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No references for a job application? NZ options that work

When the well is dry: between jobs, burned bridges, or a closed company. Real options, ranked.

The short version

Referees you have forgotten

Second-level managers, teammates, clients, project stakeholders. Most people have more referees than they think.

Rebuild one bridge

One short, honest message to the best ex-manager is the highest-yield ten minutes in job hunting. You need one yes.

Non-manager referees

Colleagues and clients are legitimate referees. A client who saw your delivery can be stronger than a manager who barely watched.

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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Is a character referee acceptable?

For most roles, one character referee is fine if the other is work-related. Two character referees reads as avoidance.

The company is gone, records gone?

Not yours to solve: your CV, IRD records and LinkedIn establish the history, the referee speaks to the work.

Long gap since my last job?

Volunteer work, community roles and study supervisors all count. Brief them exactly the same way.

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