Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah, I see how the wording can be confusing. I'll edit the post for clarification I'm not a contractor. I'm a full time SDE. By "true" job, I meant to imply I've had short-term jobs, like SDE internships, during college. I suppose I could use references from those positions. However, I wouldn't want to as they were quite a while back and my personality and skillset and responsibility has grown substantially since then…
> I'm afraid anyone 5+ years back whom I only worked for 3 months would barely remember me. Pick one you had a good relationship with. Call them up and talk to them, tell them you want a reference, and tell them what you've done since you worked for them. That's what everybody else is doing...
- An intern who I managed.
- A current co-worker who I've collaborated closely with on a number of projects.
- Our current team lead who I regularly collaborate with on architecture design, but I don't report to him.
These people already know that I'm looking for a new position and they've agreed to provide me with a reference. They should be able to confirm any projects and contributions at my current job, where I've been for 4+ years, as well as speak highly about my performance. Is this set of references good enough for a mid-level SDE position or should I look further back into my job history to add an actual manager [1]?
[1] I know I said I wanted senior SDE earlier but I realized I'm better suited for mid-level right now.