References on a Resume: Leave Them Off

Two things about references still appear on a majority of resumes, and both should go. The reasoning is practical rather than stylistic.

Do not list references

Three reasons.

It wastes the scarcest resource you have. Three referees with titles, employers, phone numbers and emails takes six to nine lines. That is a quarter of a page that could hold two achievements.

It exposes other people’s details. Your resume goes to job boards, recruiters, screening systems and anyone in a hiring chain. Publishing a former manager’s mobile number to all of them is a courtesy failure, and referees do notice when they start receiving unexpected calls.

Nobody wants them yet. References are checked late, usually at or after offer stage. Supplying them early answers a question nobody has asked.

Harvard’s career service materials describe the resume as a brief document highlighting your strongest assets, and a list of other people’s phone numbers is not among them.

Do not write “references available on request”

The line is assumed. Every candidate can produce references, so stating it conveys nothing.

Its only real effect is as a signal: it marks a resume as following a template from a much earlier era, alongside a full postal address and an objective about seeking a challenging position.

Delete it and take the line back.

What to do instead

Keep a separate reference document, ready to send when asked.

References for Adaeze Okonkwo

Bruno Salvatierra · Divisional Director, Halstead Foods Line manager, 2021 to 2024 (555) 014-9902 · bruno.salvatierra@example.com

Priya Raghunathan · Head of Procurement, Kestrel Grocery Worked together on the supplier consolidation, 2023 (555) 014-7781 · priya.r@example.com

Name, title and employer, your relationship and the dates, then contact details. The relationship line matters, because it tells the employer what each person can speak to.

Match the formatting to your resume so the two documents look like a set. See resume reference formatting.

Ask before you list anyone

Not optional, and the reason is self-interested as well as polite.

An unprepared referee gives a vague answer, which lands as lukewarm. A prepared one gives a specific answer, which is what you actually want. And asking gives them the chance to decline, which is far better than a reluctant call.

Ask during your notice period if you are leaving now, while the detail is fresh and the relationship is cooperative. See how to ask for a reference for the message that works.

Who to have ready

Three, from different angles.

A former direct manager. The strongest, and the one employers ask for.

A skip-level, project lead or senior colleague who saw your work closely. Often better than a line manager who did not.

One from a different context: a client, an external partner, or a manager from an earlier role.

Keep their current personal contact details, since a work email at a company they have left is a common reason a reference never arrives.

The current employer problem

Normal, expected, and easy to handle.

You will usually not want your current manager approached before you have an offer. Say so plainly:

I would prefer my current employer to be approached only after an offer. In the meantime I can provide two references from previous roles.

Almost every employer accepts this, and offering the alternative in the same breath makes it a non-issue rather than an obstacle.

Reference checks and background checks are different

Worth knowing, because they arrive at different points and have different rules.

An informal call to a former manager is a reference check. A report produced by a third-party screening company is a consumer report, and the FTC’s guidance on using consumer reports requires the employer to disclose it, obtain your written authorisation, and give you notice and a copy before taking adverse action based on it.

That last step is your opportunity to correct an error, so read anything they send rather than assuming the outcome. See the Work Number for what employment records typically hold.

The exception

Academic CVs. Named referees with contact details are conventional and expected, often at the end of the document. Follow the field. See the CV format guide.

Some public sector and international application forms also require referees in a form field. Fill the field; that is different from putting them on a resume.

Related

For the practical side, see resume reference tips and resume reference formatting. For asking, see how to ask for a reference. For what to do with the reclaimed space, see the resume sections guide.

Or rebuild the document without them at Kazifi.