Qualifying Your References: Are they Champions or Saboteurs?
References can be your greatest asset; they can cite times when you rose to the occasion such as when you solved problems threatening a high-profile project, were sensitive to the fears of staff during organisational change, or when the perfect solution you executed made lost documentation a distant memory.
Your references provide the insight into your character, personality, problem-solving abilities and integrity; they can sway decision makers and advance your candidacy.
References can also stop your candidacy for the job of your dreams in its tracks. The same people who have been there for your greatest achievements, have often seen the skeletons in the closet too, and if they are nervous or unfocused, may end up being the saboteur rather than champion.
In many cases, reference sabotage is an unintended consequence of enthusiasm and nervousness; people want to do well, appear friendly and reveal your most endearing qualities and performance examples. Others still may take the responsibility of providing testimonials very seriously and intend to provide a completely balanced view of you —warts ’n all!
To weed the champions from the saboteurs you need to do some preparatory work:
- Intiate contact. This will reveal how many people have changed telephone numbers or are no longer at the workplace. By finding this out and tracking down the person’s new contact details you have earned “brownie points” by saving the decision maker from a frustrating, time-consuming task.
- Ask if you can meet, or if the reference has time for a chat. Describe the job for which you’re being shortlisted and how you hope he or she will respond. Be clear about what the employer is looking for and provide your reference with a verbal nudge of your achievements. Say things like “Remember when we worked together on the ABC project? I’m not sure if you remember, but if you recall, it was me that came up with that solution…”
- Ask if your reference is keen to speak on your behalf. You have assumed the individual is a good choice, but perhaps you have made an incorrect assumption. Listen to his or her tone. Do you note a certain reluctance? If so, continue to be friendly and chatty and remove that name from your reference list at the first chance. This reference is an unknown quantity and one whom you cannot place your complete confidence.
- Ask your reference if he or she has any concerns about questions that may be asked for which there may not be a positive response. Continue to be open and friendly, show gratitude and express thanks. Then remove that name from your reference list. If the person can immediately come up with a negative example, this may not bode well for your candidacy.
Placing faith that your references will do the right thing by you, is like closing your eyes and jumping into the water below.
You cannot control everything and you can’t stop people saying the wrong thing… but a small amount of effort expended on your part may be able to separate the champions from the saboteurs.
Isn’t your dream job worth spending a few moments to find out?
Tags: Communications