“When should I provide my references” is a question that job searchers often ask.
Generally speaking, two groups of people are going to request your references at one point or another:
A company that might hire you: A company that has you fill out an application upon arriving for an interview might ask you for your references right away, expecting that you always carry their names and contact details with you. I’d tend to leave this section blank and if they ask why you didn’t fill that part out, I’d tell them I don’t carry this information with me and normally provide them when a company decides they’d like to hire me. Afterall, if you provide your references to every company you interview with, potentially dozens of people are going to have them and why exactly is that necessary?
A recruiter that might help you: Understand that the reason why a recruiter wants your references as soon as possible is so that if they can’t find you a job, they’re going to call your references and try to either help them find a job if they’re a job searcher or help them hire staff if they’re an employer. Even if they do help you find a job they’re probably going to do the same thing so if you provide your references to a dozen different recruiters expect that your references are going to get called by a dozen different recruiters. Probably within one day of you giving them the references. Regardless of whether they help you find a new job or not.
If a recruiter seems to be spending more time worrying about getting your references from you than anything else, I’d question why. Based on what I just mentioned above, you already know even if they won’t admit it and of course they won’t.
When a hiring company requests your references up front, I’d want to know why, too. References are typically done directly before a job offer is extended so asking for them up front is a bit unusual.
If you’re handing out your references freely, I’d be afraid that they’ll start receiving so many calls that they no longer want to act as a reference for you.
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