How many Professional References do you have for job hunting?

A friend of mine who is looking for a new job is having a hard time with professional references. He has worked in the same job for the last 4 years and has had the same boss for the whole time. This is the only prossional job he has ever had.





The problem is potential employers are looking for at least 5 professional references. He does not want to tell anyone at work that he is looking for employment and so he really has no one to list as a reference.





How many references are you being asked for and who are they? Were all of them called and do you list people who were not your supervisors? Tell us more about references.How many Professional References do you have for job hunting?
Five seems excessive to me; I haven't encountered any companies who insisted on more than three. Regardless, if there aren't any current coworkers he trusts, has anyone he knows left in the last four years? Has he interacted with any clients or board members? Does he do any kind of volunteer activities?





As a last resort, he does have the option to list his current employer and ask that the company only make contact if they're prepared to offer him the job.How many Professional References do you have for job hunting?
Most applications ask for 5 references. Don't forget it doesn't have to be coworkers. It can include people he's done business with, like customers or employees of other companies he's had to team up with. The best bet is probably regular customers who have had lots of experience. He can also include coworkers from past jobs, even if they weren't ';professional'; jobs, like fast food or lawn care, etc. They just basically want to talk to people who can say: ';Yes, he did a good job, is easy to work with, is reliable, blah blah blah...'; because his past/current employers can only say that he worked there, how long he worked there and whether or not he's eligible for rehire (that's by law-- if they say anything more they can be sued).