Most resumes use the reference statement instead of the listing. This is a highly accepted and common practice in modern resume writing for the following three reasons:
- many people believe that contacting resume references will automatically produce good recommendations, or else those names would not have been used in the first place;
- resume references are generally not consulted by prospective employers until after a successful interview, and at that point job applicants may be asked to provide a specific list of references;
- formal application blanks may ask you to list a number of job references.
Although using a reference statement is now acceptable, you may still list specific names when it is to your advantage. One such situation for listing names occurs when the names, positions, or organizations of your references are impressive and carry weight in the minds of the readers. Using well-known or highly respected references may enhance the employer's interest in your job credentials, even before such references are actually consulted. A reader may say to himself, "If John recommends this guy, he's got to be good!" or "Anyone who can last with Wicket and Wicket for five years and get a recommendation from the boss there has got to be worth his weight in gold and is certainly worth meeting." Highly influential or impressive references should be proudly displayed in your resume, for the names themselves will help sell.
Employment representatives are more interested in "capability references" from bosses on the job or professors in school than in pure "character or personality references" from personal friends or social acquaintances. Of course, a reputable boss or professor giving you a combination capability/character reference is one you do not want to pass up. Resume readers naturally take greater stock in recommendations from people who can speak with authority and from experience about you by virtue of their close working or supervisory relationship. Yet a strong character or general capability reference from some prestigious personal friend or social acquaintance may certainly help. A reference from a congressional representative, senator, top-level executive, or educator who likes and respects you should definitely be considered. An example of a very powerful "prestige reference" would be an executive in the firm you are interested in working for, an influential supplier of the firm, or an important buyer of the firm's products.
You are the only person who can ultimately determine the salability of a listed reference in your resume, who to use is ultimately your choice. If you feel the resume reference is justified, use it. In addition to listing names for their sales power, you may want to list names to fill up a page of a short resume that needs filler copy,
Whether or not you list references directly in the resume, you may have to present them at some other time during the job-search process. Therefore, gathering good job references is an important part of your responsibilities. In a large-scale job search, you can avoid overusing a small number of references by getting permission from several people, perhaps ten or twelve, who would be willing to lend their names to your campaigns. Rotate through your reference list so that all references are used a minimal part of the time. This larger and hopefully more diversified list also allows you to custom-tailor your references for the various types of jobs being considered. If your resume does not have names listed but has the reference statement instead, be certain to carry your list with you to interviews,
Never use the name of a person for a reference unless you first receive express permission to do so. In addition, request permission from only those people who you are absolutely certain will give you the highest possible testimony. Jobs have been lost because of the failure of applicants to solicit prior permission from people listed as references or because chosen references failed to be highly complementary. Remember, employment representatives expect that you will use those people who like and respect you. Therefore, when a negative or qualified recommendation is given, your entire case may be lost. Be especially selective in choosing only the best and discarding the rest.
A simple technique can be used to improve the quality of your recommendations. Give copies of your resumes to people agreeing to be your job references. The fact is that often those people who agree to give you references may recall very little about your specific accomplishments. They may know only about some limited area of your work and cannot comment or give opinions about other aspects of your work. Reading your resume will help them to recall what they know about you and, in addition, will help to raise their opinion about you in general.
Many college and university Offices of Career Planning and Placement provide free employment services to graduating students and alumni. One such service involves the filing and mailing of job reference letters. You can make arrangements with the director of your Office of Career Planning and Placement to maintain a file of letters and to have this file sent to prospective employers upon your request.
Once arrangements for such a file are made, select several people to write references and have them mail their letters directly to the director. In such cases, the references should be tailored to the specific occupation you are seeking and could be introduced in any of the following ways:
- Dear Mr. (Name of director of Office of Career Planning and Placement):
- Dear Prospective Employer:
- To Whom It May Concern:
- (Use Subject Line Instead of Salutation, such as ''RECOMMENDATION FOR THOMAS R. SMITH")
When letters of reference are requested by prospective employers, you may then contact your college and have your file sent directly. The obvious advantage of this procedure and service is to minimize the number of times each person giving a reference must prepare and mail out letters for you. Most employers should accept your file sent directly by the director of the Office of Career Planning and Placement in lieu of personally prepared letters. If an employer receiving such a file still desires personal letters of recommendation, you may then request that your references send personal letters.
