Doing More With Your Professional References

References used to be an important part of the interview process. Hiring managers checked them religiously. Candidates worried about who to put on the list, and whether those from their past would be able strike the right balance between talking up their strengths, and acknowledging weaknesses without leaving lingering concerns.

Things have undoubtedly changed in the past few years though. Even though employers hold a legal privilege to provide a negative reference, the costs from potential litigation is enough of a deterrent to make them almost non-existent. So if a reference is checked at all these days, it happens at the very end of the interview process, with a referee normally called in once a hiring decision has already been made, and the company really just ticking a box.

This seems like a missed opportunity, particularly on the part of the candidate.

Using your network

If somebody is willing to give you a glowing reference, is there a way to take advantage of this earlier on in the hiring process? A good testimonial from a respected person might just elevate your application and make it stand out from other candidates, even if no-one is going out of their way to ask you for it.

For example, if you have two or three references from top procurement professionals—especially if they are reasonably well known in the industry—why let them stay in a file and only produce them at the end of the interview process (if at all) just to sanity check what you have already persuaded the hiring manager of?

With testimonials being so crucial in business, it’s surprising that very few people think proactively about their references. Sending in a resume on one’s own initiative is rare enough, let alone sending in a reference without being asked—so bear this in mind when you’re thinking about what you can do differently than other candidates.

Not if, but when

An important question is when to send in your reference during the process. One option is to send it along with your resume, but in my opinion, this seems a little too generic. Much like the resume, the hiring manager will know you’re sending the same thing to many companies.

Furthermore, they will want to form their own opinion of you before they read anyone else’s—so let them get to know you and take an interest on their own account. And if you get asked for an interview, you could then mention a supporting reference so they can hear another perspective.

If you have had a good interview with an interesting conversation, and the hiring manager believes you are well qualified, it’s perfectly acceptable to follow up with a thank-you note (which you should be doing anyway) and include the contact information of somebody well respected, or a copy of a professional reference a previous colleague has written.

This leaves the decision with the hiring manager as to whether they want to find out more about you, and if so, whether they want to take your referee’s views on board.

Standing out from the crowd

If you’re still on the fence about whether you should proactively share this information with a hiring manager, consider the situation they are in. Following a 45-minute Zoom interview, they are largely going with their gut and any facts they have gleaned, not all of which they will be able to substantiate.

Any of us making an important decision will want to gather as many data points as possible to support it, so if you give them more options than the other candidates, they will feel more confident in their feeling about you.

Finally, leaving your reference check to the last minute, once the decision has already been made, means that the hiring manager’s opinions of you will already be set in stone. They’ll be looking for a “yes” or “no” answer, rather than the illustrations of value you’ve brought in previous roles, which your referee would be more than happy to provide earlier on.