Too many references?

[caffianatedstudier97]

Hello, so I am a bit worried. I am applying for a nurse extern position I really want, and one of the requirements was to submit references via skillsurvey. The email stated that 5 professional references were required, however, I had already asked 7 individuals to fill out the reference form on skillsurvey beforehand and did not want to just tell them I did not need their reference anymore since that is rude. The references are a mix of nursing instructors and bosses, as well as a volunteer supervisor. Apparently how skillsurvey works is that it shows an average of all the references. Do you think that listing 7 references instead of 5 will hurt my chances at the job?

[JKL33]

Can't answer your specific question but I would look on the bright side - unless you have 7 people who are 100% committed to completing the survey in a timely manner, chances are one (or more) of them won't be timely about it.

I would imagine the employer would understand that you may have asked extra people in case that very thing were to happen.

Good luck!

[inthecosmos, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Having more is a safety net. As JKL33 mentioned, it's nearly impossible to have everyone you asked fill the survey out in a timely fashion! Best of luck.

[NurseMoneyTalk]

I would have the number that they required. If they asked for minimum of five people than it doesn't matter. If they said they wanted 5 references than I would politely talk to 2 of them that you don't need their references.

You could do this numerous ways. You could do it best on combination on who you though would give you a better reference or who you think will do it in a timely fashion.

If you are applying to other positions you can ask two of the seven to help you with the other one.