I’ve applied for jobs a few times and this has always been a problem. Now that I’ve been out of college for a while it’s even more of a problem. I don’t have anyone from college that would even remember me. I can’t use my current coworkers because I don’t want my current employer to know I’m leaving until I have a new job lined up. I don’t keep in touch with old coworkers. I don’t do anything outside of work as far as volunteering or anything. I know I’m not supposed to use friends or family. Who is even left after that? The only people I have the contact info for are friends, family, and my current boss.
Unfortunately I’m not applying for a job in the field I went to college for and I never actually graduated. I went to college for comp sci because I liked programming as a hobby. About half way through college I got a gig to fix some software and I realized that if I had to do that all day I would jump off a bridge. So I went and taught myself refrigeration. Very little of what I studied in college actually applies to my new field.
For trade jobs you have to go another route and use experience and customer interaction.