Do You Need References For a Job?

Whenever you are applying for a job, its important that you have your references ready. While it might not be necessary to ever provide them, it’s professional to have references at hand.

The hiring committee might ask you to provide references, or they might not, but you do not want to arrive at an interview without being able to provide references. Most people who are worth hiring are going to be able to provide references.

If you are interviewing for a job and you can’t provide references then it will be a huge red flag and they will likely not hire you. It’s one of the main reasons why you need references to get a job.

And if you are working with a recruiter, then they are going to need references. It doesn’t matter what sort of field you are looking to work in, recruiters and hiring managers will want to check your references.

The truth of the matter is that all people will need to have references if they are applying for a job. Some jobs do not require references, but in todays work climate, more employers are beginning to ask for references than ever before.

What Sort of Job Requires References?

All job fields will require refences. There is not one single type of job that does not require references. It is more of a question of the particular company.

As a rule, certain fields always require references. These fields include social service work and the medical profession. They required in these fields since there is a high percentage of ex-offenders, returning to work individuals, and others who come from non-traditional backgrounds.

It’s not uncommon, for instance, for someone who served ten years for a violent crime to work as a case manager. Likewise, there are countless stories of nurses and other medical staff having failed background checks or to have been involved in illegal activity.

When you are working in these trades, it is absolutely paramount that you provide professional references that can attest to your work ethic and ability to perform the job at hand.

Other fields of work also require references, but these are more directed at proving that the person has a strong work ethic and can actually do what they claim.

In the non-profit world and medical world, the main concern is if the applicant is a criminal or incompetent. In the corporate world, it’s more of a concern that the person is competent.

The interview process for a corporate role is much more stringent and thorough than with medical work. When you are interviewing for a corporate role, such as a role for a Public Relations Firm or a Fashion Firm, then there will be extensive interviews. These interviews are designed to get a feel for who the candidate is and if they will be a good fit within the company culture.

Medical personal never have to go through these interviews. For instance, nurses are hired strictly on the basis of having a nursing degree and a nursing license. As long as the nurse does not have a criminal record and can pass a drug test and has a letter of refence, they will be hired.

Some jobs do not require references. These include warehouse work through temp agencies, short term labor roles through labor temp agencies, and even medical per diem roles. Hospitals and clinics tend to hire per diem nurses on a much larger scale than regular nurses and do not check references, which has caused issues but which remains the industry standard.

Retail establishments also often hire people without references. Though in some cases even a retail establishment like TJ Maxx will require references. These business pay minimum wage and they want to try and weed out criminals who will steal from the store and customers

Will Recruiters Call Your References?

This depends on who you work with. It is not something that you can tell beforehand. There are plenty of recruiters and even hiring team members in HR who will never call your references.

It’s more common in the medical staffing world or non-profit sector. The credentialing departments at hospitals and non-profit organizations are notoriously slow and often times just file away contact information without calling the reference.

Some recruiters will call your references, but some simply pass on the contact information to a credentialing department.

Here’s the thing, the more senior your role and the more serious the client, the more likely it is that you’ll have a recruiter call your references. They do not want to risk placing an incompetent person or a liability at a client. They don’t want to lose the client and they don’t want to lose the money.

Recruiters who work on commission do not want to place someone in a job only to have that person quit. That’s why references are so important. The type of person who quits a job for no reason, or who is a poor worker, is going to be a waste of time to a recruiter. So, recruiters who work on commission need to inquire with them

What Do You Do If You Don’t Have References?

It’s a problem if you don’t have references. There is no way to beat around the bush. If you do not have references then finding a job will be tough.

It will be near impossible to find a corporate role without references. It’s simply part of the hiring process.

Companies do not rely on resumes alone when hiring people. Part of the hiring process is to interview someone, and then check their references.

Resumes alone are a slight indicator of competency. When a company posts a job listing on a commercial website such as Indeed, they might be flooded with applications. Most of these applications are likely people who have no ability to do the job. And that is based strictly on their resume.

A resume is used to judge a person, along with what college they went to, and how they dress for an interview.

If you do not have professional references, then you will need to figure out how to get them.

Some people use friends or family to lie for them. While this is certainly common, it’s not advisable unless your friends have their own company and can attest to you working there. Also, realize that if the company requires an employment verification then the reference will be found out to be fraudulent.

Most medical and social service workers as well as manual labor jobs require employment verification. These are sent directly to the payroll or HR department of the company to determine exact dates of employment.

The better option is to try and obtain professional references. If you are a new graduate, then you can use your former college professors if you were close to them. Other options for new grads and older individuals alike is to volunteer somewhere.

Volunteering is an option for everyone. If you sign up to go to a volunteering program then you will be able to find someone who you can use as a professional reference.

Volunteering opportunities are a perfect opportunity for you to find someone who is in a senior position who can be used as a professional reference.

If you’re not working, then spending some time volunteering can also be a great way to pad a resume gap on your resume. It’s important to make sure that you don’t have large gaps of time on your resume and this can be a good approach to cover this.

Can You Get a Job Without References?

Yes, you can certainly get a job without references. But it is much easier to get a job with references.

Depending on the kind of job, you might be able to find a temporary role without references. This is true if you’re using a temporary job agency where they are paying low wages and only looking for cheap labor and are not that particular with doing reference checks.

Certain kinds of medical work can also be obtained without references. If you are working in the medical field and are working in a crisis zone where they have hired a lot of Nurses, Techs, other personnel than you’ll be able to often times get a job without having a reference.

Finally, if you apply to jobs such as car dealerships, retail work, and other non-skilled positions then you can often times get into a job.

Once you have landed a job, even if it’s not your dream job, then you should make it a point to be polite and cordial to someone there who you can use as a reference in the future.