Do you put your referees on your CV?

Problem Of Motivation

I would have thought it standard advice is to put "available at request" so that your referees aren't constantly getting phone calls. But recently I had one guy tell me that I should choose the referee most relevant to the job spec, and put that on the version of the CV being sent to such an application.

I get the impression that these career advice gurus seem to change their mind on this one.

OMM 0000

No, put "Referees available upon request".

Slippin Jimmy

I'd be the same. I will only give the details once I have given my referee the heads up and get their permission.

skallywag

Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, make sure that any referee that you name is going to sing your praises.

BailMeOut

...and to add, make sure your reference agrees to be a reference before giving out their name to anyone!

irishgrover

skallywag wrote: »

Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, make sure that any referee that you name is going to sing your praises.

I occasionally get a phone call from someone looking to get a reference from an ex member of my team, who has not had the good manners to tell me to expect it in advance.
People should not do this.

anacc

Absolutely not. I will only give reference contact if I’m asked to, and I’d make sure I speak with that contact beforehand.

skallywag

irishgrover wrote: »

I occasionally get a phone call from someone looking to get a reference from an ex member of my team, who has not had the good manners to tell me to expect it in advance.
People should not do this.

I have also called referees who have made it very clear that they would not vouch for the candidate!

seannash

skallywag wrote: »

I have also called referees who have made it very clear that they would not vouch for the candidate!

Could be wrong but aren't they only really allowed to say if they are eligible for rehire within the company and if they were punctual.
Ive always been told thats all they can divulge

irishgrover

seannash wrote: »

Could be wrong but aren't they only really allowed to say if they are eligible for rehire within the company and if they were punctual.
Ive always been told thats all they can divulge

One can very easily read between the lines with regards to the level of enthusiasm displayed by the person answering the questions.

seannash

irishgrover wrote: »

One can very easily read between the lines with regards to the level of enthusiasm displayed by the person answering the questions.

Ah well yeah but the comment was that they made it very clear they wouldn't vouch for them.
It made it wound like the previous employer hung them out to dry.

skallywag

seannash wrote: »

Ah well yeah but the comment was that they made it very clear they wouldn't vouch for them.
It made it wound like the previous employer hung them out to dry.

I knew within about 30 seconds that this guy was clearly not recommending him, even though he did not say it explicitly.

You are right, most referees will take care in this day and age with such responses, but it is still very easy to send out a signal that you would not recommend the person.

In any case my last question is always 'Would you hire this person again', the answer to which will generally tell you all you need to know.

Rikand

Including your referees takes up valuable space on your CV that could be used to sell yourself even more.

Referees available on request is what you should put on there

solidasarock

Referees available on request. Always.

If they force me to do it ala a online application that wont let me submit until I add a reference I will add someone but with a fake number, that way when they actually contact them I can give them the real number when they actually want to contact them.

Most jobs will contact you before they ask for a reference but one joker during the downturn contacted one of mine without telling me and giving me a chance to give the reference a heads up to expect a call and it soured me on giving out others contact info until I know its going to be used.

skallywag

solidasarock wrote: »

Most jobs will contact you before they ask for a reference but one joker during the downturn contacted one of mine without telling me and giving me a chance to give the reference a heads up to expect a call and it soured me on giving out others contact info until I know its going to be used.

You are right, that is completely unprofessional. Even if you name a referee directly on your CV you should always be given a heads-up before any contact actually happens.

Jim2007

seannash wrote: »

Could be wrong but aren't they only really allowed to say if they are eligible for rehire within the company and if they were punctual.
Ive always been told thats all they can divulge

These days you should say absolutely nothing without the permission of the candidate and verifying the person you are speaking to. It is a privacy issue.

Jim2007

OMM 0000 wrote: »

No, put "Referees available upon request".

Actually I put: "Referees will be provided once a mutual interest has been established"