A tenure-track professor writes:
I got my Ph.D. several years ago, and I thought it might be time to update the list of references on my CV (which currently consists of a handful of my professors from grad school). I've made a number of contacts over the past few years, and I'm not sure how to choose my references. Some are more famous than others, some know me and my work better than others, some seem to like me better than others, some are closer to my area of specialization, some are from (all-around) better ranked universities, some are junior, some are senior, some used to be my teachers, and some are colleagues at my home institution and other institutions I've visited (on fellowship). I also wonder: how many references should I have, and what's involved in their being my reference -- for instance, does it imply that they have written a letter of recommendation for me?"
I'll weigh in at some point, but let me first ask readers for their thoughts.
