Why Are References Important?

References are very important in strengthening your resume as they show that the people you worked with previously appreciate you and were satisfied with your work. Getting people as your references is not as easy as it sounds because while your previous colleagues might have been cordial to you, there is no guarantee that they will vouch for your performance when contacted by your prospective employer. This is the precise reason why references carry so much weight in your selection process. Since employers do not tend to vouch for each and every employer, the fact that they are doing so for you adds to your credibility as a valuable employee.

Important Things To Keep In Mind When Providing References

Providing reference is an important part of job hunting and can affect the outcome of an interview tremendously. However, giving references is not as simple as just making a list and providing it to the prospective employers. There are a lot of things that you should keep in mind when creating a list of references so that you do not have to face rejections from job interviews. Here are some of the steps that are essential to creating a solid and beneficial reference list:

Filter the references:

When listing a person as a reference, make sure that the person is actually willing to be your reference and has something good to say about you. For instance, if you did not part with your last employer on good terms, quoting him as a reference might be a big mistake doing more harm than good. Moreover make sure that the person you are listing as your reference is someone who worked closely with you and is personally aware of your achievements and contributions to the company during the time you were there. Someone who is only aware of your work superficially cannot give you the recommendation that you deserve.

Create a separate sheet:

Whether you wish to provide references when submitting your resume or you want to hand them over when you appear for the interview, make sure that you do not include them in the resume but write them on a separate sheet. The font and the formatting of the references sheet should be similar to that of the resume. You can either attach this sheet to the resume or hand it over when the employers specifically ask you for reference, whatever appears better to you.

Give diverse references:

Instead of listing people as references who belong to the same company, try to give references from many different organizations so that you can get a recommendation based on your achievements in different fields and at various positions. For instance, apart from naming your previous employer as the reference, you can also give references from your co-workers and teachers, who will evaluate you as a colleague and a student, respectively.

Get permission:

If you are listing someone as your reference, make sure that you ask for his or her permission before doing so. Ask your boss if you can name his as a reference for your job applications in future. If he gives an enthusiastic reply then go for it, however if you sense some reluctance on his part then it is better for you not to name him as a reference. If your boss is unwilling to be named as a reference, there is a good chance that he might not give you a good recommendation if contacted.

Recheck the reference list

Make sure that you have spelled all the names of the people and the organization correctly and that the contact numbers you have provided are up-to-date. Keep tabs on your references so that you know when they change jobs and have their latest contact information. Moreover, there are some jobs where the employers ask for references at the beginning when you are submitting your resume. For such scenarios, it is best that you have your reference sheet well prepared, updated and ready to be submitted at any time.

Letters of recommendation

In the past, letter of recommendation written by some of your previous employers might help you in landing the job successfully, but now the trend has changed. Nowadays, the employers want to get directly in touch with the references provided either by telephone or via email. This provides them with the opportunity to ask detailed questions regarding your professionalism and helps them evaluate you better.  While there is nothing wrong with providing letters of recommendation, it is better that you provide contact numbers with them so that the employers can get in touch with them if they want to.

Avoid personal references

While friends and family will always have something nice to say about you, it is best to avoid putting them as references since they do not carry much weight with the employers. However if you still want to add some personal reference, make sure that you provide at least 3 professional references as well. There is a high probability that the prospective employer will get in touch with the professional references only, since it is pretty obvious that the personal reference will praise you whether you deserve it or not.

Conclusion

Strong and solid references can boost your chances of getting the desired job immensely. In order to get maximum benefit from the references, you have to keep you reference up to date and make sure that you are following all of the suggestions given in this article. While having strong references does not necessarily mean that you will be able to get the job, it surely gives you an edge during the hiring process.

 Some golden rules that can help you in becoming an effective team leader are:

 Eliminate Competition

While healthy competition is good for any work environment, too much competitiveness among the team mates can be negative for the productivity of the team. If the team members become obsessed with out shining one another they might end up making serious mistakes which might cause problems for the team as a whole. Make sure that the team members work well and try to curb unhealthy competition let your team members know that you value quality more than quantity so that they work harder on achieving important goals rather than working on more thing than they can handle just to score a point.

Deal With Conflicts

Conflicts and disagreements tend to inhibit the team spirit and create differences among the team mates. Sometimes petty conflicts are blown out of proportions to such an extent that the team members refuse to even work together, which his hazardous for the team manager. Even if they are forced to work to together, there are little chances that the estranged team members will be able to work at their maximum potential. An effective team leader would know how to deal with such team members effectively and efficiently. Try to make sure that no major conflicts among the team members arise and even if they do, jump in and try to cool them off before things get ugly. You have to address the underlying cause of such problems so that the conflicts do not keep on surfacing from time to time.

