The Best Questions to Ask a Reference
According to statistics, eight out of ten employers are victims of resume fraud, so reference checks should be taken seriously.
It's easy to get caught up in a stellar application when you're looking for a superb applicant to fill a key position.
While a well-written resume with great accomplishments is certainly a plus, it's vital to remember that it's only one element to consider.
It's usually a good idea to talk to the people who know the most about a candidate: their references, to get a true sense of whether or not they'd be a good fit.
A hasty hiring decision can cost you a lot of money. Take the time to conduct your homework to make sure you're hiring the correct individual for the job. You will only get yourself into difficulty if you hire too quickly.
You should always call a job candidate's references in addition to social media checks, background checks, and conventional employment interviews.
The reference check is often your first and only chance to learn about a candidate from a third party.
Table of contents
- What is a reference check?
- When should you examine your references?
- Inquire about the candidate's responsibilities from references
- Developing an Understanding of Adaptability and Growth
- What are the advantages of checking references?
- Best questions to ask references
- Questions to ask references while doing a reference check
- Tips for checking references
- What would happen if employers didn't check references?
What is a reference check?
A reference check is a means of verifying information about an applicant throughout the hiring process.
It can be done over the phone or via email, and it assists a corporation in making a more informed hiring decision before making an offer.
Previous employers are the most common, although university teachers, longtime coworkers, and others familiar with the applicant's work can also be included.
As an employer, you may discover that conducting reference checks aids in forming a complete image of a possible hire.
You can discover more about a candidate's skills from their professional references than you can from a standard job interview alone if you know questions to ask references.
The greatest reference check questions can help you gain a better understanding of the candidates' abilities and verify the claims they make during the interview.
Questions to ask references: Investigate information that only the candidate's reference has and learn crucial details about how a prospect will perform in the capacity you're hiring for.
Whether you're chatting with a candidate's boss or a reporting employee, questions to ask references should be carefully tailored to concentrate on the specialised knowledge they have about your applicant.
When reviewing prospects for your next available position, you can utilise these samples of the most common reference check inquiries.
Reference checks not only allow you to double-check information from resumes, cover letters, and interviews, but they also allow you to discover more about a job candidate.
For the job candidate, this may be a make-or-break situation. It is your responsibility to request a list of professional references from a job candidate to questions to ask references.
Remember that the references supplied by a job candidate are the ones they want you to call, but if you have someone else in mind, go ahead and call them. Trusting someone you know is usually easier than trusting someone you've never met.
When should you examine your references?
A reference check occurs when an employer is considering issuing an offer to a candidate and needs other sources of information before doing so.
Conversations with current and prior bosses, coworkers, letters of recommendation, if appropriate, verification of skill sets, and educational background are all examples of these sources.
A simple background check is insufficient to confirm that an applicant did not lie on their CV or job application, it's only the beginning.
The second, and more crucial, stage is to verify that the candidate is capable of performing the tasks they claim to be capable of.
In other words, in the employee selection process, comprehensive job performance-based reference verification is more vital than ever.
So, what are some of the most effective questions to ask references? Because reference checks are usually brief, you'll want to make the most of them to see if the prospect fulfils your requirements.
How are you acquainted with the candidate? is the first question to ask once the reference is on the phone as the questions to ask references.
This question's solution will accomplish several goals. First, it will establish when, where, and whether the reference and the candidate have ever collaborated, as well as the nature of their collaboration.
Were the reference and the candidate coworkers or did the reference work for the candidate? Did they collaborate daily or only on occasion?
The reference checker will use the answer to this important question to determine how much weight to give the responses to subsequent questions.
Calculate the Duration of Their Relationship
How long did you and the candidate work together? is the next question to ask. The length of the relationship will once again aid in determining the reliability of responses to other questions.
If a reference has worked with the candidate for several years, their comments will be more credible than if they have just known the candidate for a few months or fewer.
Inquire about the candidate's responsibilities from references
Next, not only should you ask the reference to describe the candidate's day-to-day tasks on the job, but you should also ask them to describe the candidate's title.
The reference checker should be comparing what the candidate's résumé says to what the references have to say at this time.
The completeness of the response will disclose much more about the reference's knowledge of the candidate.
An evasive or ambiguous response could indicate that the candidate exaggerated his or her claim of working with the reference every day for several months.
If the reference is unable to describe the candidate's job responsibilities in detail, this should raise a red flag.
Developing an Understanding of Adaptability and Growth
What do you think the candidate needs to genuinely continue his or her career development and professional growth? is another important question to ask every reference.
The answer to this question can reveal a lot about a candidate's suitability for the position that needs to be filled.
Reference checks should become an essential part of the recruiting process if you want to avoid any unfavourable implications in the future, questions to ask references.
You could wind up with an employee who lacks the experience you require or who has personal characteristics you dislike if you don't conduct the necessary background checks.
Worse, you may end up with a low-quality hire, forcing you to restart the hiring process from the beginning so you can decide questions to ask references properly.
