How to ask someone to be your referee

The ask decides half the reference. Do it properly.

The short version

Ask, never assume

A referee who agreed is invested. One who was listed by default gives flat answers, and flat answers read as lukewarm.

Give them the material

The role you are going for, what you actually did, two or three true stories with numbers. That is the brief.

Make it easy to decline

If you would rather not, no worries at all, gets you honest referees instead of reluctant ones. Reluctant referees are how bad references happen.

Where Reference Ace fits in

The honest version of this problem is solvable, and it lasts. No usable referee? We check real examples of your work, confirm they're yours, and vouch for them openly as an independent reviewer. Got referees? We brief them properly, run a practice of the exact call employers make, and use the consent rules that keep your current employer out of it until you have signed. Nothing to hide, nothing that unravels in year two.

Common questions

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How far back can referees go?

Most employers want your last two roles or five years. Older referees are fine as supplements.

Email or call?

Email for the ask so they have it in writing, call if you are close. Either way, follow up with the brief in writing.

How much notice?

Weeks, not days. Referees need time to read the brief and get the stories straight.

No referee? Show us your work

Reference Ace checks real examples of your work, confirms they're yours, and vouches for them to employers by name, always as an independent reviewer and never as a former boss. Got a referee already? We brief them and run the practice check before a real employer calls.

See how it works and pricing