In essence, the resume referral section (also known as a reference list) provides hiring managers and recruiters with useful evidence about your professional experience and traits.
It is crucial for them to verify the information that you’ve communicated in the job interview process, i.e. do you truly have the relevant skills, work experience and traits needed for the applied job?
Simple mistakes should not happen at the end of your hiring process, and here’s how to ensure a perfect resume referral section.
Top Resume Referral Section Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Unwilling/Unqualified Referrals
Essentially, your referrals are your best spokesperson, meaning that they are involved in communicating information that other people need to know about you.
Naturally, these people should be the ones working/worked closely with you for an adequate period of time. They should be able to highlight your capabilities – which requires them to be of equal or higher position as compared to you.
One deadly mistake to avoid is choosing the ones that are not close to you, or worse, unwilling to be your referral for some reason. Make sure they are in a good position to do so, as well as confirm if they are comfortable doing so.
2. Not Researching Job Ad(s)
Another classic mistake is not knowing what potential employers need from you. In this case, think about the kind of information they’d want to extract/confirm with your referrals.
Without researching the job ads and understanding the nature of the applied vacancy, it would be difficult for you to customise the referral experience e.g. choosing an IT Director to be your referral for a Marketing vacancy.
Always put in the effort, in the beginning, to provide the best experience for your potential employers – after all, it is important for you to convince them to land the dream job.
3. Not Selecting The Best Referrals
After researching the job ads and brainstorming the best people to include in your resume referral section, avoid making the mistake of not selecting the best of the best.
We’ve seen applicants neglect the potential employer’s experience in going through the referrals section – that is listing the referral list starting with the LEAST relevant/best referral at the top (ascending order).
Imagine this – everything is going well until the hiring managers decide to call up the top-three person on your list. Unfortunately, these referrals are not effective in being your spokesperson and now they are not convinced to hire you for the position.
4. Wrong Resume Referral Section Format
The format is quite simple to follow, be sure to visit our resume referral section tips to better assist your journey in creating this section.
However, sometimes job applicants do miss out on certain items, or even include too much content in a section that is supposed to be short and straightforward – that is if there is even a need to include the section in the first place.
5. Not Proofreading Your Resume Referral Section
Lastly, many job applicants (particularly fresh graduates) insert the wrong referral contact information on their resume referral section.
Sometimes, a small mistake such as a typo could jeopardise your career. Get the basics right – items such as the mobile number, email address, designation (job position), etc. should be absolutely perfect.
Without proofreading, you’d potentially be wasting everyone’s time AND give a negative first impression of being unprofessional.
Closing Remarks
Remember that the resume referral section is only a small portion of your overall Majestic resume, and including a resume referral section is NOT a common practice when applying for your dream jobs in Malaysia.
A well-prepared resume referral section without any errors will potentially do you wonders, so be sure to follow our tips and you’ll be ready to complete your own resume.
Do you need professional help with your visume and cover letter? Our Job Majestic Blog has all the resume resources you’ll need to stand out from the crowd.
