References when you have never worked?

lisa_75

I am a currently a student in my 3rd year at uni. Before that I was a housewife for several years. The only jobs I have had were part time ones when I was at school/college, but that was 10+ years ago.

As I finish uni in June I will be looking to apply for work. Most jobs ask for 2 references. I am ok to get one from one of my tutors at uni, but what do I do about the other one if I have never worked?

I am getting really worried about this as I need to find work before September and am worried this will stop me getting a job.

Jamz

Get a tutor to give you a professional reference and then get a professional friend to give you a personal reference.. Should be fine then..

lisa_75

Jamz wrote:

Get a tutor to give you a professional reference and then get a professional friend to give you a personal reference.. Should be fine then..

Thanks. I thought about asking a friend but what is kind of job is counted as a "professional”? Most of my friends are either students themselves or full time mums.

Astaroth

Business owners, lawyers, doctors, architects, teachers etc would be preferable.

lisa_75

Astaroth wrote:

Business owners, lawyers, doctors, architects, teachers etc would be preferable.

Don't really know anyone like that as I don't move in those kind of circles! My friend is training to be a teacher and will gratuate in June also. Hopefully if she gets a job pretty quick I will be able to ask her. Not sure what to do in the meantime though....

november

lisa_75 wrote:

My friend is training to be a teacher and will gratuate in June also. Hopefully if she gets a job pretty quick I will be able to ask her. Not sure what to do in the meantime though....

IMHO once your friend is qualified to be a teacher she is a teacher. May not be an employed teacher but a teacher none the less .....

I would use her as a personal referee if you need one. She can still put her qualifications after her name to show she is a qualified professional. I've done personal refs even when I was a stay at home mum as prior to that I was tutoring at a college

Another idea is could you fit in some voluntary work before you leave uni even if its only a couple of hours a week? That may give you a head start in looking for paid employment and would also give you 2 professional references with no need for a personal one. January to June would also give you 5 months up to date work experience. If you haven't got a couple of hours a week how about volunteering to sit on the board of a charity/voluntary body if you have any skills they can use or just want to be involved in the local community? Usually only about 1 meeting a month (evenings usually) or 1 bi-monthly and you can ask the chair of the board or other appropriate person for a professional reference (I am a charity manager and I give professional refs. for our trustees).

Good luck with your course and future job hunting

edited to add
When I left uni as a mature student I used references from uni and from work placements that were part of my course. Prior to that after my stay at home mum period I used references from voluntary work done to edge me back into the workplace

margaretclare

Have you been involved in any leisure-time activities - Scouts/Guides, PTA at your children's school, church, local politics, volunteer groups, anything at all? Anyone can give you a reference if they've known you for a period of time even if it was only singing in the church choir! Punctuality, reliability, working as a team member, getting on well with others, those things all count.

Margaret

lewt

Astaroth wrote:

Business owners, lawyers, doctors, architects, teachers etc would be preferable.

or policemen/woman

inkie

Do you know any Registered Nurses personally - I have done references for in my time in my capacity as a Registered Nurse/Midwife and also as a minister

Debt_Free_Chick

When you apply, I would state that references are available "on request" or "by negotiation".

References are only taken up when you are offered a position. When this happens, simply explain the position - tell them you can provide a reference from your Uni tutor and ask them what other reference would be acceptable.

Many employers will not go for the second reference anyway and others may well be very flexible and might accept a second Uni reference.

The point is that you don't need to supply references up front - they are requested by your new employer when they offer you the job - so no need to worry too much before then.

seven-day-weekend

When I was in that position I used a my tutor and two personal referees -one was a friend who is a teacher and one was the pastor of my church.

Neither of the personal ones were approached for references.