What Will Employers Ask Your Job References?

Most organizations require you to have at least three job references when submitting an application.  These can be former employers, teachers, or other professional references.  Have you ever wondered what questions they might be asked?  If you haven't, you should.  It's important to prep your references with the sort of questions they might be asked so they will know what to expect.  About.com put together a pretty good list of sample questions that might be asked to former employers, so let's take a look at some of those:

• When did (name) work for your company? Could you confirm starting and ending employment dates? When did s/he leave the company?
• Why did (name) leave the company?
• What was her/his starting and ending salary?
• What was her/his position? Can you describe the job responsibilities?
• Did s/he get along well with management and co-workers?

These are pretty basic questions.  There are laws that govern what a former employer can disclose, so these are the questions most likely to be asked.  Be sure to give these questions to all of your professional references.  The more prepped they are, the better answers they will give to the employer.