5 Lessons You Can Learn From Your Lame First Job Out of College

5 Lessons You Can Learn From Your Lame First Job Out of College 5 Lessons You Can Learn From Your Lame First Job Out of College Before finding your fantasy work, you may need to take care of your obligations. Statista found that 14 percent of U.S. laborers are underemployed , or working in a position they're overqualified for. New graduates particularly must be persistent with regards to beginning a profession. A considerable lot of us have to begin at the base and stir our way up. It's anything but difficult to get anxious in case you're a workmanship history significant going through your days as a canine walker. In any case, even the most passage level position can assist you with learning significant life exercises. To discover more, I talked with school graduates about their post-graduation occupations. Here are five exercises these graduates gained from their first occupation out of school that helped them become the individuals they are today. As an understudy, your way is quite clear every year. Your school and educators let you recognize what's anticipated from you. In spite of the fact that you're answerable for picking a significant , you for the most part have a reasonable structure to direct your activities. Yet, when you enter the workforce, you probably won't have a lot of direction for profession improvement. Rather than seeking an expert for answers, you need to place yourself accountable for your expert predetermination. My first occupation out of school was with a resistance contractual worker, and I figured out how I am presently in unlimited authority of my vocation, said Jim Wang, presently an individual account blogger at Wallet Hacks . I needed to not exclusively be my No. 1 backer, however I needed to locate my own undertakings [and] plan my best course of action in the organization. At the point when you begin working after school, you must be proactive about your vocation . So pose inquiries, look for a tutor, and make intentional strides toward your objectives. In reality, you need to choose everything, said Wang. In the wake of graduating with her single man's in English Writing, Sarah Donawerth took an occupation as a clerk at Michaels, an expressions and specialties store. I was getting ready for graduate school, I required a consistent wellspring of pay, and I was unable to discover anything [else], said Donawerth. Yet, despite the fact that she was underemployed, she understood it was essential to keep an inspirational disposition about her activity. It was difficult to call the energy to assist somebody with loading racks, however I ensured that consistently I went to my activity with the disposition that I would put forth a valiant effort, said Donawerth. While others were protesting that it was a dumb activity and they were hopeless, my state of mind remained strikingly high. At long last, her confidence and difficult work paid off. I have joyfully hung up my red vest and am currently the online networking accounts supervisor at … an expressions and specialties magazine distributer, said Donawerth. My involvement with Michaels was one reason they employed me. I knew about their industry and the demonstrated reputation of difficult work. Donawerth had the option to use her experience into a place that better accommodated her aptitudes and capabilities. Furthermore, her standpoint made her experience a positive one. Vincent Nero is now the VP general manager of Successories , but he had no activity arranged after graduation. Amidst the downturn with no activity arranged, I got a call from my mid year entry level position manager who was moving a business down to South Florida, said Nero. Regardless of his faltering about moving, Nero acknowledged the position. Was Florida on my radar? Did I need to move across nation? Did I need to work for this organization? said Nero. The response to each one of those was no, yet I said yes. It's essential to be available to new chances. Despite the fact that he wasn't certain about the result, Nero chose each open door that came his direction was a learning experience. Also, this receptiveness paid off. After eight years, I've stirred my way up to running [a] multi-million dollar organization, said Nero. All since I said yes. Regardless of whether you can't see it immediately, there are exercises to be gained from your first employment out of school . What's more, by remaining open, you could find your next extraordinary job. Not every person handles an occupation in their objective field directly after graduation. David Batchelor, fellow benefactor of DialMyCalls , took in this the most difficult way possible. My first employment was working at the cinema for $4 60 minutes, Batchelor said. Regardless of the measly compensation, Batchelor learned significant business lessons from this job. There are a million organizations who sell a million gadgets and administrations, said Batchelor. [But] the vast majority of them on a very basic level run a similar way. So the prior you begin to perceive how the bits of the riddle fit together, the happier you'll be. Batchelor has since utilized the business exercises he figured out how to help establish his own organization . I'd suggest everybody … to get familiar with all the intricate details of the organization no doubt about it, said Batchelor. The compensation itself was not all that much however the experience I landed at that position was invaluable. Regardless of whether you're not keen on business, your association can show you how individuals meet up to move in the direction of a shared objective. What's more, this is an exercise you can convey with you into every single future job. Except if you're amazingly fortunate, you'll need to place in a great deal of difficult work before accomplishing your expert objectives. In spite of the fact that it probably won't be simple, experiencing hindrances is absolutely typical. At the point when I graduated, I functioned as a server to take care of my tabs, said Zachary Painter, employing administrator at Resume Genius . It was a good time for a period, yet I wasn't generally upbeat. [It] helped me understand that I needed something long haul and expert; that is the point at which I locked in and started independent composition. Painter didn't discover prompt accomplishment as an author. To help himself en route, he picked up distinctive side gigs . I had a concise stretch fixing spills in pools; I filled in as a shoe sales rep; I worked in the kitchen of a nation club, said Painter. However, I tried to continue composing. He currently functions as an author, profession counselor, and employing administrator. It was difficult arriving, Painter said. With respect to the exercises he gained from this first occupation? Achievement is conceded to the individuals who continue on. The change from school to the workforce isn't generally a simple one. You need to adjust to new conditions, desires, and associates. As another graduate, you most likely need to begin at the base of the chain of command. Be that as it may, even the most shoddy activity can show you things. Nearly everybody has portions of their activity that they love and parts they wish they never needed to do again, said Martha Schmitz, a senior adviser at Mentat . By distinguishing which parts of a vocation you love - and which ones you despise - you can explain your profession objectives . Regardless of whether your first occupation out of school isn't actually what you envisioned for your vocation, it's essential to make the most out of the experience, said Schmitz. As you create work understanding, you'll find out about your vocation choices and how to contact them. In addition, you'll learn how to showcase your aptitudes for post-school employments . This article was initially distributed on Student Loan Hero .

