Good references can greatly improve your chances of success when searching for a sales job. They can also help you start off in a better position, or even with a higher compensation rate. Choosing references that you know will recommend you highly is important. Some people struggle to think of others they know who might make good references.

If you are electing to include references in your sales resume, there are some important factors that you should keep in mind. Even if you will not be including references in your resume, you will want to have people identified that will be able to serve as references for you during your job search. In this regard, there are some facts and factors that you do need to keep well in mind when it comes to references, your resume and your job search.

Include a variety: if all of your references are employment related, or all of your references are family members, this may not reflect well on a potential employer. Pick references from other activities that you engage in, sports, academics, religious organizations, or community groups. References can be drawn from almost anywhere. Friends can even make good references at times and so can fellow sales professionals from previous employment.

Make sure your references are people who have known you for a significant amount of time. Your reference list should not include someone you just recently met or began interacting with. Employers usually see this type of reference as an invalid source of information about you. After all, it makes sense to say that someone who you met a month ago won’t know you well enough to give an accurate picture of your character and reliability.

But what if your reference knows you too well? Do you really want to pick a former employer for a reference, know that he/she knows about the time when your work slipped because of illness? Won’t this reflect poorly on you? The answer is no, it will not reflect poorly on you. Typically, an honest and frank reference will win you more points with an employer than one who skirts around issues and makes you out to seem better than you are. The positive statements a reference makes about you must be given in contrast to negative ones in order to seem credible. No one is perfect, and no one will believe your references if they say you are. Don’t be afraid to choose references who will give an honest picture of your accomplishments and strengths, but also of your failings and your weaknesses.

Whether you choose a professor, a former employer, a friend, or a pastor, always ask before listing someone as a reference. Everyone listed on your resume with contact information should be notified by you previous to sending it out. Not only is this courteous to your references, but it also helps to verify that your contact information for them is correct and updated, and could get them thinking about ways to describe you in a positive way.