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Whether you had to gather some for your own interviewing process or if you found the dream candidate and needed to take the last step, reference talks are now status quo in most interviewing processes. Relevant past experience, on point first interviews and assessments are key to determining a candidate’s skill set on the field, however hiring a new person is always a gamble and companies want to make sure that all boxes are ticked. Will this person fit into our company culture? Will they be easy to get along with? Enter reference calls.
There’s widespread debate on the topic. Some parties believe that reference calls are not a wise time investment because “who would ever give bad reference contacts”. However, looking at the other side of the coin, a candidate that can easily provide multiple references upon request shows that the person has kept great relationships throughout their career and people, which can only indicate the person had a positive impact.
The type of reference contacts that you should require mainly vary depending on the role you’re interviewing for. The most widespread and applicable one is a former manager. Whether you are interviewing for a management position or an individual contributor role, the odds are high that everyone has had a manager in their career. Talking to a former one is a great way to get insight into how easy it is to work with this person and what makes them tick and keep motivated.
The second most common reference is a former colleague. Talking to former colleagues is a great way to understand how the person will fit in the team and connect with others. Are they a solo player who gets things done and consistently delivers? Are they more someone that loves to help team members and creates a positive team environment?
In order to help you navigate these conversations, we’ve compiled a list of questions that have proven extremely valuable for many managers conducting reference checks. These are very versatile, meaning anyone interviewing for any type of role will find them valuable.
From a scale 1-10, how much would you recommend person X for this role and why?
This one is great to help quantify the candidate in the eyes of their reference, but also of value to really assess the person’s honesty when it comes to the answer. Matching a standard 1-10 classification with an explanation is a great way to put someone on the spot.
What is one main area where the person could improve and why?
Self reflection and areas of improvement are a big indicator of emotional intelligence and self awareness. It is safe to assume that candidates choose reference contacts with whom they have a great relationship. This question can really help elevate the conversation to a very intellectually honest level, because the truth is nobody is perfect and everyone has at least one or more pitfalls where improvement is required.
What is the one thing you found most impressive about working with this person?
To be able to set up a successful collaboration, It's really important to understand in whoch areas the future colleagues may excel and thrive. Write those down and keep them, they'll be useful during the onboarding.
What type of suggestions would you have about working with this person?
This question leverages the reference’s honesty. Possible candidate’s weaknesses may arise from this question. Hint: if this tends to much towards praising, the candidate and the reference could be well acquainted.
Can you give me an example of a setback or stressful challenge that XXX faced and tell me how XXX dealt with it?
The more detailed the better. If the reference struggles or takes very long telling about the episode, she/he may be changing it to make it more attractive. A very straightforward and detailed story shows them recalling a real memory.
Some companies use references checks to set up a better collaboration and usually happen after having signed the contract. Some others want to learn more about the candidate skills, strengths and weaknesses.
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