References on a resume: when and how to list them

The old line “References available upon request” is no longer needed. Every employer knows you will provide references if they ask, so the line tells them nothing and takes a line you could use for something else. Our guide on how long a resume should be lists it among the first things to cut.

A good referee knows your work first-hand, recently, and will speak well of it. Job titles matter less than how well they can describe what you did. In rough order of usefulness:

1. A recent manager who supervised you directly. This is what most employers want most.
2. A senior colleague or team lead who worked with you closely.
3. A client or customer you worked with over time, for sales, consulting and freelance work.
4. A professor, project advisor or internship supervisor, for students and new graduates.
5. A manager from an earlier job, if your current employer doesn't know you are looking.

Avoid family members, friends, and people who knew you only briefly. Avoid anyone you aren't sure will be positive; a lukewarm reference can do more harm than none.

How many references should you have? Three is the usual number for most jobs; have a fourth in reserve. Senior and executive roles sometimes ask for four or five, including someone who reported to you.

If you haven't told your current employer you are leaving, say so to the new employer and offer a previous manager instead. Most will accept that, and ask for a current reference only after making an offer.

Always ask before you give anyone's name. It is courteous, it gives them time to remember your work, and it means they won't be caught off guard by a call. Ask by email or in person, and make it easy to say no.

If they agree, confirm the phone number and email address they want you to share, and their current job title. Don't assume the details you have are the ones they want used.

To put references on a resume the usual way, keep them on a separate page, with the same header (your name and contact details) and the same font as your resume, so it looks like part of a set. Our simple resume templates make that easy to match.

For each referee, include:

• Full name
• Job title and organization (current)
• How they know you, in one line: “My manager at Kreditly, 2023–2026”
• Phone number with country code
• Email address

List the most relevant referee first, usually your most recent manager. If an application asks you to put references on the resume itself, add a short References section at the end in the same format, with two or three names.

A referee who has your resume and the job description in front of them gives a far more useful reference than one trying to remember what you did three years ago. Before they are contacted, send them:

• The job title and company, and roughly when they may be contacted.
• Your current resume, so their account matches yours.
• The job description, or the two or three things the employer cares about most.
• A reminder of specific work they saw: a project, a result, a difficult situation you handled. Two or three bullet points are enough.

After the process ends, tell them the result and thank them, whether or not you got the job. You will probably need them again.

What referees are usually asked

It helps your referees to know what is coming. Most reference calls and forms cover the same ground:

• How they know you, for how long, and in what role.
• What your main responsibilities were, and how well you handled them.
• Your strengths, and one area where you could improve.
• How you worked with colleagues, managers or clients.
• Whether they would hire or work with you again.

Mention these when you send your notes, especially the question about areas to improve, so their answer is honest and considered rather than improvised on the spot.

Without a work history, your referees come from college, internships and part-time work. Good choices:

• Your senior project or thesis advisor, or a professor who taught you in a relevant subject.
• Your internship supervisor, even for a short internship.
• A part-time employer: the store, restaurant, tutoring center or call center where you worked.
• The faculty advisor of a club, team or event you helped run.

Ask them before your senior-year job search starts, while your work is fresh in their minds. For help building the rest of a first resume, see our guide on how to write a resume with no experience and the internship resume example.

Almost everyone has someone who has seen them work; the trick is looking beyond job titles. If you have no manager who can speak for you, try these, in this order:

1. A colleague who has since left your current company. They can describe your work without your employer finding out you're looking.
2. A manager from a job you left years ago, even a part-time or seasonal one. Reliability and attitude still count.
3. Someone from freelance, volunteer or community work who relied on you: a client, a project lead, the coordinator of a food bank or school event.
4. A teacher, trainer or course instructor who graded real work: a bootcamp project, an apprenticeship, a certification course.

If a manager left on bad terms, don't hide it. Offer another person from the same job, and say in one sentence that you'd rather they speak to someone who saw your day-to-day work. Employers hear this often.

A reference check is not always a phone call any more. Expect one of these:

• A phone call of 10 to 20 minutes from the recruiter or hiring manager, usually for final-round candidates.
• An online questionnaire. Many employers use reference-check software that emails each referee a short survey with rating scales and a few written questions. Warn your referees to look out for it, including in their spam folder.
• A reference field in the application form. Some applicant tracking systems ask for referees' details when you apply. Fill them in only if the field is required, and tell those people they may be contacted.

Many US companies have a neutral reference policy: HR will confirm only your job title and dates, and managers are told not to give personal references. If your best referee works under such a policy, ask whether they're willing to speak as an individual, or give a former colleague who has since left instead.

References and background checks are different things, and many employers do both.

In India, background verification often relies on documents from previous employers, such as relieving and experience letters (our guide on relieving letter vs experience letter explains both), and on HR confirming your dates of employment. Leaving each job on good terms makes this easy; our guide on how to write a resignation letter and our resignation letter templates help with that.

This is also why the dates and job titles on your resume must be exact. Your referees may be generous; HR records are not.

• Listing someone without asking. A surprised referee gives a weak reference.
• Out-of-date contact details. Check numbers and job titles before each application.
• Sharing personal phone numbers publicly. Don't post a resume with referees' details on job boards or public profiles.
• Choosing titles over knowledge. A director who barely knew you is a worse referee than the team lead who saw your work every day.
• Forgetting to say thank you. Referees are doing you a favor. Tell them how it went.

With references sorted, make sure the resume itself is ready: our guide on how to write a resume walks through every section, and the free ATS checker shows what applicant tracking software reads from it.