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Stand Out from the Crowd by Offering Credible References

HAVE SOMEONE CREDIBLE VOUCH FOR YOU

Employers tend to believe what others say about you more than what you say about yourself, particularly if the employer views those others as credible. There are two groups of people who are credible to employers—those who have an interest in the company’s success, and those who value their own reputation and won’t tarnish it by vouching for someone the employer might regret hiring. Persuading these people to vouch for you will go a long way in proving you can do the job or learn it quickly. Their recommendation can be the deciding factor in who gets hired.

Not all personal or professional references are Credible References. Often those you list on your applications or résumés are not viewed as particularly credible to employers because they care more about you than about the success of the business. For this reason, the positive things they say are taken with a grain of salt, but the negative things are embraced. After all, it’s assumed that you will list those people with the most positive things to say about you.

For better or worse, what credible people say about you carries more weight than what you say about yourself. Who do employers consider credible? Whose recommendation do they trust and respect enough to justify investing thousands of dollars in hiring you? Credible References are people the employer believes have the necessary expertise to make a valid judgment and won’t lie for you. Determining who has expertise is fairly easy. Determining whom to trust can be trickier. Generally, credible people fall into two groups: first, people who have a vested interest in the company’s or the employer’s success, such as family and friends, good employees, valued customers, vendors, and business partners; second, people who have little to gain if you are hired, but could lose credibility or damage their professional reputation if the employer feels deceived. This group includes business associates of the employer, college professors, civic leaders, employment specialists who only get paid if you succeed, experts in the field, or your past employers, customers, and subcontractors. The degree of credibility given to each of these people is based on the individual rather than his or her position. For example, Mr. Andrews taught computer programming at a local college and prided himself in helping companies in the industry find great new talent. Consequently, his recommendation was credible. On the other hand, Professor Brown, who hadn’t bothered getting to know the local business owners or their needs, gained a reputation for recommending any student who asked. Not surprisingly, his recommendation was not credible.

Here are several groups employers often don’t trust, or who could do you more harm than good:

• People who have a bad reputation with the employer, including employees who were fired and current employees who cause problems or whose work is below average.

• People who would benefit from the employer’s misfortune, such as business competitors.

• People who could gain by lying, such as a current employer who might give a glowing reference to get rid of a bad employee, or a bad reference so she could keep a good one. Yes, it happens!

• People whose only perceived interest is in helping you, like your family and friends.

• People who, by association, generate concerns about your character or stability, such as your psychiatrist, parole officer, case manager, an AA sponsor, or other similar helping professional. These people are credible only if they are also trusted friends of the employer, or are listed as a friend or mentor rather than as your counselor, sponsor, or similar. Ask their permission before redefining your relationship. It could be embarrassing if you call them a friend and they call you a patient.

TOP TIPS FOR CHOOSING AND PREPPING YOUR REFERENCES

Choose people who are not only credible, but also believe that you’d be great for the job. Help them market you for each job by providing them a copy of your résumé, your key message, a couple of stories that highlight your top skills, and an explanation of why you are excited about the job. You can subtly do this in a letter sent with your résumé or during a conversation. When talking to references who are past employers, subtly remind them of specific things you accomplished while working with them by overtly thanking them for the opportunity to have learned or achieved those things as part of their team. After each successful interview, call or email all your references with a quick update, including the company name and mission, the specific title you are competing for, how the interview went, and your particular strengths for this job with this company. This will make your references part of your sales team.

➵ DID YOU KNOW?

When asked to give a reference, people tend to repeat the last thing they heard or discussed about the person (unless it could get them sued). To influence what others share about you, subtly remind them of your accomplishments and positive qualities before the employer calls them.

If you have a poor relationship with a past employer, but believe a positive reference from him could make the difference between getting hired or screened out, start by never talking badly about him—even if he deserves it. Employers don’t want employees who point the finger at the employer when things go wrong. Instead, focus on what you liked about the company or job—great coworkers, or what you learned or had the opportunity to accomplish. Next, in order to neutralize or improve a negative reference, make amends. Call the employer and apologize for what you did that added to the troubles. Don’t expect him to reciprocate. Your goal is not an apology from the employer, it’s a job with someone else. Call the supervisor you got along with best to thank her for something positive, briefly acknowledge your fault and what you’re doing to correct it, remind her of your good qualities, let her know you are job searching, and ask if she would be a work reference for you—in that order. For Martin, it sounded something like this:

Hi, Jim. It’s Martin. I’m calling to thank you for some advice you gave me when I worked for you. Remember how you said that I got along great with people as friends, but I work best on my own? You’re right. That’s why I’m applying for jobs at the US Forest Service. I’ll get to work around people, but most of my work will be done independently. Plus, I love the outdoors, and I’m not afraid of hard work—which you know, because you could always count on me to take an extra shift or stay late when no one else would. And I’ll finally get to use my degree in Environmental Science. You know how passionate I am about those issues. Remember I started the company’s recycling program? Since you know the quality of my work and what a good match this job is for me, I would like to list you as a work reference. Would that be okay?

A FRONT DOOR APPROACH: RESPONSIVE CREDIBLE REFERENCES

There are two ways Credible References can help—they can be responsive or proactive. A responsive Credible Reference is someone who has agreed to respond to the employer’s inquiries. He can be a past supervisor, customer, or another person you list on your application and reference sheet who can verify your unique qualities, attitudes, and skills. Most employers ask for three references. If you have only one who is credible, list that one first. Then add other colleagues or friends who can vouch for your character and skills.

