Today’s Tip: Coach Your References

So you made it past the interview phase and it's now time for the company to check your references. Surprisingly, you actually don't want to give them your list of references as soon as they ask for it! Instead, you want to say something like this, "I am excited to hear that you would like to talk to individuals that can speak about my accomplishments. I hope this means that you are seriously considering me as the final candidate for this position". Wait for their response to verify that this is probably the last step before an offer is forthcoming. Then say, "I did promise my references that I would give them a heads-up before giving out their contact information. Is it okay if I call them this afternoon (or night) and provide you that list by E-mail tomorrow morning?" The company will most likely accept this request.

The reason for this delay, is to give you time to contact your references and "coach" them on how your interview went, what you feel are important "talking points" for them to bring up, and speak to the culture that you witnessed during the interview process as well as your research on the company.

Note: Would you want your reference to speak about your accomplishment of getting your previous company to approve a policy allowing all employees to bring their dogs to work everyday? If you were interviewing at IBM... probably not! But if you interviewed for a position at Google, this would definitely be a talking point.

P.S. You also want to coach your references on your "greatest weakness" since that is a standard question asked by those checking your references. Give a separate weakness to each reference on your list, but make them small areas for improvement and never job related.