Rachel, where do references go on a resume?

Dear Rachel,
I am spiffing up my resume and I am wondering where to put references. Do they go at the bottom? How many should I include? Who should they be? These questions have been on mind every time I’ve redone my resume. Now I’d like to get answers. I want my resume to look professional. Sign me Ready for a Fresh Start

Dear Ready,
Here’s a short answer. References don’t belong on a resume. Leave them off entirely.

You should only put forward a list of references in the final talks before being offered the job.

They like you. You like them. Salary, while not yet negotiated, is not going to be an issue. The job is essentially yours.

Then as a pro forma gesture they may ask you for references, or you might offer to provide references.

It might happen that they should call one or two of them, or maybe the whole list. But by then they’ve already decided you are the one.

The only thing that might put a halt to things is if they call someone and learn you just got out of prison or that you fabricated whole chunks of your past.

As to who you should put down, I would go solely with people who know your most recent work, such as supervisors or clients.

They should be people who can attest to your abilities and general character but also be able to cite examples of cases where you excelled beyond what was called for.

Do not include on that list well-known people just because they are well known. Do not include friends or ministers or high school teachers you were particularly fond of. It comes across as padding.

You don’t need lots of names, only the right names.

That’s the whole idea behind references.

Besides, do you really want someone you’ll likely work with talking to scads of people from your past? Think of all the phone work you are putting that person through.

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