Create a separate reference page, formatted to match your résumé, and list the names and contact information for your references. If they are likely to impress the employer, send it with your résumé. If not, bring it to the interview and give it to employers when they ask for it. When asked on an application for your current employer, list a supervisor who is willing to give specific, positive examples of your work with the company—otherwise, give the employer the direct number to HR, which will only verify your start and end date, position, and if you are eligible for rehire. Be sure to contact and prep all references before listing them.

Written statements from Credible References can also be effective if it is obvious that it was the reference’s idea and not yours. (Letters of reference from past employers are often taken with a grain of salt because so often managers tell soon-to-be job seekers to write their own letter and they’ll sign it.) Daniel had moved to a new city and wanted to work for one of the local newspapers. In his previous job, he had solved a major problem for a printing press manufacturer, which saved them lot of money. They sent him a thank-you letter and a case of steaks. Daniel quoted from this “letter of recommendation” in his cover letter and offered to provide a copy.

You can also share praise from responsive references during an interview, such as My last supervisor boasted that I was the one person he could count on to be early and stay late, or I have a list of satisfied customers who’ve said they’d be happy to take your call. Any positive comment about you that is attributed to a specific Credible Reference and can be verified carries more weight than what you say about yourself. So make the effort to find Credible References.

A SIDE DOOR APPROACH: PROACTIVE CREDIBLE REFERENCES

A proactive Credible Reference is a person the decision maker trusts, who agrees to call, write, email, or talk with that person on your behalf, without waiting to be contacted by the employer first. Leslie wanted proactive references, so she asked her professor if he knew of any sports programs that could use an assistant coach, then she asked if he would be willing to call them and put in a good word for her. Henry moved to the top of the list when his mentor, who was a golf partner of his prospective employer, put in a good word for him as they talked on the greens. Junior had worked in a resort in the Philippines, but he married an American and immigrated to the States. His wife’s friend worked at a prestigious hotel and offered to introduce him to the manager. Junior met her for coffee, after which she orchestrated an informal introduction. Her recommendation resulted in an interview, to which Junior brought his résumé. To use this common side door, identify someone who works for or knows the owner/manager of a company you want to work for. Share with that person your key message for the job and ask if he is willing to introduce you. If they are credible, references like this can tip the scales.

➵ DID YOU KNOW?

The reason people are not promoted is often due to not having anyone credible to champion their promotion. What have you done to make a superior or experts in the field go out of their way to champion you? It is often the deciding factor.

There are lots of ways your Credible References can proactively orchestrate informal “meetings” with decision makers—it’s similar to how we set up friends for dates.

• If a Credible Reference knows the decision maker socially, she could organize an introduction by hosting a dinner party or BBQ or inviting you to a community or sporting event.

• If a Credible Reference knows the decision maker professionally, he could introduce you at an association meeting or industry event.

• If your reference works for the decision maker, as in Junior’s example, she can arrange to casually introduce you and, in your presence or after you leave, share your key message and mention that you’d be a great addition to the team.

You will land an interview, because of the combination of the Credible Reference’s recommendation and your performance on the day you meet the decision maker.

Some of your proactive references may opt for a more direct approach in which they actually help set up an interview. Again there are many ways they can do it. They can simply:

• Mention to the decision maker that they have a friend or colleague they think would be an asset to their company.

• Send an email or letter of introduction sharing your top selling points and offer their personal endorsement of you. This differs from a letter of recommendation, because it’s written directly to the person who has the power to hire, from someone they know and trust.

• They can pick up the phone and market you directly to the decision maker, like a headhunter, relying on their relationship to reinforce that the recommendation is based on their belief that you’d be good for the company.

In each of these instances, references share your unique qualities, attitudes, or skills for the job and offer to set up a meeting or arrange to have you call the decision maker directly. Your proactive Credible Reference is giving you access to her network, so make her look good and be sure to thank her. Bring your résumé to the meeting, but don’t give it to the employer until he asks for it, or you’ll appear pushy or presumptuous.

UNCOVERING YOUR CREDIBLE REFERENCES

If you don’t think you have any Credible References, look again. Our guess is that you do. They don’t have to be lifelong friends, they just have to be people the employer trusts who are willing to vouch for you. Expand your list to include anyone you get along with. Remember what Malcom Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point,¹ said, “People weren’t getting jobs through their friends. They were getting them through their acquaintances . . . 55.6% of job seekers saw their reference only occasionally, 28% saw them rarely.” Who do you occasionally or rarely see who already works where you’d like to work, has done consulting work for them, or is a business associate, or attends the same church, plays golf, or socializes with a decision maker there—and would be willing to introduce you? Marc was changing fields and did not know many people in the new field. So he attended an industry conference to start building his network and to find potential Credible References. He also gained current industry knowledge and discovered which companies were growing so he could target his job search. Being a temp, intern, student worker, or volunteer can be a great opportunity to impress the people around you so they agree to be a Credible Reference for you.

QUICK TIPSFOR CREDIBLE REFERENCES

• Identify two to four credible people who will vouch for your skills, character, and other positive qualities needed for the job you want. Remember, if you are pursuing more than one job title, you will need different résumés, key messages, and perhaps different references.

• Prepare your references to market you.

• If they know the employer, ask them to be proactive by contacting the employer or introducing you directly.

• During the interview, do not “name drop” more than twice, unless you are responding to the employer’s questions about who you know. Otherwise, you will appear annoying or desperate.