Tips on How to Provide a Better New Employee Orientation

Tips on How to Provide a Better New Employee Orientation Tips on How to Provide a Better New Employee Orientation Your new representative direction is a make em or break em experience, for another worker. At its best, the procedure of new worker direction hardens the new representatives relationship with your association. It energizes their energy and aides their means into a drawn out positive relationship with you. It causes you hold the workers that you most need to keep. Done ineffectively, your new worker direction will leave your new representatives asking why in the world they strolled through your entryway. This establishes the framework for a negative representative encounter of your activity and association why go there when the war for incredible ability is raising? Picture this situation, which plays out each day in associations. Your organization's new representative direction program has smooth, pre-printed presents. The program's sharp, well disposed moderator utilizes great visuals, for example, overhead transparencies and a white marker board. Members get a guided voyage through the office. The hundred-page worker handbook is securely tucked under their arms. However the normal worker feels dazed, overpowered, and a long way from welcome. Not your expectation by any means! What's missing? How might you take your program from just arranging to incorporating your recently recruited employee? Recall That Your New Hires Are Human Numerous recently recruited employees question their choice to change organizations before the finish of their first day. Their tensions are powered by botches that organizations frequently make during that first-day new representative direction program. These regular slip-ups include: Overpowering the recently recruited employee with realities, figures, names and faces stuffed into one eight-hour day;Showing exhausting direction videos;Providing protracted front-of-the-room addresses; andFailing to get ready for the fresh recruit by giving fitting gear, for example, a PC and sufficient assignments so the new representative feels as though they have bounced directly into crafted by the new job.Before you totally patch up your present new worker orientation process, ask yourself the accompanying inquiry: What would you like to accomplish during new representative direction? What first impression would you like to make? An organization's certain early introductions can solidify the arrangement for a recently selected worker. Those positive strokes can likewise speed joining and efficiency. Examination shows that great direction programs can improve worker retention by 25 percent. The Ideal Orientation for Your New Hires Dr. John Sullivan, leader of the Human Resource Management Program at San Francisco State University, presumes that few components add to a world-class new worker direction program. The best new worker direction: Targets objectives and meets them,Makes the primary day a celebration,Involves family just as coworkers,Makes recently recruited employees profitable on the first day,Is not exhausting, surged or incapable, andUses input to consistently improve. Make Employees Say During NEO: I Am Welcomed, Therefore, I Belong Most associations are incredible at praising the flight of a darling collaborator. For what reason are associations regularly so terrible at inviting another worker? Consider masterminding involved with welcome the new representative. Festivities produce excitement. Have you encountered beginning a new position just to have your colleagues and chief overlook you during the main week? Assuming this is the case, you comprehend the viability of even a little eagerness. Some straightforward festival strategies may incorporate a letter of welcome marked by the CEO, an organization shirt marked by all division individuals, and a cake with candles on the representative's first day. Include families in the festival. Calendar an invite lunch get-together or supper for mates and families during the worker's first month. Antiquated invite carts were once used to convey treats to new individuals from a network. You can build up your own invite cart. Complimentary gifts that guide the fresh recruit in his activity will fortify the conviction that organization workers are happy he is there and need him to succeed. For instance, a guide indicating close by restaurants is useful and acknowledged. (A challenge to lunch from associates every day during the representative's