So you’ve completed the first round of interviews – and perhaps the second – with flying colors towards that cherished new job. At this point, a prospective employer will begin to check the quality of your references and recommendations from previous employers, and these recommendations can make or break your prospects.
Have you done your due diligence in ensuring that they will be an asset, not an albatross, to your job application?
Allison & Taylor Inc., a professional reference-checking firm, reports that approximately 50% of the references they check receive an assessment of ‘mediocre’ to ‘poor’. This surprising statistic shows that it’s very possible that the great job you lost out on at the last moment had nothing to do with your lack of skills or being overqualified. it could have had more to do with what one of your references or past employers said about you. If you are concerned that someone, somewhere, might be giving you a less-than-stellar review, there’s a one-in-two chance that you’re right. That’s a frightening percentage when your livelihood is at stake.
It’s in your best interest, therefore, to take control of your career momentum by finding out precisely what each of your potential references will say about you; then you can pass on your best references with greater confidence. Reference checking also provides the opportunity to prevent your negative references from offering up negative commentary about you.
Over the next few posts we’ll discuss ten winning ways to utilize your references: