References when my manager was laid off too - what worked for you?

The company closed and I am not sure how to reach former colleagues. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. A colleague offered to vouch for me. How do you ask politely?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 3 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.