Even though it forms the tail end of most resumes – references play an important role in fetching you your dream job. This makes it imperative to ensure that the references cited in a resume are relevant and credible. Here are few tips on how to go about it…





After the successful completion of initial rounds of tests/interviews, most employers go for a reference check before offering the job to a candidate. Many a times the employer contacts the reference either by phone or mail to check about the candidate. Here comes the role of references cited in your resume. But experts say that it is not mandatory to give references in every job application that one person sends out but it is advised to have a list of references handy. Revathi Kasturi, chief executive, Laqsh job skills academy says, “Including references in every resume send is not a must because the need for a reference check comes only after a candidate finishes the initial rounds of interviews or tests. And it is good to mention reference available upon request in the resume and the person must be ready with a list of people who could endorse him/her as soon as the recruiter asks for it.”





The list of references offered must not be vague and it is very important to choose the references wisely. “One must be careful in giving the name of the references as it could make or break the career of a person. The referee must be capable of articulating the inputs asked by the prospective employer in a manner positive for the person. Also, the referee should know about the competencies of the person,” says Bhaskar Bhattacharya, DGM-HR, MIRC Electronics Ltd.



Ideal references



It is important to mention references that are related to the job applied for and also a person who is well aware of your work experience, qualities and skills. Experts also suggest that one must not keep his/her friends or relatives as references. “The best people to have as references could be your immediate supervisors at work or people who you report to at work, because these people will be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and they will be able to explain it to a potential employer in the best possible way, ” says Kasturi.





“As the recruiters will be looking for information from different angles about the candidate it is important that the referee has in-depth and relevant knowledge about the person with respect to the requirement of the job,” adds Bhattacharya.





In the reference list one must include the name, designation and contact details including the mail and phone numbers of the person cited as reference. Also, it is important to ensure that recruiters can easily contact the person. Along with that Kasturi suggests that it is important to seek the permission of the person before keeping him/her as a reference and the candidate must have constant touch with the referee.”





The golden rule for a credible reference is that never add a person whom you do not know, always keep a person who knows you very well and is ready to give a true, positive feedback about you. So next time before writing out the names of references think twice, as it is no more about just a list of names in a resume, they have the power to make or break your career dreams!