When you live in Hawaii, most of the people you talk to are tourists who come to our beautiful state for a glimpse of the good life. They’re here for a short time and then go back to their lives, typically on the mainland or in another country.

But when it’s time to apply for jobs, you want to focus on local references, people who understand and value the things that matter to you and your potential new employer.

Here’s why references are important to your job search and how to pick them carefully.

References will speak on your behalf.

The point of providing references is for your potential employer to get to know a little more about you from someone you’ve worked with. If your future boss is trying to talk to someone who lives far away in another state, that will make it difficult to get them on the phone and to have a meaningful conversation with them due to the time change. They want to know if you’re as good a worker in real life as you’ve made yourself sound on paper.

Be selective about who you ask to be a reference.

A reference should always be someone you used to work with, and ideally will be a former manager or supervisor. You don’t want to ask a friend or relative to be a reference because they won’t be able to speak to your abilities at work and your characteristics as an employee. You also don’t want to ask someone who you didn’t always get along with because that might give your potential new manager some concerns about your ability to work well with others.

Understand the company’s culture and expectations before providing references.

If the job you’ve applied to is one that takes itself seriously, you don’t want to provide a reference who thinks everything is a joke. That might damage your chances! Companies hiring within Hawaii will want to know whether you’re able to uphold the company’s culture in addition to Hawaiian cultural values and priorities. Only someone else who has lived in Hawaii will be able to attest to that!

There’s a chance your reference might know the person calling about you.

Hawaii’s isolation only matters as far as the rest of the country goes — among islanders, there’s a possibility your reference will know your hiring manager, or that the person calling about you will recognize your reference’s name. That changes the conversation altogether! It’s so much better to learn about a person through someone you already know, someone who’s judgment you can rely on and someone who’s word carries weight. If possible, talk to your potential references about the person you’ve interviewed with and see if someone knows them — and then ask if they’d be willing to speak up for you to help you get a job!

Be sure to thank anyone who’s agreed to be a reference for you. Be respectful of their time and their ability to speak on your behalf and try not to have their lives interrupted too much — if you can find out when they might be called, pass that along so they can be prepared to sing your praises in the best way possible.

Simplify Your Job Search Today!

If you’re having trouble finding a great new job opportunity or you’d like other job search advice, call Bishop & Company! We specialize in helping Hawaiian companies hire Hawaiian workers and we’d love to help you find a great new job. Take a look at our job board and see what sounds interesting, then give us a call. We’re eager to work with you!