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You make it through the final interview with flying colors. The hiring manager all but offers you the job, but needs a few days to check references and complete paperwork before making you an offer. Then, silence. You never hear from him again.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you might have a bad reference on your resume.
As a job hunter, having recommendations available online is a really valuable thing. Most employers do some level of online background checking. It usually amounts to a quick look at your Facebook and/or LinkedIn pages. Having several recommendations visible when they look will instantly add to your credibility.
It feels like you’re doing something wrong when work is hard to come by. Finding a job is supposed to be as easy as writing your resume, searching online for opportunities, sending in your resume, getting an interview, and then going to work. But if that doesn’t pan out, you’re supposed to be able to mine your network for opportunities. However there are often misperceptions and misunderstandings when it comes to professional networking and referrals. Below are three common myths I’ve come across:
When you’re in stealth mode on your job hunt, the last thing you need is a colleague who’s serving as your reference blabbing about your search.
Yet if you’re not careful who you choose, you could end up being outed in a staff meeting or a private conversation with a boss. So when picking an endorser at your current employer, rule out office gossips, anyone who might want your job, or anyone who regularly seeks an advantage for themselves. Some people just can’t keep a secret.
“We absolutely have candidates who ask us not to call their current employer. In those instances we typically ask for references from prior managers at that company who are no longer there and/or managers from prior firms and roles,” said Jennifer Folsom, director of Momentum Resources in Alexandria, Va. She recruits and places moms and others for flexible and part-time positions.
[How To Get Job References In Stealth Mode] Former bosses definitely are removed from the office chatter but they may also be removed from your latest accomplishments. So take them out for a coffee or breakfast and bring them up to date – and offer key words and traits you hope they’ll be able to highlight when a future boss calls.
Use these five tips on managing your references while searching for jobs under the radar:
So you’ve figured out what you want to do and where you want to work. That’s remarkable progress. Most people get really stuck on the “figure out what you want to do” part of looking for a job.
Once you have a target in mind, a place you really want to work, the question becomes ‘How do you get in touch with the right people?’ The right people don’t work in HR or the Recruiting Department – they are the managers and executives who lead the operating departments and divisions of the company you hope to work for.
While the rest of the competition is busy searching the job boards or folding and mailing resumes to anonymous ‘To Whom It May Concerns’, what you want to become is a ‘referral’. The conventional wisdom among employers is that candidates who are referred by another employee are of a higher quality. Your goal should be to get to know several insiders well enough to have them forward your resume into the hiring process. The whole idea is to develop a personal relationship with a well placed insider who can lend some credibility to your application.
So how do you figure out who they are and how to get in touch with them?
Ten years ago I was sitting in the office of my client Dan, a marketing executive. In the middle of our meeting, the conversation was interrupted when Dan’s phone rang. “I need to take this,’ he said. “I’m giving a job reference for a guy that used to work for me.”
I couldn’t help but listen as Dan dove into the reference-giving conversation, but within seconds I started to feel queasy. Poor Dan gave the most left-handed reference ever, saying things like “Jack is really good at certain things, and lousy at many others,” and “depending on the situation and the amount of responsibility, I could see him being a great hire.”
Mamma mia! I thought. With reference-givers like this, who needs enemies?
After the call, I gingerly broached the reference-giving topic. “Dan,” I said, “Are you a fan of this Jack, who used to work for you?”
“Oh, he’s a great guy,” said Dan. “I’m crazy about Jack, but I believe in giving the whole picture.”
“Hmmm,” I said. “You may want to fill Jack in on that ‘whole-picture’ business before giving any more references for him.”
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