getting references after years of not working - any experience/knowlege?

[ziggiz]

Have been wondering for some years what happens when I need to start working again! How do I get a decent reference. All the people I worked for have now left and I've lost touch with them on a personal level. What would you or have you done about getting references?

I have been in a similar situation, returning to work after many, many years at home looking after Dkids.

Legally, as long as the organisation still exists they are supposed to give you a ref. It is good if you are still in contact with line managers etc who can make the ref more personal, otherwise you may only get a ref which states that you worked for organisation and your job title and responsibilities.

HTH

I'm in the same situation ziggiz, two out of three of my previous employers no longer exist! It's a pain isn't it :-/

Help out at sch/playgrp & get ref from head?
do local voluntary wrok - local oxfam shop or similar and get ref from there
any academic referee way down the line? should still have yr records if so.

Hmmm, thanks I've been thinking along similar lines it's just that I did have a v good reputation but when I started a family the others were all very career minded and so I didn't seem to fit in any more, besides if you have got little ones I imagine I did become a bit of a bore and so lost touch. It's a shame as I would have had a really good ref if I had applied for a new job within 2 years of finishing. Never mind making provision for women to get back into work, provision should be made for decent refs and not just statement type refs to be stored for use in the future years.

I was thinking this recently. I've only had one boss as worked there years. He's a bit of an arse so he'd probably give me a neurtral ref even though I was a good employee.

Maybe this is a good warning for others to get a reference before leaving to have kids? It's amazing how time flies and people then disappear etc..

make one up? (naughty)

Recruiting is a large part of my role and i quite often get people who have had a long break, ask if a characrter reference is accebtable. Are you on a school commitee,help at nursery,looked after someones children, doctor etc.

Getting a reference when you leave is pretty pointless as it will be out of date and may not be able to be verified.

Thanks pedilia that's a good idea. It is such a shame that "years of good service" (for want of a better expression) and hard work now stand for litle though.

ziggiz, I totally agree and it's another little insidious way that society discriminates against women, and does not value the contribution of women who look after their own children.

best of luck, I think a character ref is the way to go and don't feel apologetic about it - it's the recruiter's job to assess whether they think you can do the job or not so a reference from a previous employer shouldn't make a difference to this. Maybe put down your previous employer (after all as yu say you DID years of work for them which should count for something) but make clear that this was x years ago so if more information is needed you are happy to provide another character reference.

good luck!

I was recently in the same position - asked for a character reference from a friend who was a nurse. I got the job