Do Job Applications Still Ask for References? 5 of 3,807 AI Job Forms Did (Oct. 24, 2026)
Rarely, and almost never on the first form. On October 24, 2026, we opened 3,807 job application forms on 19 AI company boards and 5 of them, 0.13%, asked for references; 148 asked whether an employee had referred you, which is a different question.
So a missing references box is normal, not a sign the employer skips the check. The postings that mention timing put references later in the process. This piece shows the exact wording of every reference question we found, when the postings say references come up, and how a reference differs from a referral.
What we opened on October 24, 2026
- 3,807 application forms, one for every open job on the 19 boards behind our AI jobs tracker: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Scale AI, Mercor, Perplexity, Cohere, Sierra, ElevenLabs, Cursor, Cognition, Replit, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, 1X, Physical Intelligence, Waymo and Nuro. The tracker’s 20th board, Google DeepMind’s US board, returned an error (HTTP 404) and is not counted.
- We read each form’s question list from the employers’ public Greenhouse and Ashby feeds, the same questions you see when you click Apply. All 3,807 forms opened; none failed to load.
- We searched every question label for “reference,” “referee” and “referral,” then read each match by eye. “Preference” questions and “please reference the job description” prompts were dropped.
- We also read the full text of all 3,807 postings for any line about references. We did not apply to any job or contact any employer.
Written and checked by Prof. H. An AI assistant helped draft this piece and run the page reads; every quote was read on the source’s own page on October 24, 2026.
Do AI job applications ask for references on the form?
Almost none do: 5 of the 3,807 application forms we opened on October 24, 2026 had a references field, and they came from just two of the 19 employers, Anthropic and Physical Intelligence. The other 17 boards, from OpenAI to Waymo, asked for none.
Compare that with what the same forms did ask for. 3,807 forms had a resume or CV field, 2,953 had a LinkedIn field and 1,072 had a cover letter field. References sit at the bottom of the list, below even the referral question.
We counted the LinkedIn field in do you need a LinkedIn to apply for jobs and the cover letter field in do I need a cover letter; those numbers moved a little since, but the order has not.
Which jobs asked for references, and were any of them regular jobs?
None were regular staff jobs: on October 24, 2026, the five forms with a references field were two Anthropic fellowships, a Physical Intelligence research scientist role, its research internships and its mechatronics internship. Three of the five made the field required.
| Job | Required? | What the form asks |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic STEM Fellow | Yes | Two references: name, email and how you know them |
| Anthropic Conceptual Reasoning Fellow | Yes | Same wording as the STEM Fellow form |
| Physical Intelligence, Mechatronics Intern | Yes | One or two names and email addresses |
| Physical Intelligence, Research Scientist | No | Names and emails for one or two references |
| Physical Intelligence, Research Internships | No | Same wording as the research scientist form |
That is the pattern worth knowing. Fellowships and internships draw people with short work histories, so a PhD supervisor or co-author stands in for a past manager; Anthropic’s form names exactly those examples. That reading is our inference from the job types, not something either employer states.
The count was not a one-day blip. When we read the same 19 boards on October 21, 2026 for our piece on whether job applications ask for GPA, the same two employers had the same five reference questions.
Do employers ask for references before or after the interview?
After, in the postings that say: two Anthropic Fellows Program postings read on October 24, 2026 state, “We may ask for references later in the process as well,” and only one of 3,807 postings put a reference check near the start. We searched every posting’s full text, and only four postings said anything about job references at all.
The third Anthropic Fellows posting, AI Safety & Security, puts a “reference check” at the front: “The interview process will include an initial application & reference check, technical assessments & interviews, and a research discussion.” It is the only posting we found that placed references early.
The fourth posting is a job duty, not a rule for applicants. Anthropic’s APAC Recruiting Coordinator job is asked to schedule interview loops “from hiring manager screens through onsites, debriefs and reference calls.” Its order puts reference calls after the onsite interviews. We read that as how Anthropic runs its own process; it says nothing about other employers.
The format is changing too. NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money reported on December 17, 2024, that reference checks used to mean a few phone questions and now often involve “prospective employers asking references for written responses or to fill out a form online.”
Is a referral the same as a reference on a job application?
No, and the forms ask about referrals far more often: 148 of 3,807 application forms on October 24, 2026 asked whether an employee referred you, against 5 that asked for references. A referral is someone inside the company who put your name forward. A reference is someone the employer may contact about your past work.
Cursor asked the referral question on 125 forms, such as its Software Engineer, Growth job: “Has someone at Cursor or Graphite referred you for this role? If so, please include their email here.” Scale AI asked on 17 forms for its Human Frontier Collective, such as Creative Advisor, and Cohere and 1X on a few more.
No referral is a normal answer. Cursor’s and Cohere’s versions were optional; the 16 required ones, at Scale AI and 1X, ask whether you were referred, so “no” answers them. Applying to more than one role at the same employer raises its own questions, which we covered in can you apply to multiple jobs at the same company.
How many references should you have ready for an AI job?
