Developing Job References

Question

How do you develop references for jobs? I have 6 years of programming experience spanning two jobs, but sadly I don't have a lot of people I can draw on as references. It's been several years since I left my last job, which was at a small company, and I've lost touch with the few people I knew there. I now work at another small company. I think I've gone as far as I can in my current position, and would like to look for greener pastures, but I can't exactly use my current boss as a reference, even though I have a very good repore with him. I'm sure he'd make a great reference down the road, but I'm afraid I'd insult him or jeopardize my current job by mentioning that I'm thinking of leaving and would like him to help me.

I've applied to some jobs, and I have gotten several replies like, "Oh, you're exactly what we're looking for. Send us a couple references and we'll schedule an interview. Oh, no references? You must be a psychopath, nevermind."

I've tried doing some small freelance work on the side, just so I can have a contact who can vouch for my work, but the competition for even small projects is pretty fierce and I can rarely devote adequate time to freelancing while holding a full time job. In addition, I often encounter a Catch-22 where a lot of freelancing jobs also require references.

So how do programmers maintain existing references and develop new ones, especially while holding a full time job?

Answer 1

You could try Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com

Answer 2

I keep in touch with people at the last place I worked, in addition to keeping in touch with people at the current job. It's good for professional reasons as well as social reasons: you always have someone to chat with about work that isn't one of your coworkers. As computer professionals, chatting with non-computer-professional friends about our work in depth isn't exactly great smalltalk. (unless it is - get it?)

The other thing you can use are coworkers (ideally, former bosses) that have left the company you're at now, and you can use very close friends who are coworkers - but you're right, I wouldn't use your current boss (or anyone in your chain of command)

Answer 3

Contribute to open source projects. You probably won't make money, but you'll make connections that you should eventually be able to use as references. Virtually all open source projects have some kind of public bug tracker. Find a project that interests you, look at the bug list, and start knocking them out.

Another possibility is to look for online coding challenges, such as Sphere Online Judge. There you can (1) continue to develop your programming and problem-solving skills, as well as (2) help others in the forums and possibly build some contacts that may turn into references. If nothing else, if you have a decent overall ranking, it should look good on your resume.

Answer 4

A few other ideas:

1. Local community - Is there a local users group that may be where you could demonstrate your skills? Do there seem to be certain professional associations that may be a way to make contact with people to be able to talk shop?

2. Family friends and former teachers - Granted this may be going back some time, but it may be a way to find those people that would vouch for your character and may help you get a job. I remember when I was first looking for work and had a neighbour and high school teacher give me letters of reference to help.

3. LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking sites may help in being able to look people up again and reconnect.

4. Blogs and other forum sites may also be useful for helping to demonstrate who you are and may also provide contacts. On another site, I had someone offer me a job if I had a Master's degree based on various conversations we had had on his blog where I post comments regularly. Get out there and connect with people!