Referees contacted before vac scheme interviews?

I was just wondering if firms generally contact referees before inviting you to interview? If they get no reply from one referee could that mean that they reject your application?

I think one of my referees might have gone to cuba for two weeks! But I'm studying in spain and it's difficult to get hold of him...he's a restaurant manager and really is quite scatty! I've just sent a text reminding him to check his emails - he's not really used to the whole email thing - he only created his email address for my applications!

Reply 1

ONBH

Yes, they do and you need to be really careful about this - firms contact referees normally before inviting candidates to interview. On two occassions my academic referee failed to respond and I did not receive the interview I presumably would have had he responded. I would always suggest that you check on your applications/referees because they really can make or break an application (as I know to my detriment).

Reply 2

chalks

12

I disagree with this. In my experience, referees are rarely contacted prior to interview. If a firm has formed a positive view of you post-interview and is considering offering you a scheme, then it might contact your referee. There are simply too many referees to contact for everyone the firm wants to interview.

This is especially the case where one of your referees is non-legal and non-academic.

Reply 3

Lewisy-boy

11

In the cases where they've been contacted prior to interview for me, I have received an email informing me of such; and advising me to get in contact with them to speed them up if I so wished!

Reply 4

ONBH

chalks

I disagree with this. In my experience, referees are rarely contacted prior to interview. If a firm has formed a positive view of you post-interview and is considering offering you a scheme, then it might contact your referee. There are simply too many referees to contact for everyone the firm wants to interview.

This is especially the case where one of your referees is non-legal and non-academic.

It seems to me to be standard practice to contact the academic referee prior to offering a candidate an interview - virtually every interview that I was offered was preceeded by the firm contacting my referee. I don't think that I am a special cicumstance either as the people I know who were applying at the same time as I was considered the request for a reference as indicative of a pending invitation to interview.

Reply 5

ONBH

Lewisy-boy

In the cases where they've been contacted prior to interview for me, I have received an email informing me of such; and advising me to get in contact with them to speed them up if I so wished!

Many firms do this and this is useful to avoid the problems I mentioned above. Equally however, many do not and so I found that unless you really chase your referee, you might miss out on opportunities.

Reply 6

gossipqueen71

OP

Thanks for the replies! I know that my academic referee is very reliable so if they only contact her then that's ok...i'm going to chase up the other one now though just in case! :smile:

Reply 7

litispendence

1

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Referees contacted before vac scheme interviews?

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