How do I ask a prospective employer to contact my references?

Question

I interviewed for my dream job a few weeks ago and the hiring manager said she will be making the decision this week. At the interview, I wasn't asked to fill out an application or provide a list of references. I'm getting really nervous about whether I will get an offer and I think that if I can get the hiring manager to hear from my references, it could seal the deal. I plan on calling her this week to check up on the status of my candidacy and I would like to provide her with my references without coming across as too pushy. How should I phrase this?

Answer 1

Some people pay attention to references, some don't. If she didn't even ask for references, sounds like maybe she's one of the people who doesn't. But when you call her, you could always say something like "I have a few references from previous jobs that I could send to you who could tell you about work I've done in the past". If she says no thanks, then forget it and just hope you interviewed well enough to get the job anyway. Good luck.

Answer 2

Being that I work in Human Resources, along side one of my recruiters - what we do is discuss with the candidate the salary and ask is that something that is okay with them, we then discuss with them the benefits. If neither of these two things took place, or she didn't send you out to take a drug test and/or physical (some jobs require them), then I'd have to say that the job is pretty much done.
In an interview, whether there are ten other people or not, we will tell the candidate that we have ten other people to interview for the job and ask that they tell us what would make them stand out or why should we chose them over the other ten.
Do not allow that to discourage you. It sounds like you have a level head and it's on your shoulders right. Look for a different company that is offering the same title - maybe the other company will have better pay and benefits. Go to this website and search for other jobs;
http://www.simplyhired.com/
To answer your question about the references, do what I do . . . instead of putting on your resume, you will provide references later, list them. List at least three solid references on your resume. Being that I call the references and I know companies (a lot of times) will not give employment history. They will on state you worked for them along with your salary and how long you were employed for them. I prefer contacting personal references.
I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Thank the hiring manager for her time in interviewing you and evaluating your application.

Offer to send a list of your character references ( don't use relatives ) with contact details.