User:Paul.devine17/sandbox

Reference Ahead is a social network designed to help people give a better understanding of candidates as a people and professionals. Reference Ahead allows people to build-up a profile of references and characteristics allowing employers, education boards and landlords better understand who they are dealing with. By making references about people available online they can be seen way ahead in an application process. Reference ahead also allows multiple references to be available so giving a better impression of an applicant. Reference ahead was formed in 2013 with the aim of providing readily available references without the need for posting or emailing requests. The advantages of Reference Ahead are that it can provide employers, colleges/universities and landlords with an idea of the person at the application stage. Its usual practice that a person will be offered a position pending references. What Reference Ahead does is advance the process so better informed decisions can be made when applications are received.

Reference ahead was setup when it was felt that there was a need for people to know who they would be pointing. Discovering the problem which compaines were having when people were being hired on over exaggerated CV's lead a team for Hertfordshire to developed a web package that would allow companies to see references at the beginning of the hiring process rather than at the end. It was found that once people are in their positions they often had a far lower competency than the positions which they were pointed in. This could have been easily avoided by knowing what people were like in advance. References are written by people who know the skills, capability and personality of the applicants so it can be said that if a person has multiple references on Reference Ahead then they are likely to be better than a candidate than a person who has no references on the website. In creating the profiles it will enable companies and organisations to get a better understanding of an individual without ever meeting them. This could help employer especially because if there are lots of applications for a position then the employer is better informed to make the decision for whom to call forward for interview. It can also benefit the hard working people who may not have the best qualifications but are more than experienced and competent enough to do the job and who are also pleasant to work with.

For teachers and pupils applying for position at universities, Reference Ahead can also provide an insite into the individual. Reference Ahead is also geared towards to property sector as well the employment sector.

With references available online landlords renting properties will be better inform of the tenents they are renting to from the people who know them best. This brings down the risk of letting people into property who are likely to cause trouble which inturn could increat the cost for the landlord. Reference Ahead is to start coming online within the UK but with the aim of becoming available worldwide in January 2014.