Of course, not every candidate is attempting to conceal information or deceive their way into a job offer but questions to ask references should be good.
What are the advantages of checking references?
Do you think you've found the right individual for the job? Even if you haven't done so yet, make sure to verify references. Why would you spend so much time and effort on the interview process only to forget about this crucial step of questions to ask references?
You should check the following references for questions to ask references:
Look for warning indicators and red flags from previous behaviour.
Ensure that information about your work history, such as dates of employment, job responsibilities, and job title is accurate.
Confirm facts and skill sets by speaking with former managers and decide questions to ask references.
Examine how the candidate interacts with coworkers and how he or she responds to supervisory instructions.
Examine the candidate's work ethic, work style, dependability, attitude, and capacity to communicate.
How do you go about checking references?
When calling references, introduce yourself, the company you work for, and the individual who has been provided as a reference.
Check to see if it's a good time for a quick conversation or if a reference call should be made at a later time for questions to ask references.
Make it clear to the reference that all responses will be kept private. Verify your employment dates, knowledge base, and skill sets.
Tell them about the open position you're looking to fill and ask whether they believe they'd be a good fit and plan questions to ask references.
Allow adequate time for the reference to react to each question, and don't lead them to simple answers; instead, direct them after deciding questions to ask references.
Best questions to ask references
So, what should you ask for your references? Here are some of the most popular
questions to ask references from professionals.
What words would you use to describe the candidate's dependability and reliability?
Recruiters frequently consider attributes such as dependability, punctuality, and self-motivation to be given rather than differentiators in a candidate when questions to ask references.
But it doesn't mean you should just assume a candidate possesses these characteristics without double-checking.
What are the candidate's advantages and disadvantages?
You'll almost certainly ask the candidate about their strengths and flaws during the interview, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't also inquire about their references.
The resemblance between the two responses can reveal an applicant's self-awareness, as well as provide insight into whether or not the candidate is a good fit for your firm and the task at hand after questions to ask references.
What was one of the candidate's most remarkable achievements during your time together?
The distinction between a decent candidate and a great candidate can often be linked back to whether or not they routinely went above and beyond their daily tasks, which this questions to ask references helps to illuminate.
What type of work atmosphere do you think the candidate would thrive in, and why do you think that is?
Remember that you're not simply trying to figure out if a candidate is a proper fit for your organisation while you're interviewing them. You should also make sure that your company is the proper fit for them.
Candidates are considerably more likely to underperform or resign if your organisation isn't a location where they can grow.
Do you believe this candidate is a good fit for the position?
It's a basic question, but it must be answered. Some references may feel obligated to emphasise positive aspects of the candidate when asked about their strengths and weaknesses or accomplishments, questions to ask references.
But with a question as blunt as this, it will be much more apparent whether they are truly enthusiastic in their endorsement of a candidate. It is perhaps the best predictor of a candidate's future success.
Questions to ask references while doing a reference check
- How did you get along with the candidate?
- How long have you been working together?
- What would you say about their work?
- What did they do daily?
- What were the key tasks of each of them?
- Were they trustworthy?
- Is it true that they arrived at work on time?
- Did they finish the duties and assignments that were assigned to them?
- Did they follow instructions well?
- What were their methods for assisting coworkers?
- What was the reason for their departure from your position?
- What are their advantages?
- What are some of their flaws?
- How did they get along with the rest of the group?
- Do they have good listening and communication skills?
- Were there any actions that had an impact on job performance?
Tips for checking references
Don't delegate reference checks, take detailed notes, conduct reference checks over the phone, start with simple questions to ask references, and verify employment dates and work history.
Review social media posts, don't ask closed-ended questions, assure the reference of confidentiality, and be on the lookout for fake references, questions to ask references.
Let the candidates know ahead of time that you will be checking their references, questions to ask references.
Want a quick approach to exclude prospects with bad references or unresolved issues? If you're honest about the reference check, you might find that your prospect pool reduces.
During the interview process, the persons you interview will be more accurate and honest. Make a note of this suggestion in your reference best practices for questions to ask references.
Do not entrust the reference check to another person.
We're all busy, and delegating past employer reference checks to HR may not seem like a big thing, but it might be a tremendous error.
Only you know what you're looking for in an employee, and no one else will ask the same questions in the same way for questions to ask references.
It could be a passing remark about the candidate that reveals something incompatible with your company's culture.
Something you would have overlooked if the professional reference check had been done by someone else.
Make certain you take thorough notes.
It's critical to take comprehensive notes while speaking with a candidate's former hiring manager, especially if you're interacting with many managers for multiple candidates.
Don't skip this crucial step since you never know when you'll need to look back to your notes while analysing a prospect for a potential hire.
Conduct at least two or three reference checks with the candidate's most recent managers/supervisors, questions to ask references.
If one reference is excellent and the other has mixed reviews, it is best to obtain a third reference before concluding the overall picture.
Carry out the reference checks over the phone.
