Bits of advice I wish I had known
&gt;  When checking references for a job applicant, employers may be reluctant or prohibited from saying anything negative, so leave or send a message that says, “Get back to me if you highly recommend this applicant as super great.” If they don’t reply take that as a negative.<p>Big disagree here, that&#x27;s not fair at all to the applicant. Some people are just terrible referees and it&#x27;s hard to know that as the applicant until someone lets you down. Some people mean to reply but forget, some people are too busy to answer and don&#x27;t get back to you, some people just don&#x27;t want to even though they think you&#x27;d be an excellent candidate. On top of that, with people moving around so much it can be hard to nail down recent contact details.<p>If somewhere I&#x27;m applying to work can&#x27;t get a hold of someone, I&#x27;d very much expect them to reach back out to me in order to resolve the issue, if they can&#x27;t do me that courtesy then I guess I&#x27;ll be working somewhere else.