Personal & Life
Reference and Proof Kit: Line Up Referees and Backup Before You Are Asked
Intermediate | 1 whiteboard page · Task board: 5 columns (5 parent tasks, 12 subtasks)
Intermediate: Method names appear, but the whiteboard explains the key points. Use the examples as a guide and fill it in, thinking it through for your own situation.
A reference check is often the last step before an offer, and this reference-check template lines up your referees and the evidence behind your results before the employer asks. The whiteboard holds the design of the ask, a register of three referees, the request built with 5W1H, the confidentiality line with a fallback for anyone who declines, and an evidence matrix of credibility against how fast you can produce it. The task board runs five columns, from candidates through asked, agreed and briefed to done and thanked, and starts with 5 parent tasks and 12 subtasks. Referees cannot drop everything the day you call, so writing the ask and rebuilding the evidence early keeps the last stage of a job search calm.
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Reference Prep Kit
How to use: 1. List five referees 2. Build the ask with 5W1H 3. Give each person one topic 4. Close the loop with the result and a thank you
1. Who Says What (designing the ask)
- The doubt this should erase e.g. Moving on after 1 year 10 months. Have a third party say it was not a walk-out.
- One topic each, one extra line at most Former manager → results and numbers (+ the doubt-killer line) Former teammate → how you work on a team Client contact → how you handle outsiders
- People not to ask - Your current manager (word travels internally) - Anyone you left on bad terms with - Anyone you have not spoken to in three years
- What the company asked for Two referees, one a former manager A 30-minute call or their own form Within 10 days of the final interview
2. Referee Register (relationship, shared work, topic, status of the ask)
| Relationship and role | Work you shared | Topic they cover | Status of the ask | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex (former manager) | Your section head, now a director You have their personal mobile number | The 2024 order management rebuild You ran requirements and the schedule | Ran delivery slippage down to zero That you left for a positive reason | Aug 5, asked by phone → agreed on the call Aug 12, resume and likely questions sent |
| Dana (former teammate) | A PM from your intake, now elsewhere Email and the alumni thread both reach them | The 2023 warehouse relocation The two of you ran the overnight cutover | How you steady a project in trouble How you work across departments | Aug 6, asked by email → waiting on a reply Aug 13, one follow-up, then stop |
| Chris (client contact) | Procurement lead at a former client Only the work address on their card | The 2025 annual contract renewal You visited monthly as their contact | How carefully you handle outside parties Where you draw the line on demands | Not asked yet. Checking their company policy If they decline, move to Erin instead |
3. Building the Ask (5W1H)
- Following up with Dana
- What The ask: a 30-minute call on how you work in a team
- Why Why them: ran the relocation with you and saw it first hand
- Who Who: Dana, a former teammate. Email and the alumni thread
- When By when: one follow-up on Aug 13. No reply, stop there
- Where Where: the company form. Switch to a call if that fails
- How How: attach the resume and five questions, say no is fine
4. Off Limits Under Confidentiality
- Client names, unit prices, unpublished revenue or profit figures
- Screens or design documents from internal systems
- Any document from your old employer (no copies, no retyping)
- Minutes or chat logs with colleagues names still in them
5. When Someone Declines
- Company policy is their constraint, not a verdict. Go to the next name
- No manager available? Try a peer of theirs or the project lead
- If an outside contact is difficult, look to another department
- If you cannot field two, ask the company about the count and date
6. Choosing Your Evidence (credibility × how fast you can produce it)
Vertical axis: How credible it is (what a third party can verify) / Horizontal axis: How fast you can produce it (what is already in hand)
- Request it now Awards, certificates, proof of employment. Some take two weeks to issue, so apply as soon as the process moves on.
- Lead with these Public material, talks, work that shipped outside. You can hand it over as is, so collect the links on one page.
- Leave them out Numbers you only remember, and files too sensitive to redact. Push them out anyway and they cannot be verified, which costs you trust.
- Use as support Your own summary of results or working notes. Weak on their own, so pair them with a referee or public material.
Task board contents
Candidates 17 items
List your referees
With only one name in mind, a single no leaves you with nobody. Widen the pool first so you have a choice.
Name five people
Put five names in the register from former managers, teammates, and clients. You may only ask two, but keep the bench deep.
Check contacts work
A work address is useless once someone has moved on. Confirm you have a personal route to each candidate.
Draft the ask
Write a message they can answer without thinking twice. Leave out what, by when, and how long, and it stalls.
Write it with 5W1H
Turn the 5W1H section on the board straight into prose. Keep it to seven lines.
Ask for the deadline
Confirm how many referees, in what format, and by when before you ask. Without the date you book their time twice.
Send 5 questions
Write out five questions the company is likely to raise and send them ahead. Nobody has to improvise, and the answers get richer.
Split the topics
Two people telling the same story counts as one. Decide who covers what before either of them speaks.
Remove overlaps
Compare the topic column in the register and drop pairings that would repeat. Results, working style, and outside dealings is the usual split.
Cover the weak spot
List what an interviewer might poke at, such as a short stint, and pick one person who can explain it as fact.
Gather the evidence
Quoting a number you cannot back up later costs you trust. Rebuild each one into a form you can show without breaching anything.
Trace every number
Take each figure on your resume back to the document and page it came from. Drop anything you only remember.
Set the secrecy line
Working from section 4, decide up front what stays in. Anything you have to think twice about goes on the do-not-share side.
Make it shareable
Swap company names for sector and size, figures for ratios, and fit it on one page. Do not start this on the day they ask.
Thank them, report
Ask and vanish, and you cannot go back next time. Treat the request as finished only once you have reported the outcome.
Thank them next day
Send thanks within a day of the company contacting them. A line about what was asked makes it feel lighter.
Tell them the result
If you take the job, share the team and start date too. If it did not go your way, say so rather than going quiet.
