Coaching practices for Is it Normal to Ask Selected Job Candidates for a Reference From Their Current Boss

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Is it Normal to Ask Selected Job Candidates for a Reference From Their Current Boss, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• The conversation goes great and then it just...
• I want to message someone in a field I’m curious about, but I freeze on what to even say
• I’ve got the conversation booked but I’m staring at a blank page of questions, worried I’ll waste their time asking things I could’ve Googled
• My whole job search is just refreshing job boards and firing off applications into the void, competing with hundreds of strangers for whatever happens to be posted
• I keep hiring for the most impressive resume and then watching them work purely transactionally, and I want to start screening for whether someone actually believes in what we’re doing

Practices that may help

1. Close every informational interview with one forward step
   End by asking: "Is there someone else you think I should talk to?"
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
2. Request the conversation the right way
   A short, specific, no-pressure request gets far more responses than a vague networking ask.
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
3. Prepare questions you genuinely don’t know the answer to
   Ask about the unwritten realities of the role — the things no job posting reveals.
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
4. Build and work a target list of roles and organisations
   Replace passive job board browsing with active research into specific organisations you want to understand.
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
5. Hire people who share the Why, not just the skills
   Skills can be learned; shared belief cannot — filtering for Why-alignment at hiring is the highest-leverage culture move.
   Start With Why: Leading Through Purpose
6. Send proactive, brief status updates
   Update your manager on important work before they ask — in the format and frequency they actually want.
   Managing Up: Practical Skills for Working with Your Boss
7. Send a meaningful thank-you note
   Write a follow-up that references something specific and reports back on how you used their advice.
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
8. Bring a proposed solution when you bring a problem
   Describe the problem and your recommended path before asking for a decision.
   Managing Up: Practical Skills for Working with Your Boss
9. Ask for their expertise or opinion — not just their help
   Requesting someone’s expert opinion generates more liking than requesting their labor.
   The Ben Franklin Effect, Made Practical
10. Make feedback flow in both directions
    Give timely, specific feedback — and ask for it on your own management.
    Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical

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