You have interviewed several applicants for an open position and finally narrowed down the pool to a single deserving candidate.
Everything is sitting just about perfectly and you are about to make an offer. Wait, what about checking his references?
Alas, most hiring managers are either in such a hurry to fill a position or so completely taken in by an impressive resume/interview performance/gut feel, that they totally neglect this vital procedure in the hiring process.
With more and more recession-plagued job seekers resorting to misrepresenting or exaggerating their background, credentials and experience, how can you be sure that a candidate is really what he says he is?
The only way out is to request the applicant for references -personal contacts like former employers, seniors, co-workers or associates and crosscheck with them.
Even if he is being honest, talking to people who know him will yield further insight into what the candidate is really like in a professional setting.
Such reference checks may take time, but practicing due diligence will save considerable money and legal hassles later as you are now qualified to reach an objective and educated decision before actually making a job offer.
• Checking: Notify the candidate beforehand so that he is well aware that you will be contacting his references. Obtain a signed release form that discharges both your company and the people you will be contacting from any legal liability over any truthful information obtained.
This waiver basically grants permission to ask the references some detailed questions.
Ensure that you either send a copy of the release before contacting the reference or explain that you are ready to send one.
This will lead the reference to be more open in his comments without being held liable.
Else, references are notorious for being pretty close-mouthed and divulge nothing except the employment dates, salary history and job title.
Yet, the waiver does not guarantee participation as the reference may still refuse to comment.
Written references are neither very reliable nor effective; it is better to call up the reference and speak to him in person. Identify yourself and state the purpose of your call before moving on to verifying basic candidate information like starting and ending dates of employment, pay rate and position held.
Then move on to specific questions based on what you have learnt about the candidate during the interview.
In fact, it is advisable to have a set of questions ready so that you don’t end up stumbling or shooting off-the-cuff.
Asking the right questions will help you to glean maximum amount of information. Some example questions:
• What was your reporting relationship with the candidate?
• What is your assessment of his work attitude/character/ commitment?
• Describe a few of his major strengths and weaknesses.
• Was his work attendance – being on time and dependability acceptable?
• Were his work skills, performance and ethics satisfactory?
• What were his key responsibilities in the job and did he make any important achievements?
• How did he contribute to projects (mentioned in the interview)?
• Did he receive any job promotions?
• Can he successfully work as a member of a team?
• How was his relationship with supervisors/colleagues/ subordinates?
• Describe conflict/stress issues with the candidate, if any.
• Why did he leave the job?
• Would you be willing to rehire him or do you have any reservations?
• If I describe the open position, could you recommend the candidate as a good fit?
• Do you know of anyone else in your company I should speak to about the candidate’s performance?
• Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like to share with me?
You can even ask additional spontaneous questions based on what is said in response to your primary questions.
You have to be all ears and pay attention to any lukewarm comments, half-hearted praise, over-enthusiasm or sudden change of subject.
Also, look for verbal cues in the tone of voice like pauses, hesitation or unwillingness to answer. A general rule of thumb is to ask basic questions and dig deeper with probing questions if the responses raise a red flag.
Take all references with a grain of salt as some employers may offer positive comments in spite of bad performance, just to avoid legal action.
Others may vindictively provide false information or slant their comments towards a negative interpretation.
Therefore, it is advisable to speak to all the references to get a more valid view of the whole picture.
Generally speaking, if something seems definitely amiss, it is advisable to either delve further with a thorough background check using independently selected sources or completely refrain from hiring the candidate.
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