Hey Evelyn, It kinda depends on the job. Family and friends can be good character references - and there is value in that. But former bosses and coworkers let potential employers learn from a source that is perceived to be more objective what kind of a cultural fit you'd be in there office (meaning how hard you work, how you get along with people, etc) and how strong your skills are and how good you are at driving to results, etc.
It think friends and family are fine if you don't have other good references (and you might want to make it clear they are friends right up front); but coworkers and managers would be better if you can get them (maybe even former teachers/professors can work too!). One last thing - we try to make this really easy for you on Jobcase with our praises section. Just click the button in your MYINFO section and we'll ping former colleagues for you. You have control over whether it shows up for people to see or not - so if its good and you like it, it can be visible forever. AND we make it easy for employers to know if its friend/family, coworkers, bosses, or just fellow jobcasers. Persoanlly, I think people praises should be the most important thing to an employer. And friends and family are very very important - character bets are a big part of getting hired and someone who has lots of support form friends and family suggest someone you'd want on your team.

Hope this helps. And thanks for being part of the jobcase community. (and drop me a note after you hit the praise button and get your first Jobcase praise - can't wait to see it!)

Hi Evelyn, That's a great question! You will typically be asked to provide several references and should be able to use someone you know as a "character reference". I would stick to someone outside of your family. You will also be asked to supply them with current or ex colleagues as well as someone who oversaw your work, such as a Manager or Supervisor. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck! Mark

Hi Evelyn, I think that depends. Some job applications will specifically ask for professional references, so in that case you wouldn't be able to. Otherwise, I would go more with friends as they won't be quite as biased as your family. I like to do friends that I've done projects with so they know how a work a bit.