You need 3 to 5 references on your “reference sheet” (which ought to match your resume and cover letter in wording, style, and design).
Ideally, the references would include at least ONE person with whom you’ve worked. They should not ALL be from your most recent employer, however. Anyone who will speak highly of you in a personal and/or professional sense is a great reference! It can even be a relative WITH A DIFFERENT LAST NAME who can honestly say he/she has known you your whole life! Neighbors, church members, friends in different fields, friends in the field you want to get into – again, anyone that will speak well of you.
Once you have contacted those 3-5 references and ASKED them for PERMISSION to use them as a reference (plus it gives them a “heads up” should potential employers start calling them), then bring your reference sheet with you on the interviews. You can take it out of your portfolio or folder that you bring with you (that also should include additional copies of your resume and a sales brag book if you have one), and you can hand the reference sheet to the interviewer and say, “Feel free to contact these references!” as you give him/her a firm, non-sweaty handshake and look in his/her eyes! This is a nice closure on an interview and gives you something to leave behind.
If you don’t bring the references with you, you can include them in the thank you note that you will SNAIL MAIL to the interviewer.
Further, if you are applying for jobs OUT OF STATE, send the references right with the cover letter and the resume. If the company is considering hiring you, having real references right there for them to contact might make it easier for them to justify the expense of flying you out for an interview.
