Resume 101: Enhancing the reference checking process

The employment meeting went extremely well. The interviewer was impressed with your abilities; you answered the questions superbly; and you were able to develop an excellent rapport with the interviewer and other staff at the company. So, now just the reference checking process, BUT, unfortunately you did not make it to the following stage. Why not? Everything went so well. What possibly could have gone wrong? How often do I hear similar comments from candidates who are at an absolute loss as to why after such great interviews, their applications have been denied. Have you ever thought that perhaps your reference may be letting you down? The general procedure a candidate follows in locating and providing references to support their application is either to: ~ provide a list of contactable references on their resumes at the time they send their initial application, or: ~ provide contact names after being requested to do so at the interview without any prior consideration. Are these two methods basically what you are currently doing in your career campaign? If so, you need to be aware that both of these methods can be detrimental to your job search. Unless the application has specifically requested reference details to be included in your initial application do not forward or include details on your resume. As you may be forwarding your resume in response to hundreds of job advertisements this could result in your references receiving numerous calls, which could become quite annoying and ultimately, damaging to your campaign. You want to retain control over who you provide these details to, and presenting a reference list after you have had an opportunity to interview with the potential employer will be far more beneficial. During the interview you may realize that this is not the position you originally thought it was, or realize that your personal values and beliefs would be challenged if you were to become employed with the organization, and therefore there is no real need to provide reference contact details. Your references will not be unnecessarily contacted, affording their valuable time and energy for a position that you are not interested in. Let