Conducting a Reference Check
- On Your Future Boss

When you go through the job search process, it seems every piece of your life is under scrutiny. Your work history, references, credit history, and so on are all fair game for background checks. Your future employer seems to know everything about you. But, what do you know about them?

We don't always have the luxury of time to do due diligence on every decision we make, and the current economic reality is forcing some of us to make decisions with even less information than we would otherwise demand. However, if you have a choice between opportunities or some time to deliberate, why not try to make sure you're accepting a job with a boss and co-workers you know will provide for you the environment in which you will be at your best?

Your future boss and coworkers are doing references on you. We suggest you do some on them. The first step is to come up with a list of questions for your future employer. These questions should only be asked if and when you have an offer in hand. Asking them sooner can keep you from getting the offer. Asking your future boss these questions once you have an offer is reasonable, as long as you ensure you emphasize your strong interest in the role and ask them tactfully.

Being Thankful in Your Job Search

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it's important to stop for a moment and think about what you can be thankful for during your job search process.

The job search can be a lonely, grueling process. Especially if you lost your job and have encountered rejection in the job search process, it's easy to become frustrated, cynical, and even depressed or angry during the process. Taking a moment to think about what you are thankful for can reinvigorate you, and can reap major rewards during your search process.

There are many people who typically are helpful to you during your job search process. These include, first and foremost, those trusted former or current colleagues, supervisors or mentors who serve as your references. It's very important to maintain a good connection with them to keep them updated in your search process and never take them for granted. After this small group, there are many people you may reach out to for advice and guidance during the search process. This includes people who gave you informational interviews, who provided career advice, or connected you with their contacts to obtain an internal referral for a job. Thank them for their part in your search, large or small.

The list goes on to include people who interviewed you but did not select you for a position. This might surprise you, but maintaining a good connection with a search team for a job that didn't choose you can reap rewards in the future by leading to referrals to other jobs that you might be a better fit for.

Consider keeping track of all the people you encounter during your search, from your most trusted mentors to people who spend a few minutes with you providing career advice over the phone. Keep track of your networking interactions, and think about a way you could follow up with them to provide an update, not just about your search, but about opportunities that might be of interest to them, articles you've read, events they might want to attend, or updates about other parts of your life (without crossing the personal-professional boundary). And be sure to ask them what is going on in their life, and how you could be helpful to them. Being thankful at all stages of the job search process, even when you are rejected, is an exceptional way to build and maintain the connections that will help you in your successful job search.

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