Skills for Work

What’s the difference between a reference and a referee?

If you’re hunting for work, you’ve probably put together a resume to hand out to potential employers. One of the most important parts of the hiring process is the employer looking for information about you from other people. This is usually done through references and referees. But what are references and referees, and what’s the difference? Read on to find out.

Reference vs referee – the difference

A referee refers to an actual person – someone you’ll put down on your resume who can vouch for your skills and effectiveness.

A reference is a written document or statement from a person you’ve worked for. It usually includes information about the kind of work you undertook and your skills and abilities.

So someone may be willing to write up a reference for you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you also need to include them as a referee on your resume.

The purpose of references and referees is so employers can cross-check any information you’ve put on your resume to ensure you’re not making anything up.

The benefit of references is that once you have one, you can use it over and over again without needing to worry about it changing. On the other hand, the benefit of referees is that they can potentially provide more relevant and up-to-date information.

Who can be a referee?

Your referees need to be people who know about your work experience and skills and are willing to vouch for you in a positive way.

Keep in mind you should never put your parents or friends down as references – employers will usually consider them as biased and unreliable. The best referees are people you know in a professional capacity, such as an employer or coworker. If you’ve never had a job before, you can include people like teachers, mentors, or coaches instead.

If you’re going to add someone as a referee to your resume, make sure you let them know in advance. Not only is it the polite thing to do, it also means they can be prepared in case a potential employer calls them for information.

Ensure your referee details are always kept up to date – if an employer can’t get in touch with your referees, this might affect your application.

Who can I get a reference from?

If you’d like to add some references to your resume, they don’t just need to come from people you’ve been employed by.

If you’re undertaking work experience, it’s a good idea to ask if you can get a reference at the end of your placement. Or if you do any sort of volunteer work, this is great to get a reference for too.

If you have no work experience (either paid or unpaid), you can also ask for what’s known as a character reference. Obviously this won’t include any details of your work, but can tell a potential employer more about the type of person you are. These might come from people like teachers or coaches.

References are most credible if they’re written or typed on a company letterhead, and also signed by the person who wrote the reference. Keep in mind that employers might contact the business or person you’ve received a reference from to make sure it’s legit.

Want more?

Like to know more about job hunting? Check out the other resources on Study Work Grow.