[wackojacko]

Ive never worked and ive never visited my GP (he's new), it's the holidays now so teachers are away. How on earth do I get a referee? I need 2!

[tbm]

Is there anyone else you could ask who's not related to you, for example someone you know in the community, a police officer, councillor, someone who owns a business etc?

[wackojacko]

Nope I live out of town, my dad is a teacher at some other school but ive only met one or two of his co workers...would ex teachers work? I know two of them.

[*starry_eyed_*]

a friend of a parent?

[wackojacko]

Maybe so, It says "professional referees" though. Maybe I shouldn't bother .

[*starry_eyed_*]

omg its so annoyin when they put that.. how are you meant to put a "professional" reference, if its you're first job?!?

[wackojacko]

I think thats the idea, they want people with experience. I could mean doctors and teachers are ok though.

[natcho]

I know quite a few people who just asked their friends to give them professional references. For the work address of the "professional referees" they just wrote their home address under the pretext of working from home. Seemed to work quite well. Unless it's some VERY important job, the worst I see a company doing is not giving you the job!

[wackojacko]

well...i'd may as well make it up and give a neighbour's address then give my home address, it would be a bit obvious wouldn't it?

[natcho]

lol. Tbh if they didn't notice something like that then I wouldn't want to work for them! Try and give them a friend's address or something.

[Tatty]

I just put down my boyfriend's Mum and that worked for me. ^_^

[natcho]

The problem, as I discovered today when I got a Greggs application form, comes when they ask for SCHOOL references. I'm not sure if I want to ask a teacher for a reference.... not cause it'd be a bad reference, but they'd probably go on about how I should spend my time revising and stuff. Hmm.

[JennLlama]

(Original post by wackojacko)
well...i'd may as well make it up and give a neighbour's address then give my home address, it would be a bit obvious wouldn't it?

If you've got no previous work experience (which is presumably obvious from the fact that you won't have filled any in on the application form!) then clearly you can't provide any referees from work. Just put down two other referees (which could be ex-teachers if they're fairly recent, friends of parents who know you reasonably well, neighbours, whatever) and maybe add a sentence saying something like "As I have no previous work experience I am unable to provide any professional referees so have provided two academic/character referees instead".
Jenn xx

[Reloaded]

how about putting down your former school/college headmaster down as a referee so that he/she can refer your employer to a specific teacher?

[wackojacko]

Thanks, guys/girls this advice is useful, I think ill be able to sort it now

[buttons7]

just tell them you haven't had a job before? i was supposed to provide two references for each of the jobs ive worked before: with the first one i told them that i'd never worked, but they could speak to my parents or people i'd babysat for (they did neither and employed me anyway), with the second i asked my manager from the first job to provide a reference and gave his phone number to my new employers - they rang him and were satisfied so said they didn't care about the second reference. employers can usually waive the need for references at their discretion, so you could speak to the manager of wherever you've applied to see if this is possible.

[wackojacko]

Web based application, references are "essential"

[buttons7]

(Original post by wackojacko)
Web based application, references are "essential"

bummer

[natcho]

(Original post by Reloader)
how about putting down your former school/college headmaster down as a referee so that he/she can refer your employer to a specific teacher?

Sound advice. I'm still at school, and plan on giving my head master as a proper source of reference once I've left, but more to annoy him than anything else.