When applying for jobs you may want to include a list of people that can be contacted should they require a reference? You may want to add this to your CV or you may want to wait to be asked for them.

People often worry about giving a current employer as a reference when applying for a job as they may not have made their employer aware that they are looking for another position. Most employers understand this and are happy to accept references from a previous employer rather than a current one.

If you need to give other references then you may want to as a tutor or a teacher (if you have recently come out of education). Another person you may want to ask would be a colleague that has worked closely with you for a period of time.

Often the job advertisement will detail how many references you need and the types of people you may want to consider obtaining one from.

If you are struggling to get references because of not having worked for a long time then you need to think of other professional people that can vouch for you as a person and your work ethic.