Delegate Properly

An effective team leader must be able to delegate his work properly and efficiently. For this to happen, a team leader must know all his team members well. He must know their strengths and weaknesses and must use this knowledge to delegate the work properly. If, as a team leader, you fail to distribute work load evenly and according to the specialties of all the team members, discontent is bound to arise. Team members might feel that they have been given undue work load and you come off looking like a bad team leader who is incapable of accomplishing the tasks that were assigned to him. Remember, the team members should not under any circumstances feel like you are putting your burden on them.

Communicate

Communication is the most important aspect in any professional environment. As a team leader you must be open and communicative with the team members, so that they can come to you if they have any issues. If the team members feel like the team leader is not listening to what they have to say and what problems are they facing, they will lose focus and their work is bound to suffer. If you are a team leader, make sure that your team mates are able to communicate with you whenever they have a problem. Listen to what they have to say and do not dismiss their problems lightly. Try to find a solution and redress the problems as soon as possible so that the team members feel valued.

Make Quick Decisions

Being a team leader, you must be prepared to make quick and practical decisions so that the team members do not lose their focus. If you stall and make excuses when the team members are relying on you for a decision, the team members will feel that you are not a suitable person to guide them and hence are bound to fail them. This will make them lose faith and will jeopardize your entire projects. So at all times, remain focused, sharp and calm so that you can make a quick decision when needed.

Motivated Others

Keeping the team members motivated is one of the most important tasks that a team leader is supposed to accomplish. Team members need to be constantly revitalized as they are bound to lose enthusiasm and motivation as the project lingers on. Keep reassuring them that they are working well and praise them when it is due.

Be Assertive

A team leader has to be assertive, if nothing else. Team work is a difficult arena and tem members often get so caught up in work that they completely lose focus. As a team manager, it is your duty to make sure that the team keeps working on the goals and keeps delivering jobs on time. As a team leader you cannot afford to miss deadlines and if most of the times you have to be assertive to make sure that you get the work done. However, keep in mind that there is a difference between being assertive and bossy. You must be forceful, but remain polite and amiable all the while as this approach will bear more fruitful results.

Take Responsibility

An effective team leader must realize that his job is not only to guide the people in his team but also to take responsibility if anything does not go according to the plan and the projects suffers from some kind of setbacks. The team leader must act like the captain of a ship, who never abandons the ship even if it is drowning. Remember if you try to pin the fault on some of your team members, it will not only alienate you from the team members but also create a bad impression on the boss who expects you to act like a professional and take responsibility the failure of your team.

Be A Team Player

A good team leader must also be a team player who does not antagonize his team members by acting bossy. Moreover a team player always gives credit where it is due. Snatching the lime light from one of your team members is a very ill advised move as it is not only unfair but will also be perilous for the team spirit. Make sure that when a team member performs well, he gets his due credit so that others also get motivated to perform at their level best.

Conclusion

An effective team leader is one who can steer his entire team to success while keeping them motivated and on the right track. Being a team leader is a lot of responsibility and a lot of people fail to perform their leadership tasks properly. While it is true that some people are born leaders, it is also true that strong leadership qualities can be established with a little hard work and dedication.

Here are some tips for effective time management that if used regularly can help you accomplish much more than you even thought you could:

Organization and Systematic Approach to Tasks at Hand
Knowing where your information is, as and when you need it, can help to save valuable time while giving an overall effective outlook about your management practices at work. Being organized means you are valuing your time and that of others that may be doing business with you. Additionally, it is important to keep hard copies of all files stored in the computer. That way, they are easily accessible and in case of loss, you have a backup system in place. If you have to spend more than 10 minutes looking for files and information that should be already available, it means you require an overhaul of your files and information management system.

Set up a schedule
Everyone works at a different pace and in a different pattern. Knowing your pace and way of achieving daily tasks is very important. Set up a schedule for yourself keeping in mind your momentum and speed. It is better to work at your natural pace and try to organize your schedule around it so that you can perform all your daily chores without feeling exhausted. Knowing what to do when can really help in cutting your time loss to a minimum.

Stick to the plan
Develop a plan and timetable that works for you, and make sure that you stick to it as much as possible. Avoid adding unnecessary and unrelated chores to it that may cause you to deviate from the task at hand and also cause you to waste precious time. Also, remember to update the timetable at the end of the day in order to cater to the workload of the next day. If you leave it to the next day, a lot of time will be wasted and will decrease your efficiency and effectiveness.