first week is significantly additionally inviting.) Go above and beyond than giving a guide of the office and the parking garage. Give your new individual a photograph of himself in the parking area, before the organization sign. Visuals have an incredible effect. Plan for Instant Productivity From Your New Hire Bosses every now and again disregard the most basic inquiry of the newcomer. He needs to know how his work impacts his area of expertise and eventually, the organization. Your new representative direction ought to incorporate a diagram of every office's capacity. Incorporate data about what explicitly goes into every office (inputs) and what comes out (items). Give instances of how these capacities identify with the worker's activity. Invest some energy during the new worker direction permitting every individual to analyze how his new position and its duties fit in. Examine the normal commitments and how they will support the organization. Make certain to call attention to how new workers can offer criticism for making enhancements. Look at your new representative direction program from the point of view of the new workers. Envision their nerves, just as their inquiries. Give a glossary of organization abbreviations, popular expressions, and FAQs so they don't need to pose the most essential inquiries. Disperse an assist source with checking that gives the names and email locations of individuals who are pre-assigned for questions. You may likewise need to dole out a departmental tutor to help with questions and the new representative direction process during the worker's first month. Deal with the Integration of Your New Hire In a perfect world, the fresh recruit's prompt administrator will take an interest in part of the new worker direction. A great method to fuse the director is in the style of the old Newlywed Game. The director needs to think about how he figures his new worker will address questions. On the off chance that answers coordinate, focuses are granted for prizes. For a powerful new worker direction process, numerous organizations anticipate that the boss should give the departmental, and work-explicit direction. The Human Resources office handles the organization diagram, the handbooks, the advantages, and other fundamental data. Be that as it may, at that point, the director dominates. On the main day, another worker should meet with his new chief. The gathering ought to incorporate an arrangement for explicit preparing. Both the manager and the new representative are urged to share their desires for the activity, including fears or reservations each may have. The supervisor keeps the gathering positive and defers with the recently recruited employee began a significant task. Stay away from the slip-up of permitting the new worker to sit inactive. (In certain associations, the Human Resources bunch assists with the plan of an agenda, which helps managers to give an intensive direction.) Assess the Success of the New Employee Orientation Great preparing programs ask for member assessments. Toward the finish of your new worker direction, offer a brief, five-question survey concentrated on the introduction. Catch up with a review that centers around content in ten days or somewhere in the vicinity. Energize input about what data the new worker would have gotten a kick out of the chance to have gotten during the new representative direction program. Discover what data was over-burden or unneeded. Join the recommendations to improve your new representative direction program. Initial introductions of your association, both great and awful, are made the principal day. Choose the goals of your new worker direction program. Meet those targets sincerely and decidedly. Fruitful coordination will happen just if your new representative chooses he has settled on an astute choice to join your association. Your viable new worker direction can help represent the deciding moment that choice. A Positive Example of a Successful New Hire Orientation The best new worker direction was initiated at Edgewood Tool and Manufacturing, a little stepping plant close to Detroit. Each administrator who recruited another worker was required to compose a 120-day orientation plan for the new representative. It included one activity daily. Activities included gathering the Director of Quality, approaching a client and eating with the CEO. You can wager that the new representative was completely invited and coordinated into the association after 120 diverse direction occasions.

