References don’t usually live on a resume—they take up too much space and typically aren’t even needed at that stage of the application process.
Be that as it may, sometimes employers may go against the curve and ask for them straight away, and when that happens, you’ll need to rearrange your resume and make room.
Of course, the trickiest thing about references isn’t where to put them, but who to choose. In this article, we’ll show you plenty of resume templates and useful tips to help you handle references like a pro!
When employers are searching for someone to hire, there are a lot of different steps they have to take to determine whether a candidate is both technically capable and a good fit for the company. There’s the resume, the cover letter, the interview—maybe another interview, or two, or five—and the references.
You can learn a lot about a candidate from their own words, but there are certain things you can only learn from others. That’s why employers sometimes need a few recommendations from third parties as final confirmation that a candidate is a good choice.
References often aren’t optional. When an employer asks for them, you need to hand some over or it could greatly impact your application.
If you have prior work listed on your resume but you don’t have anyone that could act as a reference, it implies that you might have been fired, or that your manager refused to act as a reference for you. Those things can happen, but some employers may not overlook that.
Instead, it’s always best to prepare your references in advance and have them ready to send whenever the employer asks for them. This is the right way to look professional since the more experienced you are, the more people you know and the easier it is for you to get a few references.
There are a few rules you need to follow when it comes to picking references. There are three main types of reference and each has different relationships to you.
Putting your references on your resume is really something you should only do if the employer asks for it directly. Otherwise, it’s best to avoid mentioning your references too early.
For most employers, checking references comes right at the end of the application process—because it would be too much work to check references for large numbers of candidates.
That’s why there’s usually no need to put your references on your resume. Some people like to put a line at the bottom of their resume saying “References available on request.” This isn’t a terrible idea, but it’s also not that necessary.
References are a requirement during many application processes so it’s assumed that anyone applying has references—it’s not something that really needs to be announced. They’ll ask you if they want them.
There are a lot of things you need to think about when choosing your reference list. In this section, we’ll go over the best practices for picking references, asking permission, and formatting your reference list.
The first thing you need to think about is how many references you need. The most common number employers ask for is two or three, so it’s a good idea to prepare at least three.
The second thing to think about is reference types. If the employer asks for a specific type such as professional, academic, or character references, it’s best to comply with that request. If they don’t specify, your safest bet is to include only professional or academic references.
Now, as for who you pick, consider the following:
When you list someone as a reference, employers will contact them by email or phone to ask questions about you, so it’s important that they’re easy to get in contact with. If you choose someone busy like a CEO, there’s a chance they just won’t see the email or reply to it quickly enough.
Once you’ve decided who you want your references to be, you need to ask them if they’ll accept to do it. No one has to write you a reference if they don’t want to and it’s not very professional to list someone without asking them first.
You may have previously inquired whether someone could serve as your reference in the future—for instance, querying a manager upon leaving a job or a professor at graduation. However, it’s still necessary to reach out again with an email to confirm this arrangement.
In the email, include a quick reminder of who you are and how you’re acquainted, and then get straight to the point and ask if they’d be willing to be a reference for you. You can tell them a little about the opportunity you’re applying for and send your resume so they’re updated on what you’ve been doing.
One more important point is to give them room to refuse. It’s generally considered a responsibility to give references when requested—but sometimes people are busy, and you’re better off keeping them happy and primed for a different favor in the future than pushing them on this one now.
Unlike when writing a cover letter or creating a resume, formatting a reference list is straightforward and very simple. All you need to include is:
A phone call is generally more inconvenient for references to take, so feel free to write “(preferred contact)” beside the email address to encourage the employer to use that.
Below the contact information, you should also add a short reference description. This literally only needs to be one sentence, explaining who they are, how you know each other, and how long you’ve known each other. Like this:
“Terry was my manager at Meta from 2019 to 2022 when I was working as a front-end developer.”
There are two main ways to showcase your references: directly on your resume or on a separate sheet. In both cases, however, the format largely stays the same—just contact information and a reference description.
Here are some examples of how to format your reference list:
