Scott Robinson, a partner at the executive search firm Kensington International, says headhunters routinely search for references beyond the ones a job seeker provides.

FORBES: How To Get The Best References

Scott Robinson, a former partner at the executive search firm Kensington International, says headhunters routinely search for references beyond the ones a job seeker provides.

FORBES: How To Get The Best References

Searches not only call up websites and images on the same page, but other references, such as Amazon's book search, the Internet Movie Database, and encyclopaedia and dictionary references.

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It is easy to search by word or phrase and skip around on a tablet, or pull up references such as a dictionary or thesaurus.

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However, search firms have a vested interest in placing their candidates, and often rely on the candidates themselves for references.

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