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Prepping Your References

So, you've asked your supervisor or co-worker to be a reference and they say "Sure, I'd be happy to." You're pleased and think you're job is done. Wrong. You're work has just started. Anyone who is willing to be a reference for you may not fully realize the task they are taking on. It's more these days than merely observing that "So-and-so is nice, smart and hardworking." References can get grilled which can be an uncomfortable position, especially if they were unprepared for some of the questions and fumbled as they replied having been caught off guard. Not exactly the good reference that you expected to get or that your supervisor or co-worker had hoped to give you.

A while back I came across some smart advice about the need to prep your references. That way both you and they have a better idea of what questions they may be asked. If you can go over the following list of questions with them, then you will also get an idea of how they may actually respond. The following list may be incomplete but it covers a lot of important questions. Remember, altho' companies may have policies restricting employees from answering these questions, sometimes a supervisor or co-worker may forget and respond nonetheless. It's important that your references know what to expect and that you address any concerns that they may have with any of the following questions beforehand:

Questions for Prepping Your References

What are his/her strong points on the job? What characteristics do you most admire about him/her? What are his/her shortcomings? Was there anything he/she was trying to change about him/herself, or should be trying to improve on? How did his/her last job performance review go? What strengths were cited? What recommended improvement areas were noted? How about performance reviews prior to that?" Is he/she a reliable person? Does he/she have any personal problems or bad habits that interfere with job performance? Were there ever any punctuality or attendance problems? If he/she asked you what one thing would most improve the way he/she performs on the job, what specific advice would you give him/her? How productive was he/she? How high are his/her quality standards? How much supervision does he/she require? How fast does he/she learn?"

Note: reference check may include further probing into specific job-related experinece and skills, knowledge and abilities, such as communication, supervision, finance, problem-solving, customer service, etc., so you may wish to include some questions of your own that relate to your particular field or industry.