Two is the number the forms named: Anthropic’s fellowship forms asked for exactly two on October 24, 2026, and Physical Intelligence’s three forms asked for one or two. Every one of the five wanted a name and an email address; none asked for a phone number or a mailing address.
Anthropic also asks for “a line on how you know them (e.g. PhD supervisor, co-author, manager).” That one line tells the reader why this person can speak to your work, so write it plainly: who they are and what you did together.
Early in a career, the right person may be a professor, a lab lead, an internship supervisor or a shift manager. We looked at the experience gap behind that problem in why entry-level jobs require experience, and at what changes after 50 in AI jobs for people over 50.
What should you do when a form or a recruiter asks for references?
Ask each person first, then send them the posting, because the five forms we read on October 24, 2026 asked for your references’ email addresses and none said when the employer would write to them. We are not career counselors; these steps come from what the forms and postings asked for.
- Pick two or three people now. The forms asked for one or two; a spare covers the person who is traveling.
- Ask permission and confirm their email. Every form that asked wanted an email address.
- Send each one the job title and link. Written forms, which NPR reported are now common, are easier to fill in when the reader knows the role.
- Write the “how you know them” line in one sentence. Anthropic’s form asks for it; it helps on any form.
- Answer the referral question honestly. It is not the references field, and “no” is a normal answer.
The rest of the form deserves the same care. See how to answer “why do you want to work here”, what to put for desired salary and the voluntary self-identification questions.
We are not recruiters. We take no money from employers, and postings can close at any time; the employer’s official page wins. Never pay to apply, never deposit a check and send money back, a text message is not a job offer, and apply only on the employer’s own site. A stranger who asks for your references’ phone numbers before any interview may be harvesting contacts; more at the Jobs Desk sources.
A career coach and a recruiter on what reference checks look like
A Life After Layoff’s video on whether employers check references had 181,225 views and Ben Talks Talent’s on what to do when asked for references had 94,775 when we checked on October 24, 2026. Neither is about AI companies; both are general job-search advice from channels with large followings.
More of what AI job application forms ask
On the form itself: whether you can opt out of AI resume screening, whether to put ChatGPT on your resume and whether tech companies drug test.
On the employers in this count: Anthropic, contract-to-hire terms and relocation assistance. Browse every open role and apply on the employer’s site at our jobs board.
We will reopen these forms on November 21, 2026 and report whether any regular staff job has added a references field. Stuck on a form question? Ask the Jobs Desk, or start at the Jobs Desk hub.
Do job applications still ask for references?
Rarely at the first step. On October 24, 2026, 5 of 3,807 application forms on 19 AI company boards asked for references, 0.13%, all at Anthropic and Physical Intelligence.
Do jobs ask for references before or after the interview?
Usually later. Anthropic, one of only two employers in our count that asked on the form, also writes in its postings: “We may ask for references later in the process as well.” Only one of 3,807 postings put a reference check near the start.
How many references should I have for a job application?
Have two or three ready. The forms that asked on October 24, 2026 wanted two references (Anthropic) or one or two (Physical Intelligence), each with a name and an email address.
Is a referral the same as a reference?
No. A referral is an employee who put your name forward; a reference is someone the employer may contact about your past work. On October 24, 2026, 148 forms asked about a referral and 5 asked for references.
Do I have to list references if the application asks?
If the field is marked required, the form will not submit without it. Ask each person first, and give them the job title and posting link so the call or email is not a surprise.
Sources
- Public Greenhouse job board API (questions) and Ashby job posting form data for 19 company boards: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Scale AI, Mercor, Perplexity, Cohere, Sierra, ElevenLabs, Cursor, Cognition, Replit, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, 1X, Physical Intelligence, Waymo, Nuro; 3,807 application forms and the full text of 3,807 postings read October 24, 2026. Google DeepMind US board unread (HTTP 404).
- Forms and postings quoted, read October 24, 2026: Anthropic, Anthropic STEM Fellow; Anthropic, Conceptual Reasoning Fellow; Physical Intelligence, Mechatronics Intern; Physical Intelligence, Research Scientist; Physical Intelligence, Research Internships; Anthropic Fellows Program, AI Safety & Security; Anthropic Fellows Program, ML Systems & Reinforcement Learning; Anthropic Fellows Program, The Anthropic Institute (Economics & Policy); Anthropic, APAC Recruiting Coordinator; Cursor, Software Engineer, Growth; Scale AI, Creative Advisor – Human Frontier Collective (US).
- NPR, The Indicator from Planet Money, Do job references matter?, December 17, 2024; read October 24, 2026.
- Videos checked October 24, 2026: A Life After Layoff, Do Employers Check References?; Ben Talks Talent, You Have Been Asked to Provide REFERENCES, Now What?.
- Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Looking over the job application blank (Ann Rosener, U.S. Office of War Information, public domain, Library of Congress fsa.8b06434); Desk, Bletchley Park (William Warby, CC BY 2.0); rotary telephone beside a laptop (Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0). Featured image background: The Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild, Rembrandt, 1662, public domain.
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