????親愛的安妮：為什么這么多公司都要求求職者在申請職位時（尤其是在線申請時）提供證明人呢？有時甚至在安排面試之前就提出了這個要求。他們通常會要求求職者提供老師、親屬、熟人、現在和過去的老板及同事的聯系方式。

????對此，我感到很不自在，原因主要有以下幾條。第一，我已年過四十，距離大學畢業的時間已經很久，所以把求學時的教授作為證明人很不現實。第二，我不愿意提供家庭和親友的信息，因為我覺得這些信息都很私密。而在與工作相關的證明人方面，我的大多數老同事和老上司都已退休或者跳槽，我已經與他們失去了聯絡。此外，我不想讓現在公司的人知道我正在找工作，所以我也不能選他們。因此我的問題是，我能拒絕提供證明人嗎？用人單位通常并不會真的花時間去詢問證明人，對吧？——難在舊金山

????親愛的“難在舊金山”：當然，你可以拒絕提供證明人。但是，如果本來有希望聘用你的單位突然不聯系你了，你也千萬別感到意外。證明人查證公司埃里森泰勒（Allison & Taylor）執行副總裁杰夫?沙恩稱：“公司肯定會聯系證明人進行核實的。尤其是在當前這樣的就業市場，同一個崗位通常會有很多符合條件的候選人競爭。拒絕提供證明人風險很大?！?/p>

????他說，個人證明人相對來說不那么重要，因為朋友對你的贊美之辭“通常不會有太大分量，重要的是要有專業人士的強力推薦，尤其是有前任上司的推薦更好?！鄙扯鞣Q，拒絕讓招聘經理聯系證明人是“一個危險信號”，在很大程度上這意味著你試圖有所隱瞞，這可能會讓你根本連面試的機會都拿不到。

????那么你現在應該如何去做？首先，努力尋找出至少兩到三位你失去聯系但對你曾經的工作很熟悉的人士。理想情況下，這些人應該是你的直接上司，如果沒有的話，以前的同事和其他人（比如對你很滿意的客戶）也湊合。借助谷歌（Google）搜索他們，登錄商務社交網站LikedIn上面尋找他們，或者看看從專業組織或共同的朋友圈里能否找到他們的聯絡方式。

????你很好心，不愿意打擾已經退休的老上司，但如果你毫不吝惜地感謝他們理解作為證明人的重要性，你就會發現這種擔憂根本沒有必要。曾經做過招聘工作的經理人都很清楚證明人有多重要，所以他們不大可能拒絕你的請求。如果你希望盡可能少地打擾他們，完全可以自己寫好推薦信，然后請他們簽字。

????沙恩表示，所有這些調查和交際手段都是值得的，因為“如果用人單位對你感興趣，而你不提供證明人，他們可能就會采取另外的做法?！闭衅附浝砘蛘呷肆Y源部會跟你原來公司的人事部門打電話，尋找一位記得你、并且愿意聊你過去工作情況的人。

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????Dear Annie:Why do so many companies request personal references on job applications (especially online) even before setting up an interview? They usually ask for contact information for teachers, relatives, and acquaintances, as well as bosses and coworkers, both current and former.

????I'm really not comfortable with this, for several reasons. First, I'm in my mid-40s and have been out of college a long time, so giving professors as references isn't practical. Second, I don't like to provide information on family and friends because it's too personal. As for work-related references, most of my previous colleagues and supervisors have retired or moved on, and I've lost touch with them. And I don't want anyone at my current company to know I'm job hunting, so they're out too. So my question is, can I just decline to give references? Employers usually don't take the time to check them anyway, do they?— Stumped in San Francisco

????Dear Stumped:Well, of course you can decline to give references -- but don't be surprised if that brings any further contact with a prospective employer to a screeching halt. "Companies certainly do check references," says Jeff Shane, executive vice president of reference-checking firm Allison & Taylor. "Especially in this job market, where there are often many qualified candidates competing for each opening, saying 'no' to this request is rolling the dice."

????Personal references are relatively unimportant, he adds, since kind words from your friends "generally don't carry much weight anyway. What is critical, however, is strong professional recommendations, particularly from former bosses." Refusing to let hiring managers contact them, Shane says, is "a red flag" -- in large part because it suggests you have something to hide -- and could well cost you the job before you've even been interviewed for it.

????So what should you do now? First, try to track down at least two or three of the people who were familiar with your work in the past and with whom you've since lost touch. Ideally, these would be people to whom you reported, but erstwhile peers and others (satisfied clients, for example) will do in a pinch. Google them, look them up on LinkedIn, or see if professional associations or mutual acquaintances have any information on how to reach them.

????It's nice of you not to want to bother former bosses who have retired, but if you thank them profusely for understanding the importance of your request, you'll probably find your misgivings are misplaced. Managers who have done any hiring at all are well aware of how much references matter, so they're unlikely to resent your asking. If you want to keep your intrusion on their time to a minimum, you can always write your own letter of recommendation and ask them to sign it.

????All this detective work and diplomacy is worth the effort, says Shane, because "if an employer is really interested in you and you don't provide references, they may go to Plan B." That's where the hiring manager or a human resources person calls the HR department at a company where you used to work and fishes around for someone who remembers you and who is willing to chat about what your work was like.