do you normally use? Old bosses? Peers? People that worked under you? People from school? Personal (if it's allowed)? Do you have a mix that you think is best?
I like to see a mix when hiring. I place a lot of value on both productivity and teamwork, so having a good peer reference is a solid plus in my book, and the ex-supervisor/manager references go a long way.
And, be very, very, wary of the fake reference. I catch about 10-20% of applicants doing this and it's an automatic DQ - even if they were the best qualified. I'd much rather see someone fluff their past duties/responsibilities than try to fake a reference. They're super easy to catch.
Follow-up questions for those of you with hiring experience.
If you are hiring someone for a management position, do you like references from people who worked under them and can speak to their management style? Or would you rather hear from supervisors on this?
Is there a standard amount of time you want the applicant to have worked with the reference?
Eh, direct report feedback is OK, not a real game changer in my book. It certainly can't hurt, but it's not going to help a ton. I'd rather see their manager's take on it, along with a peer.
Personally, I look for 2-3 years in terms of experience time for a reference to be strong.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
