The call for references comes with one day’s notice, usually before anyone has decided who to name. Here is how to build a list that holds, including when you have almost nothing on paper.
A referee and a reference letter are not the same thing
A referee is a person a prospective employer can telephone or email; you supply the name, the relationship, their current role and their contact details. A reference letter is a document – usually written by that person or by a previous employer – that you attach or hand over.
Most checks here are done by phone or email on a named referee, so your first job is two or three reachable people, not one perfect letter. If an employer insists on a letter, ask whether a referee contact will do for now.
Who counts as a referee when your work history is thin
Rank what you have by how well the person can speak to your work, not by their job title:
- A supervisor or team leader from a past job – even two weeks of seasonal work. Short is not nothing.
- A trainer or assessor from a learnership, internship or TVET course. They watched you show up, meet deadlines and work with others.
- A client. Any paid work at all – delivering, tutoring, cleaning, running a stall – gives you a business referee.
- A volunteer coordinator, church or community organiser, or a sports captain who can speak to reliability.
- A lecturer or head of department, for a recent graduate with no workplace referee yet.
Never pass off a relative as a neutral referee – if it is discovered it takes your whole application with it – and never list someone who does not know they are on your CV.
Ask first, and hand them the advert
A surprised referee is a referee who is out at a client site or gives a vague answer. Ask in a way that gives them an easy out:
“Hi Thandi, I’m applying for a customer care role at [company] and they’ll be taking up references. Would you be comfortable being one of my referees? I’ll send you the advert and my CV. If now isn’t a good time, I completely understand.”
Then send three things: the advert, the CV you submitted, and two lines reminding them which job you did for them and one thing you handled well. A referee who knows the role answers “were they reliable” with a real example instead of a shrug. Warn them when the check is near, and confirm the number you listed is still live.
Where references go on the CV
Keep them off the main body – the recruiter is deciding whether to read further, not calling referees yet. End with a short “References” block, or write “available on request” and keep the full list in a second document you can attach the same day it is asked for.
Two rules: only list referees you can reach within a day, and while you are still employed do not name your current direct supervisor – use a former manager, trainer or client instead, and say why if asked.
When the check happens, and how to protect it
References are commonly taken after a shortlist and before or just after an offer. That means silence for weeks, then one day to produce everything – so build the list now. If a referee goes unreachable, replace them rather than leaving a dead contact on the form: “That referee has left the company; here is someone else who supervised the same work.” A stale number reads as a sloppy application.
No references at all: build one this week
An applicant with zero referees is not unemployable, just undocumented. One short, real piece of work plus a person who observes it fixes that:
- Two weeks of any paid work – a shop, a spaza, warehouse peak season, an events crew. Ask the supervisor at the end whether you may list them.
- A short course with attendance and an assignment, where a facilitator sees you finish something.
- Volunteering with a coordinator – a feeding scheme, a funday, a community project – and get them to confirm what you did and how many hours.
- One small paid job for a neighbour or local business, confirmed in writing. A message from the client saying “thanks for sorting my books, paid in full” is proof and a warm referee at once.
Write down what you did, the dates and the result while it is fresh – that is how one short job becomes a repeatable reference.
If an old employer will not help
Some companies only confirm dates and position and go no further. That is normal and still useful – ask for it by email so you keep the reply. If they will not confirm anything, keep the proof you already hold: contract, payslips, IRP5, an exit letter, or the messages that assigned you the work. Documents carry the fact that you did the job, so a referee can speak to the quality of it. Never invent a referee.
What to do this week
- Put two or three referees in a document – name, relationship, phone, email – ready to attach in one minute.
- Send the ask message to each of them today and note who said yes.
- Send each “yes” the advert and your CV, with one line on which job they know you from.
- Call the numbers you listed once, to prove they still work.
- If you are short, book one piece of work or volunteering this week so the gap closes with something real.