Using references

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I am currently seeking a job and I wanted to know more information about giving past references. What is your advice about references and should I list everyone?

Three to five is usually sufficient (if you mean personal references from former bosses).

If you mean your work history, it depends on how many jobs you've had, but I wouldn't list too many, or it will look like you're a tumbleweed who can't stick around. The last five years is usually enough back to go. I wouldn't recommend leaving obvious long gaps in time between jobs, even if you have to fudge your dates a little.

I personally give three references.

I like to email my references and ask permission. If they say yes, then I tell them about the company and mention specific job requirements so they can tailor a reference that is relevant to the job I'm seeking. For example if the new job requires Photoshop, then I would remind my reference of a specific Photoshop project we worked on together back in the day.

That way instead of this:

"Who is this? What? You're calling about who? Oh, Mushroo... that name sounds familiar... yes, he worked here for about a year I think. I haven't heard from him since. A reference? Well, he kept to himself, his desk was neat. I don't remember exactly what he did here though. If you don't mind I'm in the middle of a meeting, bye!"

You want something like this:

"Oh, hello... yes of course I've heard of your company! You're an ad agency in New York, correct? Yes, I remember Mushroo. We worked together on a campaign for Vandelay Industries from 2005-2007. He handled the all of the Photoshop work for our art department, and as I recall, the client was quite impressed. No problem at all, you too, have a nice day."

How do I know whether the references are bad? Is it from asking peope's permission?

First, a little background: You can ask a reference as long as it's not discriminatory (go to www.eeoc.gov to understand the legal definition of discrimination). Most companies have policies that greatly restrict what information they will provide on a former employee.

That said, is a reference seems to good to be true, it probably is. Otherwise, if the reference is to a specific person, ask that person if the candidate actually worked for him or her, and in what capacity. It is not unusual for a friend of a fired person to act as an "official" of the company and give a glowing reference for the person that was fired..

My company's policy is to answer only the following questions:

1. "Is or was this person an employee at your company?"

2. "What is or was the person's job title?"

3. "What are or were the person's duties?"

4. "Would you re-hire this person?"

We are not allowed to answer questions that refer to the person's salary, benefits, tardiness, time off, or nature of separation from the company (i.e., fired, resigned, on leave, et cetera). Nor are we allowed to make subjective judgments regarding attitude, beliefs, friendliness, morality, ethics, general mood, or why we would or would not hire them back. Any reference that goes beyond these guidelines is either risking a civil suit, or is in collusion with the person under consideration for employment.

I hope this helps.