How do you get around this? - Job applications

[FrazzleDazzler]

This may be a stupid question but I’ve been a civil servant forever and we don’t need to provide references when moving between civil service roles. I’m now considering applying for external roles (I like my team but finding the wider CS culture increasingly soul destroying and it’s taking its toll). Every job I’ve looked wants references providing at application stage. I know they might not contact at that stage, however I’d obviously need to get managers’ consent before naming them, and I’m not yet at the stage where I want to tell them I’m looking elsewhere. I expect it’ll be several months (if not longer) before I get anywhere, as I’m so out of practice, and I don’t like the thought of them knowing I’m racking up the rejections while actively looking to leave. I’d happily tell them if I reached interview stage and ask for references then.

What do others do about this? Clearly it’s really common. Do you all really tell your managers that you are applying for other jobs knowing it could be ages before that comes to fruition? Or is there another way around this that I’m missing?

Good luck with the transition OP!

I don’t think they’d necessarily think into it that much. You could just ask them generally if they’d be happy being named as a reference and let them know it’s not yet for any particular role and it might be a while yet before they’re actually contacted.

When I apply for jobs I don't ask managers if I can put them as a reference, I just put their names. Sometimes there is a box were you can say they can't be contacted yet?

When GDPR was first introduced i remember being told that work email addresses didn’t fall into the category of personal data. Could be wrong.

just list them or state available on request. Good luck!

You don’t have to ask their permission! It’s part of their job to provide you with a work reference. Your references almost certainly won’t be checked until you have received (and accepted) a job offer, so you can tell them then.

Whenever I've been offered a new job, the hiring manager has said to me "are we okay to contact your references now?" so they have always let me know in advance before they get in touch.

I wouldn't say you need consent to put a manager down as a reference either because you aren't providing any personal information, just work email and work number.

I would give the contact details for HR. I'm not sure the CS allows individual managers to give employment references.

I put my current manager without asking, and a previous manager I have a good relationship with and have asked (asked in general, I wouldn’t ask for every specific application). If it gets to the taking up references stage I’d get in touch then too, to let them know and tell them about the role!
I’ve received reference requests out of the blue for people I managed years ago and haven’t heard from since and i don’t like it.

The norm is to put your managers' names without asking, then tell them once an offer has been made.

It's not as sensitive or delicate as you fear! This is totally bog standard for managers in most sectors, don't overthink it.

Line Managers in the Civil Service don’t normally give references. A very basic one will be given by HR. Just provide your HR email rather than your managers name.

References are only contacted after an offer has been accepted, so once you’re at that stage you’d tell them at the sane time you’re handing your notice in. They just ask up front so they have that info to hand ready to go for whoever they appoint.

Every job I’ve looked wants references providing at application stage.
Just put TBC.

This has been my experience too (I'm about to leave the civil service). It was an HR email account that provided the reference - line managers don't do it. And they were not contacted for that reference until after the interview and offer was made.

Also my experience to just put HR. Nowhere I've worked has ever allowed managers provide references - all need to go through HR.

They want you to provide them, but they won't contact them unless they're seriously considering offering you the job. Why would they? And at that point, unless you get a bad reference you're going to be offered the job. I suppose it makes sense to ask you up front, rather than after a couple of interviews - that would indicate you're going to be offered the job unless you get a bad reference, and might cause conflict if you subsequently weren't offered it (i.e. someone had given you a bad reference, and you know exactly who).

In the past I have put 'References can be provided on request.' Which hasn't been a problem at all. I also ensure to ask line managers (if I have got on very well with them) if they would be happy to give me a private reference in the future.

I'm about to start a new job, I put one ref name on my application and 'others can be provided by request'. The refs they followed up were the one private one (giving their private email) and the HR one, both were from the same company.