Get Your Job References Together Before You Need Them

"Here's the problem," says the woman on the phone. "My ex-boss and I had no especially warm feelings for one another. I don't have another reference from that job, and I worked there for three years."

"What about a co-worker of yours who doesn't work there anymore?" I asked her. "That person could be a reference for you." "There isn't anyone like that," she said. "A customer?" I asked. "Oh, yes!" said the job-seeking lady. "There's a customer who loves me. I'll use her as a reference. Thanks so much --"

"Wait one second!" I quickly interjected. "You have to talk to your old customer first. She doesn't know she's going to be one of your job references. You can't let these guys hit her with a reference call or email out of the blue. You have to call and prepare her."

"Wait," said my caller, suddenly sounding dejected again. "That customer who loves me would be a great reference, but I don't have contact info for her. That means I can't call and ask her to be a reference, and I also can't put her phone or email in a job application, because I don't have them."

I felt sorry for the poor thing -- when she was working, she was too busy to worry about references. Now she's out of a job and job-hunting, and it's hard to gather together job references in that position. That's why you have to think about your references when you're working, when things are going great. Ideally, you'll have three kinds of references on your list:

1) A boss - either from your current or most recent job, or a previous one.
2) A peer - someone who worked with you and didn't supervise you.
3) Someone (peer, boss, customer, vendor, partner firm, whatever) -- who has worked with you recently -- in the last year, or at your most recent job.

Old, dusty references make the hiring manager wonder why people who knew you more recently aren't on the list. It's great to have a lofty executive on your list of references, but don't include anyone who isn't reachable in a few days (for instance, a lofty executive who's never in the country) or anyone who won't be able to remember you and your awesomeness within the first ten seconds of picking up the phone.

Before you give out your list of references to any employer (never with your resume -- these are your highly-valued and time-pressed professional colleagues, whose names and numbers aren't ever to be shared with people you haven't met yet) check in with your reference-givers and tell them a little about the job you're pursuing. That way, they'll be ready for a reference request if one comes, and they'll know something about the role you're going after -- allowing them to tailor their gushing reference to the situation.

Don't leave your reference-cultivation for a rainy day. Start thinking about some people who could be references for you if needed -- right now.