Interviewing: Steps for the care and feeding of your references
Posted by Diana Needham on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
The care and feeding of references has taken on greater importance in today’s market.
It is not enough to have identified those who you respect and who know your work well. You must ensure that they are true assets in this key process. As reported recently in The Wall Street Journal, your chances of getting a job will be enhanced if you go the extra mile in preparing them. How do you do that?
First look for not only references but “endorsers”, those who can provide a strong testimonial to the quality of your work and your work ethics.
Then cultivate those relationships. Make sure they are informed about the kinds of positions you are looking for and your interview activity. Let them know how much you appreciate their support and help. Hiring managers and companies can be very picky during the evaluation of candidates and having strong endorsers in your corner is critical.
Don’t merely ask them to serve as references and leave them in the dark as to what is coming up. Prepare them for the call they may receive. Think about what you want to get across to the hiring manager and the the image you want to portray, and prepare your references to speak to that. For example if you learned in the interview that the position is one that is heavily engaged on project teams, you’ll want your endorsers to speak to your interpersonal skills, collaboration ability, and dependability.
Prepare your references for the tough questions that may come up. How do you want them to respond to the question “What are the areas for development”? If the position requires a skill that is not your strongest suit and you know it is important to the hiring manager, figure out what your references can share that will counter-balance that. If the role requires experience with a specific project management software that you have never used, what do you want them to say if asked about your technical project management abilities? your ability to quickly learn and master new applications and systems?
Remember it is not enough to merely let your references know they may receive a call. Prepare them in advance, not only so they are comfortable that they know what is coming but so they can support you across the finish line on this new journey. They are vital to your success.
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