Some of the best practices for reference checks are listed below to assist you in creating a positive candidate experience and gathering sufficient information about your candidates to make an informed hiring decision.
Useful hints for referencing
1. Tell potential employees that you’ll verify their references.
Your recruiting process should be straightforward and transparent from the beginning to acquire the confidence of potential applicants and attract the finest possible employees.
Applicants should be aware that you will be doing reference checks at the beginning of the application process. As a result of this, you’ll be able to:
- Make the hiring process easier for you.
- Streamline the process of hiring
- Reduce the likelihood of candidates inflating their abilities on resumes.
- Obtain honest answers from interviewees
A degree verification and fraud service found that 49 percent of major organizations and 48 percent of small enterprises interviewed individuals who lied on their CVs.
2. Pre-employment tests and reference checks may be used together.
As part of the hiring process, you must conduct pre-employment assessments to get a deeper understanding of your prospects. This will help you make the best possible hiring choice.
Thanks to pre-employment testing, unqualified candidates may be knocked out of the tournament on in the recruiting process. The early phases of the recruiting process should include skills testing, while reference checks should be limited to the highest-caliber individuals.
Candidates’ assertions on their resumes may be readily verified using skills tests as well.
To illustrate, suppose the following: You’ve been asked to interview a potential junior JavaScript developer. They’ve claimed in their CV that they’ve been using JavaScript for the last two years and have a working grasp of it.
Give them an entry-level JavaScript coding exam to see whether they can back up that claim.
3. Candidates’ emotional intelligence (EQ) and motivation should be tested.
When it comes to soft skills like teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, and motivation, applicants’ emotional intelligence plays an important role (EQ).
No matter what job your applicant is seeking, we suggest doing reference checks to better understand their emotional intelligence as part of the screening process.
4. Do not rely only on printed references.
You’ll get much more information with a phone call than you would from a written reference.
Request a list of references from your prospects, but be sure to allow them time to check in with previous employers beforehand if necessary.
Depending on the candidate’s profile, establish a list of questions you’d want to talk with them before picking up the phone to prepare for each reference check.
5. Ask follow-up questions
When performing a reference check, ask follow-up questions to acquire the most accurate and complete information possible. Follow-up questions may provide even more information than the original query.
You may, for instance, ponder the following query:
In terms of teamwork, how effective were they?
Follow-up inquiries like “Why is that?” or “How did this affect their performance?” will help you learn more about the other person’s communication abilities. A simple question like, “Might you give me an example?” can lead to vital knowledge you wouldn’t otherwise acquire.
6. Candidates should be able to discuss the references with you.
Then you can talk to your candidates about the references you’ve gathered (two or three should be sufficient).
If there are any discrepancies, this will allow you to address them and give you a balanced view of the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. You demonstrate your confidence in the applicants and get insight into their reactions to both good and negative criticism.
7. Check references solely with applicants who have made the final cut.
Doing a reference check at the right moment is crucial.
There is a sweet spot for doing reference checks throughout the last stages of the recruiting process, but before you make a final selection.
Doing reference checks too early might cause you to be overworked. On the other hand, a reference check may help you make an informed choice about whether or not to hire a potential employee.
Referral checks should be conducted after the first interview and skills test but before a job offer has been made. Consequently, you’ll be able to debate the findings with your applicants and make an objective judgment, should that be required.”
Use the proper recruiting tools to find and hire the greatest people.
An applicant’s previous work experience, education, and performance in prior roles might be found via reference checks. It’s important to conduct a reference check to ensure that you’re hiring the right person for the job at hand.
Reference checks and pre-employment evaluations may help you determine whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the position for which they are applying.
Reference checks and interviews, and pre-employment exams may provide you with an in-depth picture of your prospects’ capabilities, potential, and expertise. Using the proper balance of recruiting tools is critical to hiring the greatest personnel.
