The ideal slate of references: 

• at least one recent immediate supervisor, 
• at least one well-informed second-level supervisor, 
• one or two co-workers, 
• maybe a trusted subordinate 
• (least effective, usually) one community leader such as a minister, local official, etc.

Get permission. This is basic. Most people will be flattered. 

Rehearse them. Be tactful, but basically, you want your references to confirm with enthusiasm and completely accurate detail the important achievement stories that you plan to use in your interviews and resumes. Be sure that you both agree on the facts. If your relationship is too formal for reminiscing, give them a copy of your resume, and indicate which items they may be asked to confirm.

Notify them again just before you submit their names. Tell them they can expect a call from the so-and-so company. They'll be less likely to stall on returning a call from a stranger. If you're tied with another candidate, being the first offer package completed may get you the job.

Keep track of them. Be sure that the daytime and evening telephone numbers, including area code, are up to date. Send holiday cards. Use websites such as Anywho, Switchboard, SuperPages, Whitepages.com and Whowhere.Lycos to find North American addresses.

Coach the employer, unobtrusively. Submit your references on a separate sheet, with your name and address at the top, followed by the title REFERENCES. Beneath each person's name, postal address, telephone number and email address, place a sentence indicating what part of your work the individual is familiar with: Ms. Blank supervised my work on the Whozit Project. Whozit, of course, is one of the achievement stories you intend to develop in your interviews.

Protect them. Don't submit their names until you're asked. The fewer calls they have to take on your behalf, the more enthusiastic they'll sound.

If they offer you a letter, be gracious and accept it with thanks. Don't mention that letters have much less impact than a brief telephone interview. Do ask if they will take a phone call if anyone needs additional information. And do submit the letter whenever you submit their name; the writer of the letter will assume the employer has read it before calling them.

Don't stop with a reference page. Make every entry on your application easy to verify, too. Prudent employers use verification specialists to check every entry. Be sure your application is both completely accurate and easily verified. This article tells you how.

Finally, if you suspect someone of slander, there's a service on the West coast that offers to find out what your references are really saying about you.

Here are a few comments from actual reference checks, memorable after three decades: "He was the youngest person we ever promoted, and we were fully satisfied with his performance." "If you're interviewing Flo, you should be bidding on our contracts." "He's the best one I have." "If he'd stayed with us, we would have made him a vice president." "If I had three more like her, I could retire."

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