How to manage your referees...Cassandra Vickers: 07 3232 9119 Procurement & Contracts Dee Clarke: 07 3232 9100 Sales Chris O’Flynn: 07 3232 9111 Many candidates spend more time trying

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Many candidates spend more time trying to perfect their resume than they do obtaining the right referees. Selecting the right referee is so important because what the referee divulges to your potential employer can be the difference between you being selected for the role or not.

References are conducted by an employer for the following purposes:

• To verify information provided by applicants during the recruitment process;

• To help predict how successful the candidate will be in the role; and

• To bring to light any background information that may not have been found during the recruitment process.

Most employers prefer to speak with your referees over the phone so they can ask them a series of detailed questions while getting a feel for their tone and their authenticity when they are speaking. Otherwise, some may be asked to complete a template in writing.

Managing your referees

• You need to keep on top of your referees at all times, even when you are not in your job search period. Try not to just ‘use’ your referee only when you want something out of them.

• You should have a range and variety of different referees who could speak on your behalf such as managers, clients, stakeholders, and subordinates.

• People move jobs and companies all the time, so you cannot always rely on just making contact with someone you worked with in an organisation via the organisation itself. You need to have a close relationship; perhaps connect on LinkedIn and have their mobile number in your contact list. Congratulate them when they commence a new role. Follow their movements.

• Make sure you ask them if they are willing to speak on your behalf. Don’t assume that because they were your manager that they will.

• Always keep your referees updated with your progress if you are utilising them during your job search. Always let them know if you get the role and thank them for being involved in the process.

Who can be a referee?

Most of our clients will request that we obtain two referees. Preferably, both will have been your direct manager from your current or most recent employer and the role prior to that. If you can’t use your current manager as you don’t want them to know you are seeking alternative employment, you should choose your manager from your previous employer.

They need to have worked with you closely for at least 12 months so they are able to comment in detail about your performance and achievements. (Some organisations have a policy whereby only the Human Resources team are able to provide references. These HR personnel can only give out basic information such as confirmation of dates of employment and role title, which are not of much use as most employers want to gain insight into your character, reliability, punctuality, and the best way to manage you.)

Don’t select anybody that is related or a family member as they will be deemed as biased and therefore invalid.

How to manage your referees













How to select your referees:

You should have a strategic approach towards selecting your referees. The best references are given by people who know you well and whom you had a good working relationship. You need to be confident that they will speak positively about you and present you in the best possible way.

• You need to pick someone who can communicate well and is emotionally intelligent. They should be able to select and articulate some relevant examples that demonstrate your experience in the best light.

• You also need to pick the right person depending on the role. For example, you may select a specific person because they oversaw an important piece of work relevant to the role you are applying for. As such, they will be able to highlight your strengths and provide examples to-wards how your experience would be beneficial for the role.

• Make sure you select referees that are contactable during the selection period. It makes a recruiter’s job really difficult when they are not able to make contact with a referee when a decision needs to be made quickly.

You may be requested to provide the details of your manager with your last employer. This could present issues If you didn’t have a good relationship with your manager. Don’t select a manager if you are not 100% sure about your relationship. A referee could provide information such as that they feel you would not be suited to the role because of your previous performance or that you were dismissed. Perhaps select another supervisor or someone you worked with closely who is still able to comment on your abilities as an alternative.

At what stage are your referees contacted?

Referees can be contacted at different stages in the recruitment process. Typically, for permanent roles, referees are not normally approached until after all interviews have taken place and the employer is ready to decide whether or not to make an offer (subject to satisfactory references).

At u&u, we ask you to provide your referee details at the time you register with us so we have these ready on file for when we need to use them in the recruitment process. However, we do not call your referees without your prior consent. We will inform you when we have been requested to generate references for you by our clients at the time. This is so that you are able to contact your referees and let them know to expect a call from us.

Some recruitment agencies do ask to conduct your references at the initial stages in the recruitment process in order to use these references as a selling tool to make you stand out from other applicants. This could be risky because it may mean your referee is providing references many times before you even get to the latter stages of offer and are more than likely to get tired of providing them and lose the motivation to speak about you keenly.

Some of our clients prefer to contact your referees themselves as opposed to your consultant conducting the references.


u&u Recruitment Partners

Level 12

259 Queen Street

Brisbane Qld 4000

07 3232 9100

uandu.com













Prepare your referees

Make sure you contact your referees as soon as you start your job search process. Don’t leave it until the last minute when you may not be able to get hold of them. Make sure they are comfortable with acting as a referee on your behalf during your job search; this may mean they could get called a few times.

Select referees you have a really close relationship with, so you can (to a certain degree) coach them on what topics will be important to raise during the reference. Provide them with as much information about the job and company as possible so they can provide information on you in the right context. Remind them of the type of work you did whilst working for them and some of your achievements that will be relevant to discuss. You could even provide them with the job description and a copy of your application so they are reminded of your achievements. Make sure your referee knows if the role is a step-up from the role you performed whilst you were working for them so they can comment on your ability to perform at a higher level than at what you did.

Keep them informed throughout the process and call them each time you hand their details over to an employer to brief them.


Documents

How to manage your referees...Cassandra Vickers: 07 3232 9119 Procurement & Contracts Dee Clarke: 07 3232 9100 Sales Chris O’Flynn: 07 3232 9111 Many candidates spend more time trying