On a US resume, leave references off unless the employer asks for them. Put them on a separate one page document, and give them only when a posting, a form or a recruiter requests them. The University of Cincinnati's career guide puts it plainly: "In most cases, you do not put references on a resume unless the employer specifically asks for them." The real question is where the employer wants them, because the answer changes with the application. Many online forms collect references in their own fields, some postings want an attached page, academic CVs often include them, and the UK has its own habit. The table below sorts that out, followed by a reference page template you can copy.
The short answer: a decision table
Find your situation, then do what the middle column says.
| Your situation | Where references go | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A standard US resume, nothing asks for references | Nowhere yet. Keep a reference page ready | University of Cincinnati |
| The online form has its own references step or fields | In the form's fields only, not on the resume | UC Irvine Career Center, Workday documentation |
| The posting says to attach references with your resume | A separate reference page, uploaded as its own file | Jobscan |
| Only one upload slot, and the posting demands references | The reference page as the last page of the same PDF | Our recommendation |
| A recruiter asks after an interview | Email the reference page, then warn your references | MIT Sloan CDO |
| An academic or research CV | A references section at the end, two or three names, unless the application collects them | UC Irvine Career Center |
| A US federal job on USAJOBS | Only if the announcement requires them | FEDweek |
| A UK CV | A line saying references are available on request, no contact details | National Careers Service |
| A German application | Attach your employer reference letters (Arbeitszeugnisse) | Saarland University Career Center, § 109 GewO |
The rule underneath every row: references go where the employer has asked for them, once. UC Irvine's CV template says it directly: "If the application already asks for references, there is no need to list it again on your CV."
Why references stay off a US resume
Three reasons, in order of weight.
The employer is not ready for them. Reference checks happen near the end. The US Office of Personnel Management tells federal hiring managers that reference checks should be conducted "once the applicant pool is narrowed down to the top candidate(s)". The UK's Acas gives the same advice to British employers: "It's best to ask for a reference at the final stage of the recruitment process when making a job offer." A list of names on the first page of a resume answers a question nobody has asked yet.
It costs space you need. References take several lines each and add nothing a recruiter can use to decide whether to interview you. If they push the resume onto a second page, that has a price: in a 2026 Resume Genius survey of 1,000 US hiring managers, 43% said they will not read a resume over two pages. That is a vendor survey, so treat the exact figure loosely. Our guide to the one page resume covers what earns the space instead.
It hands out other people's contact details. A resume gets uploaded to many systems and forwarded to people you never meet. Your references agreed to talk to one employer about one job, not to have their phone number travel with every application. The UK National Careers Service makes this point outright: "you should not put someone else's contact details on your CV."
Why "references available upon request" is dead weight
On a US resume the line tells the employer something they already assume. Every candidate will provide references when asked, and anyone who would not is not going to say so. The University of Cincinnati says the phrase was once common but "it's no longer necessary to include this on your resume." Jobscan goes further and calls it "a dated phrase". Cut it and use the line for a skill or a result.
The UK is the exception worth knowing. The government's National Careers Service still suggests that, rather than listing referees, you can say "references are available on request". If you are applying to a UK employer with a UK style CV, the line is normal there. On a US resume, it is filler.
What application forms ask instead
Many employers never want references on the resume because their application system collects them separately. This is the part most advice skips, and it matters, because a form field is structured data that triggers real emails to real people.
Workday. Workday's documentation says candidates can submit referees directly through an Add References button on the career site, and that "Workday sends the referee request though email." The referee can accept, decline, or decline and ask for their contact information to be removed. The employer chooses which fields to show, such as company, job title, phone and relationship, but name and email address cannot be made optional. So if you type a reference's email into Workday, assume that person gets an email.
When the form asks varies by employer. Washington State University shows both patterns in one announcement. In November 2024 it changed its Workday process so that faculty applications ask up front for "the current/recent supervisor and three professional references," while staff applicants are asked for the same contacts only after their status changes to "Reference Check." The same employer, on the same system, asks at different stages for different jobs.
Automated reference surveys. Some employers use a separate service that emails you a link to enter your references, asks you to accept terms as consent, and then sends each reference a short questionnaire. HiringThing's help center describes this flow, with the employer able to finalize the report once at least three references respond.
Government forms. Public sector systems often have a references step built into the application. The New Mexico State Personnel Office's guide to applying through GovernmentJobs.com lists it as step 9: "If required, provide references," right before supplemental questions and attachments. On USAJOBS, references are not a standard requirement unless the announcement asks, FEDweek notes, and any references you do list should be different people from the supervisors already named under each job.
What to do with a required references field when you have not asked anyone yet: stop and ask first. A structured field wants a real name and email, and the system may contact that person the moment you submit. Our guide to filling out a job application covers the other sections you will meet on the same form.
How to format a separate reference page
Build it once, update it before each search, and keep it as its own PDF.
Rules that matter:
- Header. Copy your resume's header exactly: same name styling, font, contact line and margins. Jobscan recommends matching the two documents so they read as a set.
- Title. "References" or "Professional References."
- Three to five people. The University of Cincinnati recommends three to five references. Jobscan calls three the minimum at entry level and three to five standard for experienced candidates. If the employer names a number, give that number.
- Order. Strongest and most relevant first, usually your most recent direct manager.
- Per entry: full name, current job title, current employer, phone, email, and one line on how you worked together and when.
- Plain layout. Jobscan advises against tables, columns and text boxes, with a blank line between entries.
- File name. Something like
Firstname-Lastname-References.pdf, as Jobscan suggests.
Template (sample, all names and details invented):
JORDAN AVERY
Denver, CO | (555) 014-2290 | jordan.avery@example.com | linkedin.com/in/jordanavery
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Priya Natarajan
Director of Finance, Fernhill Payments
(555) 013-4471 | priya.natarajan@example.com
My direct manager, 2023 to present. Can speak to month-end close and the audit prep I led.
Marcus Oyelaran
Senior Accountant, Fernhill Payments
(555) 018-2236 | m.oyelaran@example.com
Teammate on the accounts payable team, 2023 to 2025. Worked with me on the vendor payment migration.
Elena Brandt
Controller, Copperline Retail
(555) 016-9054 | elena.brandt@example.com
My manager in my previous role, 2020 to 2023. Can speak to reconciliations and reporting.
Two details make this page better than most:
- The relationship line. "My direct manager, 2023 to present" tells a hiring manager whose opinion this is and how recent it is.
- Current details, not old ones. If a reference has changed jobs, list their current title and employer, and add the shared employer in the relationship line. An old work email that bounces wastes the employer's time and yours.
Before you hand over the page
Everyone on the page should have agreed, recently, to be contacted. MIT Sloan's career office says to "always ask the reference's permission before sharing their name with a company", and to share the job description and your resume with them. When you send the page to an employer, send your references a short note the same day: the company, the role, who might call, and the two or three things you hope they mention.
Choosing those people and briefing them is a job of its own. Our companion guide to professional references covers who to ask, a request email you can copy, and a one page brief to send each reference.
Where ApplyEze fits
ApplyEze writes a resume for every posting, adds a cover letter when the form asks, and completes applications on 12 platforms, including Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby (Workday and Oracle Recruiting Cloud need a connected application inbox). It runs in a visible browser on your own machine, so you can watch every field, and dry run mode fills a form without clicking Submit. That is a simple way to see whether an employer's form has a references step before anything goes out. Whatever tool you use, line up your references first, because a references field is the one part of an application that contacts someone other than you.