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Rank: Member
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Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Most people ask for three professional references, and I find myself wondering who the best people would be to ask. My first thought would be to ask C, J, and P as I work with them every day and they all know me well. C is my direct supervisor, J is head of the department, and P is a fellow staff employee in my department. Is this too much of a homogeneous group? They are all women and they all work in my department. Should I ask F who works in the library in a different department and who works with me very closely on a large project? He is a man and also knows me well. I would ask M to be a reference because she is from a previous library I worked at, but I haven't spoken to her in 2 years. I feel as though I should ask a professor from library school, but I do not feel like any of them know me well enough to be comfortable with that. Finally, I could ask D who is my practicum advisor. She has only been working with me for about 20 hours so far, but we will be spending a lot of time in the upcoming months together. She is also the only one who has seen me work in a public library setting where all the others are in academic libraries. (I plan to apply to public libraries and independent schools).
I hope someone has some advice...
C? J? P? F? M? D? Professor?
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Rank: Newbie
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Location: Niles, MI
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You should cultivate a pool of references that you can draw on that best reflect your experiences that matter in the jobs you are applying for. Just like one resume should not be used for all jobs, you need to tailor the references to the job you are seeking. When I applied for my current management position, my references were all people who were managers, and could speak to my experience in dealing with delegation and other management qualities. I would have a different mix for a reference position. I think you out to branch out more from your pool of close workers. You should try to keep in touch with people you feel could be good references for you. I have not worked with G in 8 years but I send her a Christmas card and call every four months or so to stay in touch. Use the opportunity to talk to M again, and renew the connection. Your references are also your network and are valuable to maintain.
As I said, you should pick the people who can best represent your skills to your prospective employer, so I would recommend C or J, M (after you reconnect) and maybe D. And keep on the look out for others. Make a point of talking to a professor that you felt closest to for career advice.
Luck!
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Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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Spend some time pondering the questions the employer is likely to ask your references. Many times, a reference will respond to a particular question saying that s/he can't answer that question or doesn't know you in that context. You don't want your references responding that way to too many questions. Employers will ask references about your strengths/weaknesses, your particular skill set, etc. Choose references who can answer those questions appropriately. Also, let your references know about every single individual job you apply for (even if they know generally that you are in the market) and send them a copy of the job description. Ask them if they feel comfortable speaking to your skills in relation to the job description. The better your references can speak to the requirements of the job, the better you will come off.
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Erin Stalberg
North Carolina State University Libraries
Erin Stalberg
Head of Metadata & Cataloging
North Carolina State University Libraries
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Rank: Advanced Member
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, Resumes - Moderator
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Location: http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com
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ConRader wrote:You should cultivate a pool of references that you can draw on that best reflect your experiences that matter in the jobs you are applying for. Just like one resume should not be used for all jobs, you need to tailor the references to the job you are seeking.
Luck! I was going to post something similar to this as well... Use different references depending on the particular job. In general though, I recommend C in all cases. I would not take gender into consideration when choosing references - choose them based on how they know you and how you've worked with them. I would not choose a professor as a reference, especially if none of them know you very well. Finally, I think it is okay to ask M to be a reference, but definitely speak to her first, as a courtesy, to let her know. I think it is beneficial to have references from different places of work. Hope this helps!
Check out my blog on Talking Books at http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com
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yeah my references are the only current ones i have. and im applying for the same job i had last year(it was contract) so I was getting the OK to apply for it again and my boss was really cool about it.
she did say the candidate they hire would require references so thats fine. But my Boss interviewing me is one of the references (for the very place im aplying for ) so its messy. but i guess it has happened, people have gone away and then been rehired. they do one of have one of the better vacation packages for part timers. this is based on other some concrete info through one of my friends/co-workers who works there and did some resarch for it.
yep i have a shot (im guranteed and interview) but i think my co workers opinion is that they want to hire me back but its mostly paperwork and being fair and working by the rules.
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