Don't, however, include anyone on your list of references who hasn't been contacted personally by you and when permission to use him or her. In fact, because job seekers should do everything possible to improve their ids by anticipating every potential hitch in the job-hunting process, I suggest you "prep" your references to whatever extent possible. It depends, of course, on the relationship you have with them, but because you've chosen these individuals, you obviously are on good terms with them. (Maybe I shouldn't be so certain about that.
Years ago, I was about to hire a mailroom clerk. He had his mother as his only reference. I called her, and she said, "Maybe if he gets a good job he'll straighten out."
It pays to give those former employers whom you chosen as reference a copy of the resume that has you submitted to your prospective new employers. Discuss the resume with your references; you might have eluded an item that doesn't match up with the way one of them remembers things. Straighten out those different before that item is raised by the person who has interviewed you, who might come away with the feeling that you've stretched the truth.
At the same time, it's worth your while to draw a list of all the potential questions that you anticipate being asked during your interview. Supply to your references the general sort of answers you'll be giving. For stance, the interviewer might ask you how long you worked at a former job. If your answer is six years, that particular reference know that you'll be using the number. It really isn't fair to expect an employer of many years ago to recall with total accuracy the details of your employment, especially if this is someone who has moved on. Of course, the personnel department of your previous employers won't have much trouble in resurrecting details. It's also possible that your recollection about certain events and specifics is faulty. Better to be in sync with your reference than to have such discrepancies emerge during a reference check.
You might be asked why you left a former job whether you got along well with your co-worker, whether you left on good terms. By advising your reference of the answers you'll give to these questions, you' taken yet another step toward improving your odds being hired.
Be selective when supplying a list of references. Make sure the employer is sincerely interested in you before you hand it out. If references are called too many times, they tend to become apathetic and less enthusiastic, night even be annoyed at a large number of intrusions into their working day.
When choosing a reference, make sure you settle on those people who are likely to give you an enthusiastic me. A reference given for reference's sake will do nothing o advance your cause.
A standard line on the bottom of resumes is "references available upon request." I recommend leaving that line off. It accomplishes nothing; any employer assumes here will be references to check. By including it, you add m unnecessary line that only diverts attention from the most important part of your resume-your achievements.
There are basically two types of resume. One is functional, the other chronological.
For most people who have had a relatively continuous track of employment, the chronological approach makes the most sense. It should begin with your most recent employment, which, hopefully, is ongoing. If isn't, too many out-of-work job seekers seem compelled indicate the reason they are not currently employed wouldn't do that.
Nothing is to be gained, and much is be lost.
Here are a few of hundreds of "reasons for leaving" in resumes in my files:
"Married my boss."
"I never had one job longer than six months due to emotional instability and being in trouble with the law. I wed quite frequently."
"My employer and his wife were murdered."
"Want to live near the sea."
"Boss was a sadist."
"My boss was nice in the morning, but after drinking "lunch he was unbearable."
"Fired, fired, fired."
"Quit, quit, quit."
I've been writing up to this point about the chronological resume something that most people are comfortable with and that suits their needs. For some, however, the functional resume is more effective.
A functional resume should be used by anyone who has long gaps in his or her employment history, or someone looking to change careers. A housewife looking to enter the workplace after years of raising children obviously cannot list a long chronology of job experience. In that case, it's better to focus on what work experience has existed, no matter how far in the past, and to highlight skills and knowledge rather than a list of one so-called better job after another.
Hiring professionals are skilled, however, at picking up those functional resumes written by people who have to take that approach because their employment record is spotty and/or filled with gaps that reflect unfavorably upon them. A functional resume does not begin with the name of a company and the dates employed. It starts with skills and knowledge, and the firms with who those skills and knowledge might have been gained are secondary. Dates are not important in a functional resume. People, who have been gainfully employed for many years but are looking to make a dramatic change in their careers, often use a combination of the chronological are functional resumes. If an accountant who has spent fifteen years in his profession wishes to become a taxide mist, his accounting experience has little impact upon his chances of finding a job in a new and unrelated profession. If, however, that same accountant has been practicing taxidermy as a hobby for years, he can weave this information into a resume that also indicates his solid work record in the profession he wishes to leave.
If you use a functional resume, keep in mind that it by its very nature often raises doubts in the minds of employers about whether something is being hidden. That's why it's vitally important that the material on be straightforward, clearly indicating what you've done with your life. For the housewife looking to reenter the workplace, a functional resume should indicate that you devoted a number of years to raising your children. You can also touch upon the volunteer work you did that ha applicability to the job you're seeking. The same for college courses you took, free-lance work you performed, an anything else that enhances your credentials to the person who is reading your resume, and who must judge whether you're someone worth hiring.
