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When applying for jobs that ask for references, who is appropriate to use for a reference? I know that common practice is to use people you have worked with, but are non-work references acceptable as well?
For instance, suppose you frequently email a person about their work and ask them questions. Can you use them as a work reference even if you do not professionally work with them?
Suppose you frequently email a person about their work and ask them questions. Can you use him as a work reference even if you do not professionally work with him?
You can use anyone you choose as a reference. But the real question is - would this be a wise choice?
You could use the President of the United States as a reference, but unless you actually worked with her/him, it would be foolish to do so.
Similarly, you could use your internet buddy, whom you have never really met and have never really work with, but it might not make sense to do so. If a hiring manager called this person and asked about you, what insight could this person provide? If your internet buddy said "I've never met him." would that help or hurt your job candidacy?
In general, you want references who know you well enough, and have direct evidence of your work, and who will say really good things about your work ability when asked. Using anyone else is a risk.
At best, your email friend might be able to say "He sends a lot of emails, and asks good questions." But it's unlikely he has any direct evidence of your work ability. Is that the best you can do for a reference?
If I was to use a person I didn't work with directly as a reference, the person and my relationship to the person would have to meet certain criteria:
This type of reference is useful if it would impress the hiring officials that you have influential contacts outside your own office who think highly of you. It would not impress them if you have no co-workers who also think highly of you.
My experience has been that by the time a company decides to check your references, they've already made the decision to hire you & are just covering their bases.
The exception is recruiting or contracting firms, who will vet candidates before they represent them.
My dad actually had an experience where a recruiter called him back and said, can you get another reference, because one of your references panned you. ;)
Really, if this person you interact with is willing, and that relationship is OK with the company doing the check, then sure. But what I usually do is have a list of references, and if the company complains they want more managers, or more coworkers, or whatever, then I have those contacts on hand.
