You know, you need to go into the references, right? I saw two articles on a website, idealinterviewco.com, written by Nancy Shield that really speak to a lot of good things to look for when accumulating references.

From the article she writes, 'The best references are carefully selected colleagues who can speak to certain strengths or aspects of your character. unencumbered by the responsibility to a shared employer. Your relationship with a manager, for instance, can prove a fruitful reference for demonstrating your dependability. A trusted former colleague may have something insightful to say about your character, and about how you navigate a team environment.' All great points, right?

'Whenever leaving an organization, or when your time there seems to be approaching its end, reach out to mentors, peers, or managers to ask if you can use them as future references,' she writes. 'Make this request while you both still have daily contact, while your accomplishments are fresh in their mind. Finishing a class? Don't leave on your last day without asking your professor if you might use their name for a future application. Collect references constantly.'

This I'm gonna now go to me here and I'm going to add in. Also, if they're leaving the organization, make sure you have a way of reaching out to them in order to ensure you don't lose that potential reference. Make sure you have an email address and phone number, put it into your phone, offer to be a reference for them in the future, as well. You're always collecting references whether you know it or not. The idea just becomes, formally, you're going to do something to make the ask.

So when it comes time to that, remember, you're asking for a favor. Make the process as convenient as possible. Ask them generally, what is the best time for an employer to reach out to them. And also what's the best medium. There's more in there. But I'll just simply say, as she points out, accumulating references is critical for your career because firms are going to check them and you need to be prepared and not scrambling last minute to put them together.

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Accumulating References