What's the scariest part of any job search? Providing references, that's what. Not only can references put any chance of employment at risk by telling lies about you, they can totally sink your career by doing something truly mean and sinister -- they could tell the truth.
Bulletproofing Your References In the Hunt for a New Job is the headline of a recent Wall Street Journal column by Joann S. Lublin, and let me say right at the outset that Lublin is a hardworking, well-respected reporter who would an excellent addition to any newsroom. (I don't expect anything in return for this reference, but if Joann S. is interested, the password for my Swiss bank account is Yoddler3. And tell Hans I said hello.)
Of course, the entire concept of asking for workplace references is flawed. Why would an employer expect you to provide any reference who wasn't a major fan of your work? And why would even a dim bulb like you offer up contact information for all the managers, supervisors and co-workers who think you're a jerk?
Despite the lack of logic built into the process, references will be continued to be required and supplied, providing cover for the hiring manager, and anxiety for the applicant. This brings us to the subject of "bulletproofing."
Lublin's first tip in this area comes from Andy Levine, the president of an economic marketing-development firm in New York. After finding his name continually being given as a reference from a former employee who had been dismissed within three months of being hired, Levine suggests that you "seek references from someone besides the boss who fired you."
On the surface, this seems to be sensible advice, but it could raise problems for you, because the only bosses who didn't fire you were unable to do so because you quit before they had the chance.
Even with a paucity of management fans in your employment history, there are still techniques for creating a list of bulletproof references. For example, Lublin suggests you "negotiate a balanced response from a bad boss and other risky references." Specifically, you might negotiate a deal in which your bad boss does not mention the six missing Aeron chairs the morning you stopped coming to work, in return for which could offer to delete your cell-phone photos of your boss dancing the meringue in his tighty whities at the office Christmas party.
"Going the extra mile with references may enhance your chances of landing a job," suggests Randy Street, a partner in a management-assessment firm. "That means caring enough to do more than just asking for permission."