Importance of referees in a CV
In every good CV, there will be a section reserved for referees, their positions and their contact details. This is a very important section and is often overlooked by the job candidates.
Why is it important? Because job interviewers will most likely call the referees for a reference check if you managed to pass the interview process. And this is where your past behavior will either help you in your job application….or ruin your chance.
And it wouldn’t help if you are only putting your friends or relatives as referees. You can put at most 1 close friend but most of the referees should be those individuals who have worked with you before. They should be the people who know how you work, and what is the attitude that you bring to a workplace. They should either be your supervisor, former supervisor or senior colleagues.
Also, by putting your supervisors/colleagues as your referees, it is very obvious that you have nothing to hide and you are willing to let the interviewer knows about your past records. If you can’t find anyone from the company or your ex-company, then finding someone (from within the same industry) who knows you well will help too. It’ll even be better if that someone holds a senior position in a reputable company.
However, one thing that you must always make sure is that these referees will say good things about you and not the other way round. You wouldn’t want to get a referee who would back stab you. Also, always remember to ask permission from the person before you actually put their contact details inside your CV.
Last but not least, be honest in your job interview. The referees are important but they are only there to prove whatever you said during the interview is correct. They are more like the supporting casts. The main cast is you.
As for me, I’m very fortunate that I have good supervisors (former and current) who are willing to help me out by becoming my referees. 
p/s…… if you don’t have any good referee…maybe it’s time to perform better in your job so that you can get good testimoninals from your bosses or even ask one of them to be your referee.
Many techies dislike all these references business because it affirms that know-who does count, not just know-how. In the US I’ve seen CVs that listed VIPs like congressmen as references. Such applicants would usually set off alarm bells in my head.
Damien Tan
26 Mar 09 at 1:02 pm
@ Damien
Interviews are meant to test if the person has the technical know-how. And the referees are there to support that fact. No point having a technical genius who doesn’t want to work and always gives people problem.
As for the VIP referees…..mm…..what’s the point? To scare the interviewer? Or to warn him that something bad might happen if the interviewer din accept?
Alvin Lim
26 Mar 09 at 9:21 pm
That’s the point, many tech geniuses are lone rangers with poor people skills. They might come to work in yesterday’s clothes. I’ve known system engineers who would speak no more than a couple of sentences a day. Many techies believe the company will collapse if not for their skills. Sometimes they’re right. But reference or not, they are highly sought after because of their tech abilities.
Some co’s like friends and family of VIPs to join them because they believe it will bring in good business. But others fear that high profile relationships can add unwelcome distractions to the business. Imagine if the co. had to discipline the son of a governor, freeze his promotion because he’s not performing, or transfer him to an outlying state for business reasons. Preferential treatment can breed dissent among hardworking staffers and cause overall productivity to suffer.
Damien Tan
27 Mar 09 at 9:54 am
@ Damien
In my opinion, a techie who is EXTREMELY good in his field will be much sought after. But how many of them exist in this world? Not many I must say. For the rest who think they are very technically good…..perhaps, they are not as good as they think they are. So if they think they are good, and don’t bother to improve their people skills, hmm….they will end up nowhere.
Skills not good enough for people to ignore their poor people skill, and a people skill which is poor enough that makes them hard to work with.
I’ve heard of this story from a friend who USED TO work in one of the big 4. A candidate came in for a job interview, and his referee is his own dad. Why? Because his dad is one of our country’s TOP people (name to remain p & c). Guess what, the HR failed the guy, only to have the directors rushing to call the HR up and tell her to offer that guy ASAP.
So pros n cons.
It’s not that good to hire people with such referees…but it might be worse if you reject him. LOL.
Alvin Lim
27 Mar 09 at 12:09 pm