(A) Contact that person to ask permission to provide their contact details and to advise them of your current campaign;

(B)Verify and confirm:

(i)current contact number; (ii)email address; and (iii)appropriate/contact time preferred.

Another strategy would be to refresh your reference’s memory about previous projects and contributions by supplying them with a copy of:

~ Your current resume; ~ Relevant experience and results achieved with reference’s organization; ~ Overview of your career goals and aspirations so that reference can provide information pertinent to that goal.

This will allow your reference to gain an understanding of your skill set and what it is you are targeting.

When preparing your references contact list, don’t just state basic details such as name and contact details, but provide some background details as to how you know this reference and information they can confirm. Perhaps a succinct list of outstanding contributions that this reference can qualify would be beneficial too. Ensure that document is formatted professionally and in similar style (i.e. fonts etc) that your resume has been developed, as consistency in formatting and professional presentation is also important.

If position and company still sound exciting after initial interview and you would like to be considered in next round, try to confirm who will be contacting your references and approximate timing. This will allow you to touch base (either by phone or email) with your references and advise them of forthcoming reference check.

At completion of your career campaign, after receiving and accepting a firm job offer, do not forget to send a thank you card to each of your references to show your appreciation and to advise them of your success.

~ Become a mentor and support someone else’s knowledge growth. Knowing that you have facilitated or contributed to another person’s journey of knowledge enhancement can be extremely rewarding.

~ Write articles for a publication in your industry – a great way to portray your expertise and raise your credibility and profile among your peers.

~ Offer your services within family/associates’ businesses either on a voluntary or paid basis. Not only will you be contributing to overall running of their business, but ensuring you skills remain up-to-date.

There are also various techniques you can use when developing your resume in order to draw attention away from potential gaps.

~ Rather than presenting your resume in a reverse chronological format (which is most common) providing contact details and professional experience with most recent at forefront, try combination or functional formats, which list your transferable skills, competencies and accomplishments relevant to position at forefront. This way you are demonstrating at outset what you can contribute to position.

~ Another strategy is to omit months when providing dates, so that instead of stating 10/1997 – 5/2002, you would just write 1997 – 2002.

~ List any education or professional development courses at forefront as this will demonstrate your initiative and commitment to expanding your knowledge.

~ Treat consulting, assignments, or self-employment as professional experience, as with any voluntary work performed within community or even for family business. There is no need to disclose that this was unpaid, nor even fact that you were related to manager; only concentrate on your accountabilities and accomplishments.

Your job search should be treated as your full-time job and each day should be organized and prioritized with time allocated to sourcing suitable positions, sending off applications, following up, and continually working and expanding your network of contacts to maximize your overall job search campaign.

Maintain your health, physical fitness and personal appearance to ensure your positivity and enthusiasm do not diminish. Therefore, when finally called into an interview, you will not bring with you a blanket of self-doubt and disenchantment. During interview remember to portray all of relevant experience and achievements (gained through above strategies) with enthusiasm, while demonstrating your ability to continue contributing your expertise toward ongoing success of their company.