"References on Request"

Getting there

So I have just sent my cv on to a family friend who works in a business which I want to get some experience in. She asked to just send on my cv so I updated it and sent it.

Only now I realise that I didnt have any refs on it and just said I had them if they needed them. How bad is this? I remember hearing that this is generally frowned upon by companies as its so vague and as if you dont actually have any.

I do have 2/3 good referees but who are academic so they would be very busy. Is it necessary to inform of every time I send out a cv?

Thanks!

seamus

If all of your references are academic, then there's no harm putting them on the CV - it can't hurt.

There's no need to tell your references every time you send out a CV, just contact to let them know that you're job hunting and ask them if they would be happy to serve as a reference on your CV. Then they know to expect phone calls.

When you're working and jobhunting, the new company will want a reference off your most recent employer. To avoid the risk of a company ringing your current employer for a reference before they've offered you the job, you would always put "References available upon request" at the end of your CV.

Getting there

Thanks for that!

I was worried I had a made a huge cv faux pas!

ok now the waiting begins....

mikemac

Sorry for the hijack, how many references do you require?

Like I could provide my current employer and there over 4 years.
But I'm struggling to think of a second reference, my college lecturer won't remember me and realy I was in my last job for so long

Is one reference ok?

axer

feelingstressed wrote: »

Sorry for the hijack, how many references do you require?

Like I could provide my current employer and there over 4 years.
But I'm struggling to think of a second reference, my college lecturer won't remember me and realy I was in my last job for so long

Is one reference ok?

If you are in your current job 4 years I doubt a reference before that would be of much value. I would leave it as seamus said and then if the hirer asks for references you can ask him/her if they want any older than 4 years but I doubt anyone would.

Eoin

I never, ever list my referees on my CV.

fitzer1982

I never put them on my CV and I've not had any problems in the past.

Sue Rocks

I don't list them I just have 3 written references that I send in if asked, it might be just my view but sending in a written reference has always seemed to work to my advantage in the past

tenchi-fan

I usually write "referees:
Person One, position, Company
Person Two, position, Company
I will be happy to provide contact details of the above or any of my previous employers on request."

It shows you are open, and there are obvious reasons why you would not want to include contact details before the interview stage.

chappy

Wouldn't be too worried about having the references on your cv but any company I've worked for requires a minimum of 2 reference checks in a persons file before they can be seriously considered for a position.

This is partly because if there is only one ref it could be a friend in the company,etc and not a true reflection

Dave!

I thought it was pretty standard nowadays to put "references on request" (or something similar) on your CV?

That's what I do anyway

Sue Rocks

Is anyone an employer and has actually contacted someones "referees" before? I wonder is it actually done much in Ireland?

Trashbat

Be very careful about supplying references to prospectice employers, and more so recruitment agencies.

A company should only contact your references once an offer has been made, thus the only real purpose of references is to verify employment if a mandatory period of experience is required for the applicable role.

I have had problems where I supplied references to a company who use a recruitment agency on a full time basis in their premises. I worked there for 2 years and they decided to "upgrade their records" 6 months after i'd left. Realising they'd never rung my references in the first place, decided to do so a full 30 months after i began my employment with them. They did not obtain my consent, thus people i used as references 2 and a half years ago received unsolicited phone calls. One of these references has a business relationship with my current employer, which could have damaged my career had he not checked with me first.

I went mental, but ultimately there is nothing i could do other than scare some half-wit recruitment consultant.

So not only should you not supply references freely, but you should also be very clear about the consent you are giving to prospective employers when it comes to contacting them. No decent company will look down on you for caring about data protection and best practice.

chappy

Sue Rocks wrote: »

Is anyone an employer and has actually contacted someones "referees" before? I wonder is it actually done much in Ireland?

I would recruit for my company.If we have brought somebody in for an interview and are considering them for the position.It is mandatory for us to have 2 full reference checks done before we can make an offer to the person

Sue Rocks

chappy wrote: »

I would recruit for my company.If we have brought somebody in for an interview and are considering them for the position.It is mandatory for us to have 2 full reference checks done before we can make an offer to the person

Hey chappy. Do you accept written references or would you ring the referees anyway?

Eoin

Written references are close to useless IMO.

chappy

Generally we would ring them as well.Written references are more about what they don't say.It is not acceptable to give a bad written reference.So if somebody gives a written reference saying a person worked from this date to this date doing these tasks it normally means they weren't very good.

We have specific questions to ask referees and a lot of them would be mark the person 1-5 on a certain criteria.It is much more informative then a written reference.

seamus

Insisting on telephone references does present a problem for employees obviously if they have been employed in a single place for a good amount of time. I've been in my current position, for example, for 4 years. The last place gave me a good written reference when I left.

If it wasn't for the fact that I have my previous boss on linkedin, I wouldn't have a clue where he is now or how to contact him. So if I were to give the name of some HR bod in my previous employer, he/she would just give stock answers and provide a poorer reference than my written one.

Even if an employer were to ring my previous boss now, 4 years later, he would probably be fairly sketchy on the specifics of my employment and wouldn't be able to give the same quality of reference that he wrote down 4 years ago.

Obviously it is hard from both sides; there's little to stop someone from grabbing a roll of company headed paper on their way out the door and typing up their own glowing reference, making it look all official. But likewise, there's little to stop someone fro using a mate to give a false telephone reference.

murphym7

No problem at all putting down References on request - its pretty standard and we see it a lot, it does not reflect badly on a candidate.

We would not consider for a second making an offer unless we had done the refrence check though.

starfish12

Written references are only useful if you intend on working whilst backpacking abroad. Soem agencies in Australia for instance will accept them as its easier than contacting Ireland, and the jobs are generally short term.

We don't accept written references in any of our recruitment processes in the co I work for, and indeed in previous jobs.

Chappy is right - they are more about what they don't say! And indeed are often offered by candidates who don't want us to speak to their employer as they've generally omitted or exaggerated certain sections on their CVs!!!!

Any good HR or recruiter has no problem with 'references on request' as they are totally aware of sensitivites surrounding people moving jobs etc. however it is annoying when after a long recruitment process we can't actually make contact with a candidates referees. Its always a good idea to ensure you can reach an appropriate person for a reference before you apply for a particular job rather than panicking at the end when asked for phone numbers etc!

starfish12

Seamus, recruiters will always do a background check on the company to ensure we arent talking to someones mate!!!!!! You wouldnt believe what some people think they can get away with! I've even had a conversation with someones 'referee' and after 3 mins was fairly sure it was their mother!!!!!

we'll only accept landlines and an email address - then schedule a time for the call over email to ensure we really are getting the right person, you can't be too careful