At what point would it be appropriate to provide a potential employer with letters of reference?

Question

I have been looking for a new job for about six months now. I feel the time has come to step up my efforts. I have two people who have given me professional references. At what point would it be appropriate to submit those letters of reference to a potential employer, at the interview itself, before the interview or after the interview attached to the thank-you-for-the interview letter?

Answer 1

Only on request. In general, don't give employers documents they haven't requested, it increases their administrative burden - there are laws affecting how we handle job seeking documents, they can't just be discarded if not needed. The extra work you force them to do can hurt their impression of you.

I have a few suggestions though. One - like someone said, put "references available upon request" or even "reference letters available upon request" at the bottom of your resume. Two - consider using one quote - the best one that compliments you and qualifies you for the job - from one of the letters on your resume. You should put this in the first section, summary of qualifications or similar. I have done this with great effect, interviewers commented on it or asked why the person said it frequently - which is great because it gives you the opportunity to tell a great story about your accomplishments. The quote I used was industry specific and I changed industries so I took it off my current resume, still looking for the next quote to put on!

Three - I would advise you to type a list of your reference people with full contact information, in the same format as your resume, and have those available at the interview. Then you can ask if they would like a reference list or copies of reference letters, provide whichever one they like.

Finally, if you have been looking for so long I strongly advise you to put more work into your resume, at least 90% of resumes out there do not do the candidate justice. It needs to really sell your qualifications and accomplishments - it has to inspire confidence that you can and will get the job done. This is a very important document, I cannot overemphasize the value of work you put into this. If you aren't good with resumes I strongly advise you seek assistance with it.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You should offer to submit, but don't until they agree to see it. I think the exception is if the person who wrote the letter is in a very high position and whose name means a lot in the industry like the president of professional organization, public company or if the person is well known like a local politician, etc. Still don't attach it to the resume. Either send it to them after the telephone interview or bring it to the personal interview.

Answer 3

Only when they ask for them.

If you like, as the interview ends, you can subtley suggest they see your references by saying something like, "Thank you very much for the interview. I have copies of some references with me if you would like to see them now."

Let them take it from there.

Answer 4

Upon request.
If you will be submitting a resume, you could put "refrences available upon request". If you are filling out apps, just list them as requested.