Professional References??

You put down, your 3 most recent professional references, from previous jobs.
Regardless if you are still in contact with them or not.
You put down your Manger/Supervisor, whomever was your "boss."

The employer you apply with for a job, will do reference checks. Per your work history.
You should know, the company/Boss's name that you used to work for, and their address. Their work address.
IF those people are no longer employed there, that is not your responsibility. The Employer you are applying to, will have the HR department do the reference checks and they will just check that you did work there and/or if you left or was fired (sometimes they cannot even say that), and if you are re-hireable.

There is a limit, on what previous employers can say, on reference checks. Due to privacy etc. Mostly what they will do is just confirm or not if you did work there and from what date to what date.

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Prior employers can still serve as references even if you are not in contact with them. If you know that you have a good performance record with them, then you can put them down.

Professional references could also be a college professor, since you have been a student. Basically, I have always defined professional references as someone who knows you through venues other than home, family, and church.

You might want to think about asking prior employers for letters of reference/ employment verification that you can attach to future applications.

Good Luck !!!

God Bless

1 mom found this helpful

That's OK...just put down the names of 3 bosses or colleagues that you HAVE worked with. Good luck!

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When I got divorced, I hadn't worked in 10 years.
I used people I knew who had excellent jobs in strong positions who would vouch for me as far as my integrity, dedication, work ethic, etc.
I had a 10 year gap to explain, but fortunately, I knew some fairly influential people and that really helped me out a lot.
I didn't take it to mean that I had to have actually worked with these people, but they were professionals who could give me glowing references due to their familiarity with me.
If you've been in school, ask your professors if you can use them.
Do you have a friend who is an executive secretary for a large firm?
These people are professionals and hopefully have great things to say about you.
Think of it that way and you might have an easier time coming up with references.

Good luck and best wishes!

1 mom found this helpful

A year and a half is not such a long time to have been out of the work force. If there is a boss you used to work for who you're sure would say you were reliable, hard working, etc, then it's okay to list them, even if you haven't kept in touch.

Did you ever work with people (outside vendors, customers) at your previous jobs? It's okay to list customers and vendors too - anyone who could be trusted to say nice things about you.

Have you ever volunteered anywhere? Volunteer work counts as work experience - so someone you volunteered for/under could be on your list.

Professors are great, too.

Honestly, most employers are fairly lazy and don't bother to call to check references very carefully (which I personally find shocking, but there you have it!).

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Even if you're no longer in contact with previous managers or colleagues, you can still list them as references, especailly if it's less than 3 years. You may also want to list someone that you have done volunteer work with, or one of your instructors.

What about a particular teacher/instructor? Another option is if you know someone who you worked with...not where you worked before but someone you dealt with (like when I worked at one company in the HR Department, I dealt with people from other companies on a professional level).

Did you like any of your old co-workers? Or a boss? I would contact them FIRST and ask them if you can use them as a reference. Never put anyone down before asking for their permission first.

Otherwise with school-Did you do any volunteer work with the school? Or outside of the school? You can put that down. Any field work?

You can ask you adviser, a teacher that will work too.

How bout a pastor if you attend a church somewhere. Have you done any volunteer work? You could use someone from there if you have......

If you know someone who is working in a similar field to the one you're applying for (say if you want to work in a doctor's office, do you know anyone who works in another doctor's office, for example?) you might ask them for a reference. They would know the requirements of a job like theirs, and might provide a reference for you. True, they haven't worked with you, but they're in the workforce and they know you. They don't have to provide details about your work experience, but they can say something like "she is extremely organized, which is invaluable for someone in this position" or "since a job like this requires discretion and patient confidentiality, I can vouch for her absolute trustworthiness".