When performing a reference check for previous work experience, pick up the phone. When communicating via email, you miss out on tone and intonation, making it easy to misinterpret material of questions to ask references.
You may also miss out on warning indicators that may only be discovered through a phone discussion.
Because they don't want liability worries, it's unusual that a candidate's reference will divulge anything negative in writing.
Furthermore, enthusiasm is difficult to identify, and reading an email response does not allow you to hear hesitancy to an answer.
Check the dates of the employment.
When you check with the manager, make sure the job dates mentioned on the resume are correct as questions to ask references.
We frequently speak with candidates who claim to have worked at their previous employer for two years when in fact they only worked there for two months.
Sometimes a candidate's previous position on their resume would indicate 2017 to present, when in fact the role finished in 2018 and it is now 2020.
This is an important step in the reference-checking procedure of questions to ask references.
Examine the content on social media.
This is another type of reference check you might do as part of your due diligence of
questions to ask references. Checking the candidate's public Facebook postings and Twitter feeds can disclose a lot of information about them.
Examine their LinkedIn profile for any anomalies in their resume or recommendations for questions to ask references.
You can also see if they have any professional relationships in common, as this may give you further references to check.
You can find out the hard way that a few phone calls might make all the difference when it comes to hiring the proper person for the job. Hopefully, this reference check guide will be of use for questions to ask references.
Assure the secrecy of the reference.
Is the former supervisor hesitant to respond to your inquiries? Does it appear that they are withholding information concerning the candidate's work performance?
Because they don't want the conversation to go back to the former employee, many managers withhold their genuine feelings or knowledge so plan questions to ask references properly.
Assure the reference that your chat will stay private between the two of you and will not be shared with the former employee. This will assist you in obtaining the greatest available factual reference, questions to ask references.
Be on the lookout for phoney references.
Candidates who have burnt bridges with prior employers in the past or who just have a negative attitude and work ethic will frequently submit a list of bogus managerial references utilising a former colleague or a list of references with incorrect contact information.
It's critical to obtain honest references, so verify the reference's title, full name, and the company where they worked with the candidate.
The dates they worked for the company together, and whether or not they were the candidate's direct supervisor while speaking with the previous supervisor.
What would happen if employers didn't check references?
Even when there is information available that contradicts our perceptions, we all tend to go with our gut.
It's a necessary component of our existence, and we're constantly processing and evaluating information from our surroundings to conclude.
Perception is a subconscious process, and we may be ignorant of its importance in critical business decisions as individuals or as a team.
It takes very little for perception to take hold and develop traction. We can rapidly see this momentum becoming reality if it gains traction (which it can easily accomplish).
When we rely on our gut in interviews, we make snap judgments that result in spontaneous positive or negative judgement calls that we don't strive to clarify.
We're mostly ignorant of this mental process, so we start to believe and trust our judgements without realising they're biased.
What is the purpose of reference checks?
Reference checks are advantageous since they provide a hiring manager with a wider understanding of individual prospects.
The goal of a reference check is to learn more about and understand a candidate's job experience.
It also double-checks the candidate's information on their application form, ensuring that they were truthful about their experience and qualifications.
Furthermore, reference checks allow you to notice any behavioural tendencies with a certain candidate if you ask the correct questions.
In a nutshell, reference checks verify a candidate's application and assist the hiring manager in determining whether they are the proper match for the job based on previous work or educational experience.
Sometimes a candidate's application is strong, but after a few weeks in the post, they feel out of their depth, or their work ethic isn't what they described.
However, if the hirer had done their homework and checked references, they would have been able to prevent this, avoiding problems both now and later.
To manage your costs and expenses you can use many available online accounting software.
How Can Deskera Assist You?
Deskera Books can help you automate your accounting and mitigate your business risks. Creating invoices becomes easier with Deskera, which automates a lot of other procedures, reducing your team's administrative workload.
Key Takeaways
- While a well-written resume with great accomplishments is certainly a plus, it's vital to remember that it's only one element to consider.
- A reference check is a means of verifying information about an applicant throughout the hiring process.
- Conversations with current and prior bosses, coworkers, letters of recommendation, if appropriate, verification of skill sets, and educational background are all examples of these sources.
- If a reference has worked with the candidate for several years, their comments will be more credible than if they have just known the candidate for a few months or fewer.
- Next, not only should you ask the reference to describe the candidate's day-to-day tasks on the job, but you should also ask them to describe the candidate's title.
- Reference checks should become an essential part of the recruiting process if you want to avoid any unfavourable implications in the future, questions to ask references.
- Make it clear to the reference that all responses will be kept private. Verify your employment dates, knowledge base, and skill sets.
- Of course, not every candidate is attempting to conceal information or deceive their way into a job offer but questions to ask references should be good.
- It's critical to obtain honest references, so verify the reference's title, full name, and the company where they worked with the candidate
- In a nutshell, reference checks verify a candidate's application and assist the hiring manager in determining whether they are the proper match for the job based on previous work or educational experience