Professional References: Who to Include and Who to Remove
Picture this scenario: You’ve made it to the final round of interviews for a great career opportunity, one that will help you move forward and provide you with exciting new challenges. So far, things have gone swimmingly. Your resume has impressed your interviewers; you’ve answered those tough questions with poise and ease; you’ve proven your expertise, and you’re brimming with confidence. As the final interview draws to a close, your potential future supervisor thanks you for your time during the process and tells you: “We just need you to provide us with three professional references while we finish reviewing candidates.” You wonder: who should I include?
When it comes to professional references, the key word is professional. The individuals you choose should be able to speak to your capabilities and skillset as an employee, co-worker, or colleague. Here are some suggestions on who to include:
Former supervisors/managers: This one is the most important and most impactful, as a glowing reference from a previous boss shows future employers that they won’t regret hiring you for their team.
Current co-workers: A professional colleague can be great as a reference, as they can speak to how you work and collaborate with others; this is a chance to show that you know how to “play nice in the sandbox,” which is a soft skill many companies value highly.
Professor or teacher: This one is for you recent college graduates. Don’t have a lot of work experience under your belt just yet? Don’t sweat it. Professors (especially those you have known for longer than, say, one semester) can speak to your work ethic as a student, which will help future employers get a sense of how this may translate into the workforce.
The above list is not all-encompassing, but using any combination of those individuals in your professional network as a reference should prove to be sufficient in painting a full picture of you as an employee. That said, there are also individuals who, while they may be near and dear to you, are simply not the right people to include on a list of references sent to a company.
Family members or spouses: These individuals will of course give you a glowing review, but their review will be undoubtedly biased. Further, including a family member as a reference for a job gives off the impression that you don’t have anyone else who can speak positively about you, which is not a great look.
Personal friends you’ve known for less than one year: Once again, the issue of bias comes into play here. Not to mention, someone who hasn’t known you very long probably doesn’t have a clue about how you’d fit into a specific company’s culture, how you’d perform various tasks, etc.
A co-worker you haven’t worked with in several years: This one isn’t necessarily bad to include, but a more recent colleague’s reference will carry much more weight in the eyes of hiring managers and future employers.
With these insights in mind, you can curate your list of professional references and send it to your interviewer with confidence.
