References are one of the most important factors in your job search. This is a crucial opportunity for a first time job seeker to put their best foot forward – but it all can come down to which person you choose to list, and how well prepared they are for that fateful phone call. Ensure those conversations go smoothly and leave prospective hiring managers impressed with you and your connections. Here are several tips to get you started.

1. Choose Someone Who Knows You In An Academic Or Other Professional Environment.

If you have a teacher that is always been impressed with your work, he or she will probably speak well of you to hiring managers. The same goes for church youth leaders, or people you have volunteered with. Even the parents you used to babysit for could be great references, if they were pleased with your work!

2. How Well Someone Knows You Trumps How Long They Have Known You.

A friend you have known since grade school may not be your best reference choice if you have not seen them in several months, or if you have never participated in any long term projects with them. References should be able to speak to a hiring manager about your character, so someone you have worked closely with for the last six months may be a better choice.

3. Always Ask The Reference If They Are Willing To Provide A Reference.

There’s nothing more damaging to an applicant than a surprised reference who can’t immediately speak to what a warm, giving, punctual, and considerate person you are – except a reference who doesn’t actually believe those things. Give people the courtesy of asking them to provide a reference before you list their name and contact information. This also gives you an opportunity to ensure you have the right phone number and address for your reference – some hiring managers will discard an application altogether if they can’t reach an applicant’s references.

4. Give Your Reference A Heads Up Immediately Following An Interview.

If your references do not know to expect a phone call from a company, they may assume that missed call or voice mail message is from a telemarketer, and automatically delete it. Any delay on reference checks can delay your job offer, or derail it completely. Hiring managers are busy people who usually interview multiple people for a position. If they have a choice between two equally qualified candidates, they will always go with the person whose references are completed first.

There may come a time when you or a friend of yours needs a new Job but you realize that you need Solutions – To Having Questionable Job References. Don’t fret; this article will solve your dilemma once and for all. Begin by understanding what it is you need, begin with the end in mind, what you need is positive and enthusiastic people who can vouch for the your quality of your work and specific periods of employment. Let’s start with obtaining dates of employment, well, that shouldn’t be hard to get at all, right? Start there, once you have all the dates than its time to move on to finding enthusiastic people to vouch for your quality and experience of work.

Start finding enthusiastic people to vouch for your quality and experience of work by collecting contact info from anyone in the company you were fired from, start with people that you know would likely give you a positive and enthusiastic reference. Lets say your issue was with your former Supervisor, well go to another department that you have a friend in and ask that Supervisor for a written reference. Collect as many references from as many Supervisors and Managers as you can. The purpose is so that you can demonstrate that your issue most likely was with your former Supervisor and not with the overall Mission and Goals of the Company. Every company knows they have difficult people within their ranks and that sometimes there are personality conflicts that create the need to separate employees and that’s the point you want to share with your prospective employer.