On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

 ….Two Turtle Doves! Following on our 12 days of Christmas theme with a twist, we decided to go for:

On the second day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me two referees and a killer CV!

Not all employers ask for references when offering a new role but a good deal do; therefore it is important to make sure you have the contact details of 2 referees to hand. Don’t put these details in your CV for a number of reasons:

  1. You do not want your referees being contacted until you are ready, if one or more of your referees in a current employer – then you really do not want them being contacted until you have decided to take a role (and have handed in your notice).
  2. As you send your CV into a number of agencies and direct employers you will unfortunately come across some recruiters who will use the contact details to make contact (often using your name) and try to gain a lead for recruitment. Not what you want put yourself in your referee’s shoes – being hounded by sales people using your name is not going to go down well.
  3. Save precious space on your CV – use the space on your CV more effectively, there is enough room for another bullet point in a remit or an achievement instead of someone’s contact details.
  4. Data protection – yes, that is right – we need to be more conscious of giving out other peoples details!

I have previously covered  references in CVs here.