At the end of your CV, you are at liberty to list any references you may have.  It is purely at your discretion who you put down.  I do favour one or two references from your working life, and one from the personal side.  In this way you cover both aspects of your persona, ie; work and personal life. A CV with references will possibly get slightly more attention in the later stages of the interview process, but…in any case you will be asked for references at some stage if a job offer is going to be made.

If you do list a personal reference, make sure it is someone of good standing who you have known for a number of years. People like solicitors, doctors, company directors. As I said, people of good standing who’s word in your favour will be seen as very much a plus. In normal circumstances, such a reference will create a good impression for a potential employer.  As far as work references are concerned, I feel it is always best to give your immediate superior.  After all, they do know best about working with you, and consequently are best placed to give a suitably qualified reference.

It is, of course, worth checking with them that;-

1. they are prepared to give you a reference, and
2. it will be a good reference.

There is absolutely no point in giving a reference who is not going to speak well of you!  Now, I feel sure I can hear you all talking about sucking eggs, but hey, this is a comprehensive guide.  Someone might not have realised, and if I have saved one embarrassed job applicant, then it was all worthwhile!

One other area I would avoid for references is personnel (sorry personnel, again), but the bottom line is, that they will only have third party knowledge of you, the quality of your work, your personality etc.  They will only go to the line manager for an opinion in most cases anyway.  In some of the bigger companies, it is entirely possible that personnel have never met you, do not even know you, and can only go from your personnel file.

Another angle is to ask for a written reference from the company before you leave; you know, a “to whom it may concern” letter.  We are seeing this more and more in the temporary and contract markets.  If you do this, you can produce your references at interview, and save an awful lot of time.  In most cases this type of reference is acceptable and will help speed your application along.