If you think just because your ex-boss allowed you to put his name as a reference for the new job you’re applying for he’d be giving you all praises, think twice. Remember that not all people could be swayed to speak only the best of you so better think twice on who’d you’d put down as references. Many jobs have been lost because of some little negative remark made by references. Here’s how to deal with references.

List down the strong references that you might have. Former employers often count but only if you had a good working relationship with them. For fresh graduates, your best bet would be former professors who know you and have given you good marks. Concentrate on people who have the best reputations and are strong players in the field that you want to engage.

Do some covert checks. To find out if the references would be giving good remarks about you, ask someone else to pretend to be an HR person contacting them about you. This way, you can check whether your intended reference would be helpful to your cause.

Contact your references. If your application is active, better give your references a heads up on who might be calling them so they won’t be caught of guard. A little nudge to your references would help “jar” their good memories of you. Inform them on who might be calling them and why.