Referees in a CV: whom to name and how

A referee lends you their name. Choose people who know your work well, ask them properly, and make their task easy.

Referee, reference, recommendation

A referee is a person who agrees to give an opinion on you. A reference or letter of recommendation is that opinion, written or spoken. Academic and research applications usually ask for two or three referees, and their letters often weigh as much as anything in the CV. In ordinary job applications references are checked late, by phone, and are not listed on the document at all.

When to list referees on the CV

• Academic and research applications: list them at the end unless the application form collects them separately.
• Fellowships and scholarships: follow the form; many ask referees to upload letters directly.
• Medical posts: commonly listed.
• Private-sector and senior professional CVs: do not list. Give names when asked, after warning the people concerned.
• Applications abroad: customs differ. See CV by country.

Whom to choose

The best referee is someone senior who knows your work directly and recently and thinks well of it. A detailed letter from your supervisor carries more than a brief one from a famous name who barely remembers you.

• For a PhD or post-doctoral application: your research supervisor, and one or two teachers who taught you advanced courses or supervised a project.
• For a teaching post: your doctoral supervisor, your head of department or principal, and a senior colleague in the subject.
• For a professional post: a current or recent reporting manager, a senior colleague, a client who has agreed.
• Spread: choose referees who can speak about different sides of you: research, teaching, character at work.

Avoid relatives, friends of the family, and people whose only link with you is social or political standing. Committees discount such names.

Ask first, always

Never name someone without their consent. Ask in person or in a courteous message, and ask the honest question: "Would you be able to write me a strong reference for this application?" This lets a person who has reservations decline gracefully, which is far better than a lukewarm letter. Give them at least two to three weeks.

How to list a referee

Give the name with title, designation, department and institution, official email and phone, and one line on how they know you. Check each detail with the person.

Use the referee's institutional email where they have one; applications are often suspicious of personal addresses.

Help your referee

A busy senior person writes a better letter when you make it easy. Send, in one message:

• Your current CV.
• The advertisement or the course description.
• The deadline and exactly how the reference is to be sent.
• A half-page reminder of what you did with them: courses, grades, project, dates, anything notable.
• Any points the application particularly asks referees to address.

Do not draft the letter for them unless they ask, and never submit a letter in someone's name that they have not written or approved.

Confidential references

Many institutions ask referees to send letters directly, and some ask whether you waive the right to see them. Confidential letters are generally given more weight. Whatever you choose, do not press a referee to show you the letter.

Your present employer

If you do not want your employer approached before you have an offer, say so in the covering letter or the form: "My present employer may be contacted after interview." This is a normal request. For a first academic post, your supervisor serves in place of an employer.

Afterwards

Tell your referees the outcome, and thank them whichever way it goes. They have spent time for you, and you will need them again. Keep them informed of your later progress; a referee who has followed your career writes with more conviction next time.

"References available on request"

In an academic CV, name the referees or follow the form. In a professional CV, simply leave the subject out; the phrase adds nothing, since every employer assumes it.

Questions people ask

More CV guides

Sample CVs

General guidance. This page gives general suggestions, reviewed in November 2026. If an institution, employer or country gives its own form, format or instruction, follow that. Every person, institution and publication in our examples is invented. Nothing here is legal, immigration or professional advice.