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Well, I don't see anything wrong with using other contractors
as reference. The contract project managers are probably
your best bet at this point. And I'd think you'd be better
off trying to find your old managers than asking people
who've never met you to give you a good word.
It's too late now, but never underestimate the importance of
keeping in touch. I'm still in touch with my boss and
several coworkers from a gig in 1992-93, did some contracts
last year for a coworker from 1994-95, had dinner with my
boss from 1995-1999 a couple of months ago... See? Even if
you only trade jokes via email once or twice a year, or just
send holiday cards to each other, maintaining those
relationships is important. Think of it as saving up for the
future (reference-wise).
HTH!
-Sue Gallagher
>
> From: James Barrow <vrfour -at- earthlink -dot- net>
...
> I worked on a contract position that lasted three years (2001-2004.)
> During that time I kept my resume updated, but lost track of my tried
> and true references. Some of them moved up, some moved on, some moved
> away.
>
> Since that long term contract position, I have held to contract
> positions that were each five weeks in length. The twist here is that
> the project managers for each of these contracts were also contractors.
>
> As I'm again in a position where I have to get my resume out there ... I'm coming up short on references. I have one
> solid 'supervisor' reference, and several coworker references.
>
> I've considered contacting the companies that I have worked for and
> speaking to the manager that took over for my reference. Maybe ask
> them to review the work that I had done and ask if they would be
> willing to be a reference. I've also thought about tracking down the
> references that moved on. Any suggestions on how to build a reliable
> pool of references?
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