Published in Non-Clinical

How to Choose and Use Healthcare Job References

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9 min read
How to Choose and Use Healthcare Job References
Do you list references on your resume? If you don't, you must read this article.
This can work to your advantage...or to your disadvantage.
References often get the least amount of attention during the job-search process, and are sometimes skipped altogether. We stress about the font and placement of our names and titles, the word count, and the page count, but when it comes to references, we get a little lazy. One might even say that we get a bit complacent, which can bite us in the rear.
Many of us write down three people we worked with at some point, then Google their clinics' phone numbers (even if they don’t work there anymore), and call it a day. Others don't even bother listing them on our resumes, simply saying, "references available on request."
Maybe we should be putting more effort into our references. So, how do we do it right?

Understand what makes a good healthcare job reference

The best choices are the most relevant to the position you're seeking. List them from most "influential" to least. Look for people you know fairly well on a professional basis, who respect you, and who know your work and can vouch for your aptitude. Ideally, this will be someone the interviewer may also know, or has at least heard of. They would be your number one reference.
So, let’s say you’re wildly popular and have a ton of famous, well-known potential references (or more realistically, you have a bunch of equally unfamous, not-so-well-known potential references) how do you narrow down who would be a good reference?
  • They should respect you and think highly of you. If you aren't sure how they really feel about you, don't ask them. Not worth the risk.
  • They should be relatively articulate. After all, if they have a hard time expressing themselves, they may have a hard time expressing their feelings about you.
  • They should have experience with you that is relevant to the new job. Some folks are tempted to put personal references, rather than professional ones, but this can backfire. We all know someone who is an absolute dear at home, but notorious for terrorizing coworkers. Don't let your potential boss worry that you might be that person.
  • They should know something of the job you're applying for. If you're looking at taking a physical therapy job at an applied functional science (AFS) clinic and your reference knows nothing about AFS, it would be wise to shoot your reference a quick email or phone call to explain what your potential job involves, and what AFS is, so they can relate your awesome skillset (the one they have seen in action) to your new role.
  • If you have held any sort of managerial role, stratify your references. By stratify, I mean to ask someone to whom you have reported. Also, ask someone who has directly reported to you, as well as someone with whom you have worked directly in a collaborative role.

Always ask permission to use someone as a healthcare job reference

Before listing someone as a reference, always ask them. It doesn’t matter if it’s the only manager of a practice you worked at for six years and you’re best friends-- you should still ask. And don’t just ask if that person will be your reference, but also find out their preferred method of contact; this way you know you’ve got their most recent e-mail address and/or phone number.
If you think your interviewer is going to go hunting down your references for you, or Google stalk your references to find out their latest contact information, you’re wrong. There are a few reasons you need to ask before listing someone as a reference:
  1. It’s respectful to your reference. You're asking a favor of someone by asking them to be your reference, and you should make sure that this person, who may hold your future in their hands, understands that you respect them and their time.
  2. You want them to be prepared if someone calls and asks about you. If the phone call catches your reference off guard, he/she could sound reserved, which could be negatively perceived by your potential employer. They could wonder if your reference is holding something back about you.
  3. They might say no. If your reference, regardless of how perfect you think they’ll be, tells you for whatever reason they do not want to, or can not be your reference, do not press the issue. Trust they have good reason, and ask someone else.

Brief your references

After deciding who would be a good fit, and asking for permission to use the person as a reference, let them know a little bit about the job you’re applying for. It could be helpful for the reference to know what your new job will entail. If your reference speaks to your amazing ability as a tech, that’s great, unless you’re applying for a management position, in which case, a little coaching before hand could have been really valuable.
As mentioned above, the more that you tell your references about your career goals, reasons for applying to the new position, and reason why you chose them as a reference, the better.
They don't need to give a sales pitch on your behalf, but it's helpful for them to be armed with knowledge about you and your interests/career goals if the hiring manager asks.

Skip the letter of recommendation

Some of you go-getter types might have the gears in your head turning. "Ooooh," you might be thinking. "Maybe my references will even write me a whole letter detailing how great I am!" I do not recommend this approach.
It's one thing to ask a former employer or manager to be your reference, it's another to ask them to write an entire essay speaking to your skills. For most positions in ophthalmology, optometry, or physical/occupational/speech therapy, a letter of recommendation is unnecessary; employers want to be able to ask pointed questions of the reference, not just read a list of your good qualities like you’re a dog on PetFinder.
If anything, write your own "letter of recommendation" by really nailing your cover letter.
We have some great cover letter resources (including free downloadable samples) to check out, including:

Thank your healthcare job references, and offer to reciprocate

If you get the job, call and thank your references. Even if they weren’t contacted, you want to let them know your appreciate that they were willing to take time out of their day and put in a good word for you. You may need them again in the future, so a little gratitude can’t hurt.
Don't forget to offer to repay the favor. They might be happy in their job now, but things always change. Use this as a chance to chat with your references, find out what they'd like to do with their lives, and offer to serve as a glowing reference in the future, should they need one.

To include or not to include references on the resume?

For those of you with packed resumes, it might be a pain to squeeze in the extra space for references, but we say it's worth it.
When you make life easier by listing references directly on your resume, it's like handing them the keys to a brand new car, rather than making them drive to a dealership across town, wait for an available sales rep, and hope that the car they want is available for a test run. When they're in a rush to hire, whose references do you think they'll check first? The candidate who listed them on the resume? Or the one who makes them ask?

The single most valuable bit of job reference advice

This should also be the most obvious piece of advice about your references: don’t lie.
That same CareerBuilder survey from 2012 also found that 80% of employers will contact your references. Which means 80% of the time you will get caught, and you will not get the job. Or, 20% of the time you won’t get caught, and you might get the job, but you’re still a liar. So, just skip it.

References:

  • http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=11/28/2012&id=pr727&ed=12/31/2013
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