Update Your References

Update Your References

When it’s time to update that resume for a new position, don’t forget to update your references also. Just because someone agreed to be a reference years ago doesn’t mean they should still be on your list, especially if you haven’t kept in touch with them.

A former co-worker, a temporary co-worker at that, once called me after I’d started my own business. He was interested in starting his own business also, and wanted to pick my brain for information. I hadn’t worked that closely with them; he was in accounting, and I was in credit, but that wasn’t particularly relevant at the time. We met for coffee, and discussed various aspects of starting a business in our field.

Over the next year, I heard from him once or twice. He was having problems getting his business off the ground. I commiserated with him and offered suggestions. After a year, he decided to look for a job, and asked if I’d be a reference. I hesitated because we hadn’t worked together much, but remembered enough about our days working for the same company to agree to provide a reference should someone call.

And that was the end of that. Imagine my surprise when an employer called me two years later asking about someone I couldn’t offer any specific information on. What did I really know about the applicant? That he couldn’t get his business off the ground, where mine was keeping me busy? That I hadn’t heard from him in two years and had no idea what he’d been up to? After all that time, I couldn’t offer much in the way of his past work performance either.

I’m certain the employer did not get a positive impression from my inability to respond to her questions.

Have you kept in touch with your references? Do they know you well, know your strengths and weaknesses, how you work, can they recommend you, can they attest to your outstanding work ethic and character? They could be asked these questions, and if they barely knew you once upon a time, their hesitation when asked is not going to help your prospects.

Check in with your references. Find new references who can speak about you positively and without hesitation, without trying to remember who you were once upon a time. Don’t assume that the reference list is only a formality and won’t be checked. Assume that every person on it will be asked in-depth, probing questions about you, and have confidence that these questions will be answered as you would want them answered.