4 Referee Mistakes That Might Not Get You Hired

By Selipha Kihagi

Just because your CV was crafted for success and you did well in your job interview does not always mean you will get the job, especially if you are competing against equally qualified candidates. Employers and recruiting officials will want to call your referees to confirm the information you provided in your CV and during the interview is true.

For this reason, it is important that job seekers provide reliable referees. While this may seem like a simple duty to many, job seekers are still losing on jobs because of these referee mistakes.

Common Referee Mistakes That Might Not Get You Hired

1. You did not ask permission to include someone as your referee

You may have gone to school or worked under a person who believes you are good at what you do, but that does not give them a free ticket to your referee section. Before you include someone as your referee, you need to first ask their permission so you can know if they will be available to potential employers or not.

Not everyone who knows you and congratulates you will say yes to being included as referee, so always confirm.

2. You did not prepare your referee before hand

Having your referee on paper and having their contacts ready does not guarantee their reference for you will be useful. Once you are called to an interview, it is important you call your referees to let them know the job you applied for and update them on what you had been doing prior.

Tell them to expect a call, even if you do not know when or if your employer or recruiting company will call them. This way, they will be in a position to recommend you better.

3. You provided referee contacts that are hard to reach

While knowing your referees number is a good thing, most people will have different numbers or contacts for how they want to be reached.

Always ask your referees which number they should provide, and if you can get different numbers that he/she uses. You may also include an email or even their LinkedIn profiles.

4. You provided referees that are not that helpful

When you are not sure who to include in the referee section, panic can lead you to include friends or relatives that can speak well about you. The problem however, is that these friends and relatives have not worked with you directly and may have very little to speak on your experience or line of work.

Also including top managers who are way up the hierarchy in the company you worked for may work against you. Include people you have worked with directly.

As a job seeker, you must know that the referee section in your CV is of great importance in getting the job and must be addressed with caution.