Here are Five People You Should NEVER List as References

Many people don’t truly understand the purpose of providing professional references: They are not the same as “likes” on Facebook or followers on Twitter.

While a potential employer realizes your references will probably say good things about you, they still contact the names provided to dig for information on the kind of worker you are by asking for specific examples.

Therefore, it’s important to pick out references you can trust, who will speak professionally about your ability to do the job you are seeking. Below are five kinds of people you should never list as professional references.

Someone you don’t really know

You might want to ask a friend of a friend, who you don’t really know, to act as a reference when you apply to that person’s company, but you need to resist that temptation. If they don’t know you, they will be guessing about what kind of worker you are and the endorsement will come off as inauthentic.

If you have a loose connection and are willing to roll the dice, the proper way is to ask for an introduction and talk to the person about your background, why you want the job and why you’re such a good fit. If they’re open to being one of your references, then you have to hope they can be a convincing reference.

Someone you haven’t talked to in years

A good reference is someone who has a sense of your career and a detailed sense of what you’ve been up to professionally. If you’re thinking about an old high school or college buddy you haven’t spoken to in years, you should probably think twice. An old friend will probably be able to speak glowingly about you, but they probably won’t be able to go into detail about your work habits or abilities.

Someone you never actually worked alongside

If you work at a large company, you often get acquainted with people in other departments, vendors, clients and so on. These people can technically say they worked with you, but they may not be able to speak to your specific accomplishments and work habits.

Someone who has been out of the field for a long time

Often, there are people in our lives who we worked with side-by-side for years, but have since moved on to other career paths or left the workforce altogether. They might be able to speak to your work habits from the early aughts, but they probably aren’t in touch with the latest techniques, tools and industry jargon, and will come across as a weak reference as a result.

Someone who fired you

You might think it’s crazy to list a boss who fired you as a reference, but people do it all the time. Maybe they feel the need to list their last supervisor. Or, maybe they had a good relationship with their old boss and the decision to terminate came from higher up in the organization.

Whatever the reason might be, never list a boss that fired you as a reference.

At Career Concepts, we help skilled professionals with every part of the job-seeking process. Please contact us today to find out how we can help your career.