Years ago, it was acceptable to provide both “personal” and “professional” references.
Today the credibility and relevance of personal references has disappeared. Forget
the longtime family friends. Forget the priest or rabbi. Concentrate only on people
who can attest to and give specific examples of your work, work ethic, and work
style.
You want to offer three or four references. Try for a mixture of people above you
(bosses, project leaders, managers), people next to you (peers, colleagues, co-workers),
people below you (employees, mentees, support staff), and people outside (vendor,
customers). Each of these people will view your skills and contributions differently,
and can offer refreshing insight to a new employer. Also strive to present a mixture
of work projects, different jobs, and community projects.
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