Note to Applicants: Want to Get Hired?

One of the best things you can do to get hired is by making it simple for your "future" employer to check your references. Did you ever consider that your prospective employers may be frustrated by their inability to do so? I often hear stories of employers getting caught in a never ending goose chase because of a few different issues like these situations below.

• Corporate policies against providing references
• Third party vendors charging for information
• Former supervisors leaving the company and replacements don't know the applicant
• Local offices/stores deferring to corporate HQ and it takes a few calls to find that out

The bottom line is that when applying for jobs, it is imperative to make it as easy as possible for your prospective employer. Believe me they appreciate it. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute and you'll understand. Imagine 100 applicants with three work references and three personal references each. Do the math and that equals 600 phone calls or emails. Then, add a few failures and phone tag exchanges and suddenly all the hiring manager is doing is checking references.


Help them hire you!


A few tips:

1. Provide up-to-date and accurate contact information for your references.
2. Know your former employers' policies for work references and/or work verification.
• For example, some companies use third party agencies like The Work Number and will only release "rank and serial number," i.e. position, dates, and possibly verify wage. If your prospective employer needs more information beyond the stats, you may need to provide a letter or statement permitting your former employer to release that additional information.
• Also, if your former employer does use a vendor for work verifications, be sure to include that vendor's contact information on your employment application. Don't make your prospective employers have to make two calls instead of one.
3. When your former supervisor leaves the company, be sure to make note of that and provide another name of someone who can verify your employment.

Remember, you want the job right? Make it easy for your prospective employer to hire you by being the easiest applicant for them to verify references. Trust me, these little subtle differences will make all the difference to a busy hiring manager.