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Resume Reference Sample Page - What Your Reference Page Should Contain

The resume reference sample page shown below gives you a visual take on some things you can do with your references. What I have displayed is an example of an annotated reference page. Please do not get the idea that this is the only way to do this . I have simply included some ideas to help get you thinking about the possibilities.

The "Bare Bones" Resume Reference Sample Page

The essentials in this resume reserence sample page are obvious. You must provide a title, identify your references and provide appropriate contact information.

John Doe 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224 Miami, FL 99999	Sally Stallweichter 4860 Another Street Miami, FL 99998
Bill Bulizwertskiy 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224 Miami, FL 99999	Jan Jewell University of Miami Miami, FL 99899
Paul Pius 8821 South Highway 1 South Miami Beach, FL 99989

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Obviously, not much helpful information is given for these references. The form is balanced, and there is probably enough information for reference questionaires to reach most of these people.

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However, let's be realistic. Even if you managed to give this list following a successful interview, what do you think may happen if your interviewer failed to put your name at the top? How professional do you think this "Bare Bones" makes you look? If you were really the most outstanding interviewee, you might have just dropped to number 2 or 3 on the list.

Resume Reference Sample Page - Minimumalist Interpretation

Now, let's try this resume reference sample page again, adding a little more needed information.

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At least this version identifies the professional domain of the reference. Most employers would at least have an idea of what questions to ask. But let's go a bit further and add some annotations to these references.

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Resume Reference Sample Page - Annotated Version

In order to both assist the employer to categorize each reference and to add some gravitas to each reference let's add some detail.

Your annotations need to reflect:

• the length of time you've been acquainted
• the way your reference knows you, and
• the specifics of what this reference is prepared to comment for you.
  

As to grammatical construction, us verb phrase construction, with each phrase beginning with a verb and followed by a description of the references nature and degree of knowledge about you.

You will also notice on this resume reference sample page with Sally Stallweichter, the use of a complete sentence to describe what she knows about Jane. A better rendering would be: "...followed my career for 28 years; acquainted with my professional growth, my..."

Perhaps you are wondering why you should use such structure. Think in terms of parallel construction of your documents. The way you wrote your resume should be continued on your resume reference page for purposes of continuity of structure. The complete sentence is not "incorrect" but is simply not the best way to handle it, considering the other document you've submitted.

The exceptions to this premise are your cover letter and your thank you notes, which should demonstrate your mastery of the English language in a traditional format.

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Jane Jobseeker
1234 My Street<br> Miami, FL 99999<br> (777) 555-1616<br> JanJob@myisp.com
References
John Doe, Superintendent<br> Broward County Public School System<br> 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224<br> Miami, FL 99999	Sally Stallweichter, Principal<br> Don Johnson Elementary School<br> 4860 Another Street<br> Miami, FL 9999
Brought me into the Broward County Public School System for my first teaching position in 1987; my immediate supervisor for the first 15 years of my teaching career; knows my classroom management skills, my personal integrity, my ability to open up troubled students and radically improve their grades.	My first professional mentor who has followed my career for 28 years. She can speak of my professional growth, my ability to relate to troubled children, and my history of helping non-readers read.
Bill Bulizwertskiy, Assistant Superintendent<br> Broward County Public School System<br> 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224<br> Miami, FL 99999	Jan Jewell, Ph.D., Professor<br> Guidance and Counseling<br> School of Elementary Education<br> University of Miami<br> Miami, FL 99899
Leader of Faculty Development and my Supervising Administrator; performed my annual evaluations for the last 12 years; noted my ability to form and direct SST and IEP programs for the district	Director of my dissertation committee, and familiar with my research into working with educational aspects of child victims of comestic abuse.
Rev. Paul Pius, Bishop<br> South Beach Community Church<br> 8821 South Highway 1<br> South Miami Beach, FL 99989
Pastor for the last 9 nears; familiar with my character and church family participation

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Now, let's consider an alternative resume reference sample page presentation...

Resume Reference Sample Page - Horizontal Arrangement

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Jane Jobseeker
1234 MyStreet Miami, FL 99999 (777) 555-1616 JanJob@myisp.com
References
John Doe, Superintendent Broward County Public School System 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224 Miami, FL 99999	Brought me into the Broward County Public School System for my first teaching position in 1987; my immediate supervisor for the first 15 years of my teaching career; knows my classroom management skills, my personal integrity, my ability to open up troubled students and radically improve their grades.
Sally Stallweichter, Principal Don Johnson Elementary School 4860 Another Street Miami, FL 99998	My first professional mentor who has followed my career for 28 years. She can speak of my professional growth, my ability to relate to troubled children, and my history of helping non-readers read.
Bill Bulizwertskiy, Assistant Superintendent Broward County Public School System 5678 Any Street, Building G, Suite 224 Miami, FL 99999	Leader of Faculty Development and my Supervising Administrator; performed my annual evaluations for the last 12 years; noted my ability to form and direct SST and IEP programs for the district.
Jan Jewell, Ph.D., Professor Guidance and Counseling School of Elementary Education University of Miami Miami, FL 99899	Director of my dissertation committee, and familiar with my research into working with educational aspects of child victims of comestic abuse.
Rev. Paul Pius, Bishop South Beach Community Church 8821 South Highway 1 South Miami Beach, FL 99989	Pastor for the last 9 nears; familiar with my character and church family participation.

Styling Your Resume Reference Page

In addition to these structural changes for your resume reference page, you will want to make sure the graphics style and the layout of both documents look similar. You do not want to use one graphics/layout plan for your resume, another for your references page, a third style for your cover letter and something else still for your thank you notes, salary negotiations, acceptance letter and follow up correspondence.

A similar "look and feel" is important in these documents. Take the time to create a style that includes uniform titles, headers, tables, graphic accents, etc., so that your documents will have continuity and look like they came from the same source.

The choice of which stylings or layouts you use is, in most cases a matter of personal taste, within limits. However, the continuity of styles is very important. You do not want to appear scatterbrained to your potential employer. Spend the time creating a design theme you are comfortable with, and use it across your documents. Then, when you hand in your reference page, you can take comfort that instead of raising a red flag, you are actually helping yourself.

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