Hi all,

I have ran into a bit of a problem and not sure what to do about it.

I have applied for a job and managed to get through to interview, yay! :), that's the good news. However, the problem I'm having is I put down a referee on my application form who is no longer contactable as they are taking some time off. Is it a bad idea to ask the interviewers if I can change my referee to somebody else? I have someone else lined up, but I'm worried the interviewers may see it as me trying to hide something by trying to change a referee (I'm aware we academics can be skeptical beings).

I just don't want to ruin my chances by asking to change - so anybody got any thoughts on what they might do in this situation?

Thanks
Joe

Don't worry. They may not even contact your referees. I'm not convinced my PhD supervisors contacted mine - I hadn't spoken to them for 5 years but they told me at the interview they had contacted them...

They couldn't have got hold of my previous work referees either, since they had left the company.

If they do attempt to contact them, and they can't, I expect that they will ask you about it and give you the chance to explain or give another referee. Also, your referee may respond regardless of being off work, or may contact you and tell you they can't provide the reference.

So, my advice is to do nothing, or you could contact your referee yourself and ask them to notify you if they get asked for a reference?

Also, for my postdoc, they emailed my referees on the same day as tell me I got the interview, so maybe they have already contacted your referees...