A Reference Reality Check

I recently saw a query on one of my LinkedIn groups that created a lot of discussion. The question posed was, “Does anyone still check references?” Apparently, the person posting the question had offered references following a job interview, but the hiring manager never actually contacted them.

This was clearly is a hot button for the HR community with more than 50 professionals responding. The comments that followed were diverse, but with a common thread – Yes, solid references are a critical part of any interview process. However, there were some nuances from the discussion thread worth sharing:

• A number of recruiters say they check references before referring a candidate to a hiring company, to get a better perspective of the candidate.
• A number of recruiters pointed to how infrequently hiring managers do check references, despite their best advice. One noted, “I can link almost every bad hire back to missing the red flags that were available,” including lack of a reference check. The best advice is to implement a protocol for screening candidates, including how to read resumes, an interview protocol, and thoroughly check references.
• A number even commented on how often people give bogus references (but if you never check them, you’ll never know they are bogus). Another common problem is when candidates get lazy and don’t ask permission of their references in advance. Those are the references that will say, “He asked me to do what?” and that will make or break a candidate
• There are ways candidates trip themselves up with reference checks, such as when dates or figures don’t match (such as sales performance numbers or salary). If you have a solid protocol for checking references, including asking the hard questions, it alleviates a lot of problems. A number of commenters also said to extend the protocol to include checking Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online resources looking for anomalies. For example, if the candidate is on Twitter or posting to Facebook during working hours?

Avoid canned letters of praise. Written references, such as LinkedIn references or reference letters, can help you land the interview, but hiring managers will ultimately want to know more about how you will perform in the specific job. They will want to talk to someone who knows you about your performance – good and bad – to try to understand how you will fit in at the new company.

Also consider the motivation for the reference. Why are they offering a positive report for this candidate? Is there a potential ulterior motive?

One of the best defenses against references going awry is to prepare your references in advance. Make sure they know what job you are applying for and provide background about the company so they have a context for your reference. You might also consider hiring a reference checker to check out your references. A good reference checker will try to get additional people to talk to, in addition to the references you supplied. They will come back with a report that tells you how you fare with your references. NETSHARE has a number of reference checking resources if you are interested. Contact me at ksimmons@netshare.com and I can direct you.

Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the value of your references. Nurture them and use them wisely, and always check back after an interview to make sure they know the outcome of your job search. References are the most important part of your network.