GBL Tech Resume Writing - An Experts Advice

<h1>GBL Tech Resume Writing - An Expert's Advice</h1><p>GBL Tech Resume Writing was a well known decision among understudies searching for a bit of leeway in their vocation way. This has gotten exceptionally famous with the presentation of the web. There are a few manners by which individuals can figure out how to compose a GBL Tech resume and you should take the proposals from an expert.</p><p></p><p>The question of 'Vocation advancement' was perhaps the greatest worry among numerous understudies who needed to discover a method of profession improvement so as to stretch out beyond their friends. The innovation that has existed since the late nineties came into power and more organizations are presently planning their activity jobs and hierarchical structures dependent on PCs. There is a large number of programming accessible on the web and you can consider it well. The master that you will get from an online school is well prepared to offer you the best guidance and show you different applications that you would require in the advanced occasions. They additionally disclose you how to utilize the web for composing your resume.</p><p></p><p>Another valuable choice accessible to GBL Tech Resume Writing is the web on the grounds that there are a great deal of independent scholars and interpreters that offer their administrations at a sensible cost. On the off chance that you realize what you are doing, you can compose a fruitful resume and become an accomplishment in the business world.</p><p></p><p>Electronic continue composing is tied in with producing enthusiasm for a specific area and making it look great. You can guarantee the pertinence of your resume by establishing a decent first connection. The applicant who doesn't have any effect on the introductory letter can without much of a stretch beginning losing positions. You have to make some start and give a feeling that you are somebody who is high on potential and have a fantastic future in front of you.</p><p></p><p>The GBL Tech continue composing specialist co-op would then catch up with you once the resume is prepared. They will assess the different capabilities that you have, how they identify with the organization you are applying for and how they can assist them with advancing their business and bring more client attention.</p><p></p><p>Many organizations are utilizing GBL continue composing as an apparatus so as to get new staff to their associations. It is particularly a smart thought to create a resume that is amazing and contains inside and out data. The aptitude of keeping one's self refreshed is basic in the event that you need to do well in your activity. Every one of your endeavors are not squandered in the event that you know your portfolio and the essential employment requirements.</p><p></p><p>The best alterna tive accessible for you is to get the help of a specialist who might have the option to show you how to work superbly. An expert would likewise call attention to the mix-ups that you may make in your resume composing and this would allow you to amend your work. A GBL tech continue composing administration is a decent method to guarantee that you are fit as a fiddle with regards to composing an ideal resume. Remember to employ an expert who can offer you fair exhortation so as to get another bearing in your career.</p>

