Reference Ace › Guides › Starting a new job but you don't have any references?
The offer is close and the referee field is empty. This is one of the most common spots job hunters get stuck in, and it has honest fixes that work every time.
Second-level managers, teammates, clients, project stakeholders, volunteer supervisors. Most people have more referees than they think; they just never labelled them that.
One short, honest message to the best ex-manager is the highest-yield ten minutes in job hunting. You only need one yes to start.
We do not answer employer calls posing as your referee, and you should not want anyone to. We find the referees you overlooked, brief them until they are specific and confident, and script the current-employer consent line. Every answer your employer hears will be true, and strong.
No. Anyone answering an employer's call as a fake referee is committing deception, NZ employers verify, and the employee representations clause in your new agreement turns it into dismissal even years later. It also fails basic checks like a switchboard call.
Almost never. A teammate, a client, a volunteer coordinator, a study supervisor, all legitimate. One honest bridge message usually produces a real referee within a week.
Only a fake one, which is the trap above. The legitimate version is a practice check: we run the employer's exact call on your real referees before the employer does, so the live call is their second try, not their first.
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