The Importance of Employment References

A thoughtful, strategic list of employment references is often overlooked by most job seekers. However, it’s important to put as much thought into how you format a list of job references as you have in constructing your résumé. At Randstad, we understand that a well written résumé highlights important information about you and your experience. But we also know employers look closely at your references. It is here where potential employers find support for other information in your résumé, as well as insight into how you will perform as an employee. Ultimately, employment references can make or break a job opportunity.

How to Format a List of Job References

Your list of employment references should suit the position you are pursuing. Before you begin to format a list of job references, Randstad has a few things for you to consider:

List job references that have direct knowledge of your past experience. Remember, these are the people who will be expanding upon the content of your résumé.
Avoid listing family or friends.
Only list references that have given you permission to do so.
List references separately from your résumé.
To keep things consistent, print your list of references on the same paper and letter-head as your résumé.

There are many ways to format a list of job references, but it’s important to keep your list simple and easy to read. Below is a sample job reference list. It contains all the important contact information about your reference, and lists it in a logical order, typically by last position first.

Reference Name, Company where they work, their position
City, State
Email address
Phone or Cell Phone number

Once you have a professional list of job references, click here to search for job opportunities in your area and we’ll help you put it to good use.