Dont Just Sit There, Leverage LinkedIn - Hallie Crawford

Dont Just Sit There, Leverage LinkedIn - Hallie Crawford “You’re not taking your career seriously if you’re not on LinkedIn.” A friend who is an executive at a PR firm told me this several years ago â€" point blank â€" and I agree with her. Are you currently on LinkedIn? Do you have a complete LinkedIn profile? If the answer is no, you need to work on it right away. LinkedIn is no longer optional whether you are actively searching for a job or not. And it doesn’t matter what age you are or the stage in your career.  should have a LinkedIn profile as well. It is a critical tool and resource for your professional development in terms of networking and staying abreast of current trends in your industry. Also, it is not okay to just sit there on LinkedIn and either a) not have a complete profile or b) not actively use this tool to your advantage. Two examples I want to share: The first story took place at a speaking engagement I attended over a year ago. The recruiter on the panel I was on said he spent at least eight hours per day on LinkedIn searching for qualified candidates for his clients. Additionally, several of my clients in the past few years have been actively pursued online through LinkedIn for interviews. There is no way you can pass up the chance to get noticed on LinkedIn when you are in a job search. You need to leverage the other advantages LinkedIn provides, including long-term professional networking (through connections and through LinkedIn groups) to help you stay on top of trends in your industry and provide you with sales leads, client leads, etc. For those of you who may not be familiar with LinkedIn, here’s the scoop: With over 150 million members, it is the world’s largest professional network. LinkedIn allows you to stay connected and easily in touch with your professional contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. LinkedIn also has a job board with job openings that tend to be narrower/more focused on what you are looking for when you search. You don’t get extraneous or irrelevant positions when you conduct a search. Here is some advice on the basics of LinkedIn to get you started: Ensure your profile is 100% complete, including a photo. Find one that looks professional, not hokey, and not one with your dog in the background. Some people have asked me if including a photo could mean they are discriminated against for a job opening. You can’t control what others do. That could be possible, but in the end it’s better to err on the side of having a photo than not. Remember that people hire people, not a piece of paper or words on a LinkedIn profile. They are more likely to feel connected with you if you have a photo. Only connect with reputable people you know. Different people have varying opinions on this. I fall in the category of only connecting with people you know â€" those who you would feel comfortable asking for time from. If you don’t know them, you may not feel comfortable asking them for this. Networking is the primary reason for using LinkedIn, so don’t connect with them if they don’t pass this test. Update your profile frequently. Your profile should always be current and include the latest employment information, experience, or skill set you possess. The people you are connected with are notified when you have made updates and recruiters and employers are searching LinkedIn every day. Stay on top of it! Use keywords relevant to your industry or job search. If you aren’t using keywords in your title, summary, or skill set, your profile can’t be found easily. When you are finished, take a bird’s eye view and ask others to do the same. Ask yourself, “Would I hire me?”Ask others if they would. If your profile looks plain, not compelling, or sparse, then you need to work on it. Feel free to browse other LinkedIn profiles; however, do NOT to copy them. Just get ideas on how to make yours look readable and compelling. After you’ve completed these basics, you want to make sure you check your LinkedIn inbox regularly, or have it send emails to your account so you can stay on top of messages. Search for jobs on LinkedIn, add new contacts regularly, and when you meet someone at an event, connect with him or her afterwards on LinkedIn. These are a few of the ways you can actively use and leverage your profile instead of letting it just sit there. Use it pro-actively instead of passively â€" it can greatly enhance your professional success if you do. Please Share This

Where to Find Professional Help Writing Your Resume

<h1>Where to Find Professional Help Writing Your Resume</h1><p>When you're attempting to figure out how to compose a resume, one of the most significant things you have to learn is the place to discover proficient assistance composing your resume. This is a critical initial phase in setting yourself up for any prospective employee meet-up or request for employment. It's completely urgent that you realize where to discover proficient assistance with the goal that you can make a resume that will get you the activity of your dreams.</p><p></p><p>One of the greatest slip-ups individuals make when they are attempting to figure out how to compose a resume is to just disregard their short employment history and their numerous achievements. Sadly, this is the most well-known misstep individuals make when they are attempting to make a resume. The issue with this is it frequently just makes an unacceptable resume.</p><p></p><p>Y our continue will be appeared to an expected boss for an explanation - to inform a potential business concerning you. This is the place your resume needs to sparkle - in your past as well as in your future. You have to show a potential business how you can assist them with excelling in the work environment. Regardless of whether you have long periods of experience, your resume ought to reflect what you bring to the table an organization when they are searching for new blood.</p><p></p><p>When you are figuring out how to compose a resume, you should realize that there are numerous spots where you can discover proficient assistance. The Internet is most likely the best spot to begin in light of the fact that there are actually a great many sites that give composing administrations. In the event that you type 'continue composing' into Google, you will see a rundown of many sites devoted to composing resumes. Pause for a minute to peruse these sites, you may even get the hang of something that can be applied to your circumstance. Basically you don't need to set aside the effort to search out each open door that comes your way.</p><p></p><p>When you're prepared to discover proficient assistance composing your resume, you need to do it on the web. This is on the grounds that there are a lot of spots where you can discover free assistance composing a resume - and afterward there are a lot of spots where you can burn through many dollars. Exploit both. On the off chance that you can discover an assistance that offers assistance in a free configuration, that is the best alternative for you. There are a few organizations that spend significant time in this however you may need to burrow for them online.</p><p></p><p>While you can discover free help in a free assistance, you don't need to make due with that alternative. There are a lot of spots where you can get proficient assistance. This incorporat es composing administrations that offer you a level expense that they will charge you after they accomplish all the work for you. The drawback of this alternative is that you are paying for the administration that they give. On the off chance that you need to maintain a strategic distance from this entanglement, you might need to investigate pursuing a paid composing service.</p><p></p><p>You don't need to let the past ruin your resume or make it appear as though you don't have the foggiest idea what you're doing. Ensure that you get familiar with the correct method to compose a resume. Proficient assistance is the appropriate response you're looking for.</p>

