Director of Career Development Christine Kelly writes for Inside Higher Ed on best practices for securing good references
I’ve had conversations recently with colleagues who are in the reference-check phase for candidates they would like to hire, and in some cases the references are not helping those candidates. Getting good references can be a challenge, and as a job candidate you need to think carefully about who will be the best advocate for you. Future employers have high hopes that your references will say good things about you so they can feel confident they are hiring the best person for the job. But your candidacy can be sidelined if your references raise red flags. And this can happen in both academic and non-academic job searches. So before you ask someone to be a reference for you, here are some things to consider to make sure you get an excellent endorsement when it’s time.