As an employer, once you've found your dream candidate and have extended him or her an offer, there is one final step: the reference check. This is usually a rubber stamp but occasionally there is an ugly surprise, so it's always a good idea to be thorough. Here are some ways to make the process more effective:
1. Read between the lines. People are litigious. Some days it's hard to order a sandwich without getting sued. Many former employers are reluctant to give anything but a glowing reference even if it is undeserved. When you are talking to someone's reference, listen to hear if they are being enthusiastic. If I asked you to describe your favourite friend right now, I bet you'd say some pretty nice things. Your voice would be warm and you'd err on the side of giving out too much praise. If on the other hand, I asked you about your weird cousin Ned, you might not say anything bad, but you'd hardly sound enthusiastic. Many firms, not wanting to say anything negative but also not wanting to lie, use what I affectionately like to call Weasel Talk. A great example of Weasel Talk when describing someone lazy is "You'd be lucky to get him to work for you." Clever, huh? Ask questions, ask them to clarify. If they keep using exactly the same phrase, you can be sure it was prepared by a team of lawyers. Proceed with caution.
2. Ask the hard questions. Ask about your candidate's weaknesses. Because of the whole fear factor expressed in point one, you may not get much information but sometimes people will surprise you. At a firm for which I worked when I was just starting out, one candidate - who looked like a winner on paper and in person - was described by his best reference as being "a few cards short of a full deck." The client pushed forward and hired this particular fellow, so sure that the reference must have somehow got it wrong, and the results were as expected: he was a few cards short of a full deck and eventually had to be let go. Sometimes people are shockingly honest. But if you don't ask, they'll never have a chance to tell you.
3. Dot you i's and cross your t's. Call the university and verify the listed degrees. Call the listed professional associations and make sure you are dealing with a member in good standing. One accounting candidate, whose resume made the rounds years ago, completely fabricated his accounting credentials. His former employers had no idea as they simply relied on the previous employers to have done their due diligence. This fellow had worked his way into quite a senior position before he was discovered. If you run into road blocks due to privacy laws, then insist your candidate show you proof of degrees and designations. It feels like busy work but can save you a lot of hassle down the road.
4. Network a little. Anytime you are given a new contact name, it's an opportunity to make a new connection. Often the candidate in question worked in a similar field before and the reference will have knowledge about your industry. Be friendly and see if you can find out at bit about their company and corporate culture. Gather a little market intelligence. Ask the reference about their career path: perhaps they might be interested in working for your firm one day too. I'm not saying to go into headhunting mode or act like you are trying to find a new best friend but a little soft networking rarely goes amiss. The more collegial the reference feels towards you, the more likely they are to give you some honest information about the candidate too.
Happy hunting!
Nancy
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