4 Steps to Becoming a Boomerang Employee

4 Steps to Becoming a Boomerang Employee 4 Steps to Becoming a Boomerang Employee On the off chance that you have ever thought to be returning â€" or boomeranging â€" to your previous boss, you are not the only one. In an ongoing report, almost 40 percent of those overviewed said they'd think about coming back to their previous organization, as indicated by the investigation from The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and WorkplaceTrends.com. Among those studied, 15 percent said they previously had boomeranged back to an old manager sooner or later. kronos.com/pr/boomerang-representatives and-the-associations they-once-left.aspx Boomerangs might be onto something. They're now familiar with the intricate details of the organization culture, innovation and administration. What's more, maybe their objective for leaving â€" to acquire a more significant compensation or build up another expertise â€" has been accomplished, and it feels like chance to return to the old favorite premises. Interested? All things considered, there are a few different ways you can submerge yourself in this pattern. Market yourself fittingly and, even better, deliberately position your profession moves, with the goal that coming back to your previous manager is the regular following stage. Here's the ticket. 1. Leave on great standing. The saying never cut off your ties couldn't be all the more obvious. You ought to consistently leave on a positive note. Oppose the impulse to message your abdication and consistently give at any rate fourteen days' notification. Also, compose cards to say thanks to your previous chief and partners. Other than the way that you may need to contact them as references later on, no one can tell when you may run into your associates â€" particularly under a similar rooftop â€" once more. 2. Make progress toward faultless execution surveys. At the point when I worked in enlisting, previous representatives who applied to my employments were in every case profoundly considered. Despite the business, the shared factor was consistently to give noteworthy load to boomerangs and put them at the highest point of the virtual heap. For what reason was this reliably the case? First of all, increase time for boomerangs is fundamentally shorter than with recently recruited employees. They're now acquainted with the interior activities of the organization, from the way of life to the time sheet framework. All things considered, I still consistently investigated their exhibition audits from their time at the organization and, all the more critically, to discover why they left. Is it accurate to say that they were ended for horrible showing? Or then again was their area of expertise killed? On the off chance that anybody had a needs improvement rating on their record, they were a quick no. So, during execution surveys, and after leaving an organization, discover what will be on your changeless record. Without a doubt, there's very little you can do to change a needs improvement rating sometime later, yet it's in every case great to be educated about where you stand and ensure that records are 100 percent exact before you leave. 3. Keep in contact. It's consistently brilliant to keep up your expert connections, and it's particularly imperative to connect in case you're considering coming back to your previous manager. While you're getting a charge out of lunch or espresso with them, jump further. Get some information about ways the organization's way of life, authority and qualities have changed and what development resembles. Is it a glad domain to work in? Are there chances to develop? Make sense of what you're searching for in another business and pose explicit inquiries to decide if they're lined up with your needs. Remember your unique purpose behind leaving. In the event that you recently felt that the organization's fundamental beliefs weren't lined up with your own, yet now it appears as though things have changed, at that point by all methods think about seeking after them. Simultaneously, in light of the fact that specific things have changed doesn't imply that everybody at the organization will share your convictions. For example, if your previous horrendous manager despite everything works in the office you'd join, or if remuneration hasn't changed, and you recently felt came up short on, it may be smarter to just remain away. 4. Grandstand your insight about the organization. It's not just likely that old associates will advance along openings for work to you when they catch wind of them â€" there's a decent possibility they'll send your application straightforwardly to the recruiting chief. At the point when selection representatives call you for the underlying meeting, be set up for an adjustment to the omnipresent inquiry, For what reason should we enlist you? And obviously, For what reason would you like to work here? You should be set up to persuade them why they ought to rehire you and, obviously, why you genuinely need to work there once more. Truly, being a boomerang positively supports your odds of being a leader for that activity, yet don't exclusively depend on it during the procedure. You despite everything need to pro it. Exhibit how learned you are about the organization. Try not to be a smarty pants, however remind them how you're as of now on the ball without saying, You know, I'm a boomerang. I ought to get first inclination. It's a show-don't-tell situation â€" give them that you're knowledgeable on organization happenings by referencing pieces of data you found on their web based life takes care of, for instance. Cause it to appear as though you haven't thought twice in the time you've been gone, and you'll boomerang a once again into recognizable area quickly.

