Question: What are references good for? Who is a good or bad reference? What are these people asked? Are they really contacted by employers? What if the employer can't reach them? Why is it bad to lie on a resume? Are the past employers contacted? What are they asked? Can an employer find out about a person through a totally different source? How is a new employee checked out by a company? What does the company do when it receives a resume? Do they bother if they see that the person was in a foreign country for a few years?

Answer: Lots of questions there -- let's try a few. First off, a reference gives you a chance to get your cheering squad in order, and so you want to choose people who are pretty smart and articulate and who can "sell" the prospective employer on your good qualities. It goes without saying that you need to choose folks who like you. Take your reference list to the interview with you, and make sure that you have the correct name, address, title, and phone number for each person on it. Many potential employers will want to talk with your last supervisor, so if that person is not on your list, they'll want to know why. They might indeed call your last employer without your permission, and they are also free to gather information about you in any way they can. Some employers now ask permission to look up your credit rating and debt history, on the assumption that if you can't handle your personal finances well, then you might make a mess of your work with them.