Sadly, I took a peek at my resume a few days ago and realized I had some pretty out of date references. Shockingly, I still had a college professor, my internship coordinator, and a personal friend. All of whom are great people, don't get me wrong, but none of whom can speak to my professional abilities.I think it's pretty much a no-brainer as to who your references should be, (three quick characteristics: Will say nice things about you, can be honest, knows the way you'll fit into an organization) so rather than drone on for a few more paragraphs about picking the right references, let me encourage you to take a quick check of your resume and make sure your references are the best for who you are NOW. If you've been out of school for a year or two, you've probably got a better reference than an instructor, unless you're, y'know, working at a University or something.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Christopher Finke says: (6:39PM on Jul 16th 2009) Vote Up Vote DownReport2/5
I had always been told to leave references off of the resume (to make more room for relevant information about yourself) and that "References available upon request" is an implied truth. Any thoughts on that?
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randall bennett says: (7:26PM on Jul 16th 2009) Vote Up Vote DownReport2/5
I think it depends on your industry. In TV, that's a HUGE nono... because the person is going to want references and they want it to be with your resume. It really just depends on what your employer is expecting, and you gotta feel that one out.
Stephen says: (9:39AM on Jul 17th 2009) Vote Up Vote DownReport2/5
Chris,
From my experience you are correct. It is better to put more relevent information on your resume, rather than take up space with references. Additionally, most people would be surprised how often references arent even checked before employment. Keep the references fresh for yourself in case they are needed, typically a company will let you know before they call them anyway so you will have that time to provide them your references dependent on the job.
Alex Rudloff says: (10:18AM on Jul 17th 2009) Vote Up Vote DownReport2/5
I do the same. It's sort of like bad Objective sections that read "To find gainful employment" ;)