I came across an article on Monster this morning that identifies fives mistakes you want to avoid for reference checks. The article is a quick read, but here are the five mistakes to avoid:
- Not Checking at All
- Lack of Consistency
- Making the Job Offer Contingent on a Reference Check
- Not Requiring References Who Have Worked Directly with the Candidate
- Asking Leading questions and Failing to Ask Follow-Up Questions
In point 3 the author has this to say:
References should be checked much earlier in the process than many employers actually perform them. Once the top two or three candidates have been identified through resume screenings and initial interviews, references should be checked before any consideration is given to making a job offer. If the references confirm a candidate’s skills, experience and ability, then conduct a follow-up interview armed with that knowledge. More importantly, making an offer contingent on a positive reference check creates a legal relationship between the employer and candidate. Why would you want to do that?
I would like to add – use the follow-up interview to drill down into those skills, experiences and abilities to help you determine if they can apply them into this position and strengthen your company. Give them sample scenarios to react to, handle and resolve so you can see how they think in the heat of the battle.
Finally, I would like to add that the last step in your hiring process should be to run your top candidate through a background verification process. I hate to keep speaking to this, but you would be surprised how many companies still fail to use this step in their process.