当然，这种做法的风险在于，偶然选择的证明人可能恰恰是你过去的老对头。他们会不顾公司政策的正式禁令，乐得大谈特谈你的坏话。如果是这样的话，你肯定宁愿多花些时间，找到几个愿意替你美言几句的人。

     这种事跟其他很多事情一样，提前花些心思做到未雨绸缪可避免日后的大麻烦。沙恩说：“诀窍在于要跟可能成为证明人的人士保持联络。”

    如果你跟老上司相处得很好，或者欣赏你的老板另谋高就了，一定要注意留下对方的联系方式。要时不时打电话或者发邮件表示问候，了解对方的近况。

    沙恩建议：“节假日的时候可以寄一张明信片，也可以偶尔相约一起喝咖啡。这样的话，你在求职时就可以把此人作为证明人，甚至可以教教他们，如果用人单位联系他们，你希望他们怎么说对你有利。有了之前的联络做铺垫，他们也不会觉得突兀了。”

    之所以说保持联络是很明智的做法，还有其他原因，之前的老板自己也会发展得越来越好，他们也有可能成为你未来的老板。

    反馈：当用人单位要求你提供证明人时，你是否感到为难？你是否曾经在得知证明人对你的看法后感到惊讶和不悦？欢迎留言评论。

    译者：李玫晓/汪皓

    The trouble with that, of course, is that the person they stumble across could turn out to be an old nemesis who (even if company policy officially forbids it) will be only too happy to trash you -- and then you'll really wish you had taken the time to locate a few of your fans.

    In this as in so much else, a bit of advance planning can avert a huge hassle later on. "The trick is not to lose touch with potential references in the first place," says Shane.

    When you leave a job where you've worked well with your boss, or if a boss who likes your work is moving on, make it a point to hold on to his or her contact information. Then call or email every now and then, just to say hello and stay current with what he or she is up to lately.

    "Send a card at the holidays, maybe even meet for coffee once in a while," Shane suggests. "This way, when there is a specific job you want, and you'd like to give this person as a reference, you can coach them a little bit on what you'd like them to say to a prospective employer, because you're not calling out of a clear blue sky."

    Keeping in touch is smart for one other reason: Since former bosses often have a way of moving onward and upward to bigger and better things, they sometimes turn out to be future bosses, too.

    Talkback: Do you find it difficult to give references when employers ask? Have you ever been unpleasantly surprised by what a reference said about you? Leave a comment below.