As I said in a previous thread, I have been working at my current position since February 2014. It is a contract position (I got the position through a recruiter). My contract has been extended twice so far (it is a 6 month contract each time) and my current contract will be over in July. I’m not sure if I’ll get an extension, so I have been searching for jobs and I’ve also been working with recruiters. I have a BS degree and my previous positions have been research associate positions, and I am currently looking for research associate type of positions.
I passed a phone screen I had recently (I got the interview through a recruiter). The interviewer told me that it would be nice to have a reference from my current workplace. He emphasized the fact that references would be important. A few months ago, a coworker mentioned that I could use him as a reference in the future and he said he has provided references for people in the past. I have directly worked with this coworker and I have helped him out on his project before and he gave me positive feedback about my performance when I asked him for his feedback.
What do interviewers think of coworker references instead of using your direct supervisor as a reference? Is it okay to just provide a coworker as a reference? I’d prefer not to provide my supervisor as a reference because I don’t want to burn any bridges, but more importantly, if I end up not getting an offer for the new position, it would be very awkward with my supervisor.
Also, since I still work there currently, how should I go about asking my coworker if I can use him as a reference? Should I call him up outside of work or talk to him at work? Would it be best to use his cell phone number instead of his work number for a reference number?