Clearly identify and set your priorities
It is very important for you to be able to organize your tasks in the order of their priority. You cannot take care of everything at the same time, and not all the jobs at hand need to be taken care of at once. It is better to organize the tasks in the order of their priority and then get to them one by one. However, try to make sure that you finish all your daily tasks before the day ends. That way when you come the next day you don’t have to worry about tasks piling up from the days before.

Avoid distractions
Constant interruptions caused by distractions are the biggest cause of delay in your work more than anything. Avoid things that have nothing to do with you directly so you can focus on your work more. For example if you see two colleagues talking and you don’t need to give your input, keep doing your work so as to prevent time wastage. If the phone rings, that is not at your desk, try to ignore it and move on with your work. When you get distracted, it is very hard to pick up the pace from where you left it. So, when you start working, make sure that there are minimum interruptions around you.

Multi-tasking – not always necessary
While multitasking is an asset in many instances, it is not so helpful in effective time management- especially when there is a particular project that requires more attention than others. If you concentrate on one task at a time, you have better chances of achieving your goals. The most time effective way is to pick a task from the check list, start working on it and move to the next task only when you have completed the first one.
Track your time
Keep track of your time. Keep your self accountable to yourself. Many a time you get so engrossed in your work that you lose track of time and may perhaps miss another appointment or end up not spending enough time on another project. Make sure that you are aware of the time you spend on one job, by allocating a specific time bracket for that task, and then try to finish it in time.

Additionally, you must make sure that you give attention to detail, about you. Your nails, your shoes, the cleanliness of your clothes, all these are things that a potential employer will definitely look at. Like it or not, but your appearance can actually set the tone for the interview in the first few minutes and help the interviewer form an opinion about you, which can enhance or diminish your prospects of getting the job.

According to reliable research, many interviewers make up their minds about you during the first 15-25 seconds of the meeting. Keeping that in mind, here are some do’s and don’ts to consider when going for an interview.

Your Clothes – the first impression

Common sense tells you that the first thing that interviewer is going to note about you when you enter the room is your outfit. It goes without saying that you must dress professionally for an interview and for any other interaction you may have with a potential employer such as training or internship etc. You cannot show up in jeans and a shirt or flip flops; if you give an unserious impression about yourself, then you will be treated in the same manner as well. Make sure your clothes are properly ironed and are clean, free of any stains or marks. Also check to see that none of the shirt buttons are missing and no other repairs are needed. Get the suit ready to be worn, the night before the interview.

Hair & Make up

Your hair should be combed properly, and neatly styled. This goes for both men and women. Women must take special care not to have their hair coming onto their face and into your eyes. It is alright to leave your hair open if you feel that it will stay in  place. However, if you know your hair type tends to get untidy, then its better to tie it in a pony tail. For men, it is important that your hair is combed properly so it doesn’t give an untidy or uncouth impression either.  Men should shave before they come for interviews since that give a neat look in itself.
Make-up for women, although is important, care must be taken that it is not over done. A bit of light eye shade, a neutral lip-gloss or shine along with very little blush on is just perfect to give a good impression.

The appropriate fragrance

Smelling good is very important in giving a positive first impression. However, both men and women must make sure it is not over done. You  must not be reeking in perfume. That might cause a headache for those that are interviewing you and that will definitely work as an instant turnoff. So, it is always better to keep a balanced approached when spraying on perfume.

Shoes

Make special effort to ensure that the shoes you wear are professional, in line with your outfit and clean from top and bottom. Nothing can leave a worse impression than a person wearing dirty shoes to an interview. For ladies, wear comfortable shoes that are also professional. For men wear decent neutral shoes that give the impression that you are serious about working. Wear comfortable yet stylish shoes since you are going to be working for 8 hours straight and you should find yourself being comfortable.

Additional adornment such as jewelry

Simplicity can go a long way when it comes to jewelry and other adornments. Wearing a lot of ornaments makes you look unprofessional and is distracting for the interviewer. Tattoos are a big no no. Overly gaudy watches for men and thick gold bangles etc for women definitely give a negative impression. It is better to simply avoid wearing any jewelry, rather than wearing low quality things that ruin your overall look.

Before you are ready to leave for your interview, give yourself a final check in the mirror to ensure you are all set. Carry yourself as well as you can. Put your best foot forward and see wonderful opportunities open up for you. Best of luck!