Should I Include References on my Resume?

You might be wondering how important it is to include references in the first place. After all, don’t applications already ask you for them? It’s one thing to claim that you increased sales by a certain percentage or trained ten new team members during your last role, however, showing future employer right off the bat that you have qualified references in place to corroborate your experience takes your application to the next level. 

This also helps to build a positive relationship with your recruiter. Trust is a very important factor in this relationship, and having strong references on your resume helps to foster that trusting partnership between you and the recruiter. 

How to Include References on a Resume

Including references on a resume is a simple process as long as you follow several rules:

1. Never include the personal address of your references
2. Get consent before using those references, as unexpected calls may do more harm than good.
3. Clarify the relationship with the reference.
4. Clarify how long you’ve known your references. The longer the relationship, the stronger the reference. 

It’s best to use a separate page for your reference list. The main page should be about your experience and what you can offer to potential employers. Leaving your references as a separate page also allows for you to address each opportunity, and recruiter, on a case-by-case basis and determine whether it’s a good fit for that situation.

Next, layout of your references sheet is important. The information should be listed as follows: 

• Reference’s full name
• Professional title
• Company (if there is a website, include that) 
• Company address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Description of your working relationship with this reference 

Your reference sheet can be a really great tool to utilize for landing your next job opportunity. If you are ready to take the next steps, Contact Us to be matched with a recruiter.