DOING THE REFERENCE CHECK

You got the story from Joe’s side during the interview—what he did and for whom he did it. Now it’s time to get the other side of the story in the reference check. Don’t settle for generalities when you speak with Joe’s former employer. If you ask, "What kind of a guy is Joe," you’ll be told, "Well, Joe is a great guy." But you won’t know more than you did before.

Better way: Say, "Joe tells me he managed a store for you at XYZ Co. Please tell me in your own words what duties were involved and about the role Joe played. Was he a good manager? How did he work with other people? How well did he handle pressure?"

Caution: Don’t let the reference-provider get away with value judgments, such as, "Joe is a hard worker." Push for examples of why that value judgment was made. "Why do you think Joe was a hard worker? Why do you think Joe has good team skills? Can you provide examples to validate those judgments?"

WHAT YOU CAN ASK IN A REFERENCE CHECK

When it comes to checking references, you can ask any reasonable question you want. There are few legal hurdles to checking out a job candidate with anyone you choose to ask. Most employers fear giving out negative information about a job candidate. Many states have passed laws shielding reference providers from legal action by former employees. But in none of these states is the protection from lawsuit unconditional, so many companies maintain stringent reference-giving policies. And that usually means not saying anything even remotely negative when a reference checker calls.

Helpful: Keep in mind that companies fear legal action for giving out derogatory information about a past employee. If you run into resistance when you check a reference, that alone is a clue that Joe’s work may not be all he said it was.

Rule of thumb: It has never happened in all my years in business that a good candidate couldn’t produce references willing to speak up on his behalf. The only candidates who couldn’t provide check-able references were candidates who were average or worse.

DIGGING DEEPER

Fear of lawsuits makes reference checking harder than ever these days. That means you’ll have to exercise a little caution and dig a bit deeper. Here are some tips:

Obtain job candidates’ written permission to check references. Consider asking an applicant to sign a liability waiver for employers who give reference-checking information.

Gather as much historical factual data as possible from the employee and past employers. Past success predicts future success.

Beware of inaccuracies. What to look for more than anything else is integrity. It’s the number one criteria for success.

Talk to former supervisors, peers, and if appropriate, subordinates. You want to find out what they’re like to work with and for.