How to build your reference list - Copeland Coaching

How to build your reference list I hope you had a wonderful weekend. As you prepare for your next big opportunity, one of the most important things is to secure reliable, insightful references. References become an issue at the beginning and the end of the application process. At the beginning, you must furnish them along with your application. At the end, your references are checked just before you receive the job offer. Sometimes, you receive the offer first, which is contingent upon positive reference checks. Ive received a number of questions lately about how to approach someone, and the best way to get references. Below are my dos and donts when it comes to getting the best references possible. DO: Ask your references in advance. They need to have the opportunity to prepare. DO: Communicate about interviews in a private place. You need to keep it a secret that youre looking. DO: Ask your previous boss, previous co-workers, and previous employees. These are considered relevant references. DO: Give your references a heads up on what the job is and send your latest resume. This is especially true if you havent worked together in some time, or if youre changing your career. DO: If youre making a major career change, try to speak to your references over the phone in advance. This will give you an opportunity to explain why you think this change is appropriate for you. DO: Keep the contact information for your references in your phone. You never know when you may need to provide them to a future employer. DO: Select references who can speak to your strengths. You want someone who will advocate for you. DO: Stay in touch with your references. If youre listing someone you worked with ten years ago, be sure youve spoken from time to time. DO: Ensure you have correct contact information for your references. You dont want to provide outdated information. DO: Find out what your references will say about you. You want to ensure your references will give you a glowing review. DO: Select relevant references. If you have a reference who is in the same industry, select them over someone who doesnt know about the new job you want. DO: Identify negative references and remove them from your reference list. If you find that not all of your references are putting you in the best light, try to identify where the problem may be to minimize damage. DONT: Fail to tell your references that calls may be coming. They should not be surprised when they receive calls. DONT: Use your current manager as a reference. This is never a good idea. DONT: Use current coworkers or employees as references. This puts them in a bad position and doesnt poise you for success. DONT: List a reference you are unsure about. Its better to be safe than sorry. DONT: Ask for a written reference. Most references are provided via the phone. DONT: List your references in your resume. Theyre provided in your application when you apply for the job. Listing them in your resume takes up precious space you could be using to highlight your skills. DONT: Include family members or friends you have never worked with. These arent considered relevant references. DONT: Forget to follow up with your references to thank them, even if you dont get the job. Theyve done you a huge favor, and you will most likely ask them to help out more than once. DONT: Overuse your references. Its a special thing that theyre taking the time to help you with; appreciate it. As you can see, there are a number of things you can do to help your chances when it comes to securing successful references. Although reference checking is often the last step of the interview process, the importance of this step should not be underestimated. I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. Happy hunting! Angela Copeland @CopelandCoach