Navigating the Request for Reference Checks

People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.

-        Mark Zuckerberg

References will probably not get you hired, but they could STOP you from getting hired.  This is an older school hiring activity, but some companies cling to it and put weight behind it.  It pays to have a solid plan on this front. 

Typically, you will go through the interview process and then one of the final steps will be when a company may ask to check your references.  They will usually have some criteria around them where they are looking for a co-worker, a past boss, a business contact (customer, distributor, vendor, etc.).  On occasion you will be able to use a social contact.

Most of the time the company is going to call this reference and talk to them for about 5-15 minutes and ask them a pre-set group of questions.  Most of the time this becomes a formality and, sort of, a check the box exercise.  However, sometimes this is where a candidate gets derailed and winds up on the outside.  

References will get classified in three buckets.  Typically, they are:

1. Endorsing the candidate for this position.  This is what you want and if you choose correctly, they will have positive things to say about you.  Most of the time references will land in this camp and the references process becomes a box checking exercise.

2. Neutral about the person in this role.  Some people will give a ‘shrug’ about the candidate and have passive responses.  This isn’t typically a killing blow to you, but it also might raise some questions.  If you were a strong candidate and the company like you then you are probably fine.  If there were mixed opinions about your interviewing, then this could be a significant setback.

3. Negative about your capability for this role. Every once in a while, someone will have an axe to grind, or they will honestly feel that the role you are being considered for isn’t a good fit.  This can be a killing blow to your opportunity with this role.  It may not be fair, but they will give some serious weight to this.  Choose your references carefully to try and avoid this situation.

What is the company looking for?  They are just wanting to validate with some other people that their general sense of you is correct.  Is this woman as nice as a co-worker as she seems?  Did this guy do a good job in the past role and produce solid work?  Was this person a challenge to manage?  How did this person do with time management?

When companies check references for a job candidate, they typically ask questions to confirm the candidate's qualifications, work history, and fit for the role. Here are some common categories of questions companies might ask references:

Work History and Job Performance

• What was your working relationship with [candidate]?

• What were [candidate]'s primary responsibilities in their role?

• How long did [candidate] work for your organization?

• How would you describe their overall performance?

Skills and Strengths

• What are [candidate]'s greatest strengths?

• Did they have any particular skills or abilities that stood out?

Teamwork and Collaboration

• How did [candidate] interact with colleagues, clients, or customers?

• Were they effective as part of a team?

• Can you share an example of how they handled collaboration or conflict in the workplace?

Work Ethic and Professionalism

• Was [candidate] dependable and punctual?

• Were they reliable and consistent in their work?

• How did they handle stress or challenging situations?

• Did they take initiative in their role?

Areas for Improvement

• What areas could [candidate] improve on?

• Were there any challenges or weaknesses they struggled with?

Fit for the Role

• Based on your experience, do you think [candidate] would be a good fit for this role?

• Would you rehire [candidate] if given the opportunity? Why or why not?

• Do you have any concerns about [candidate] in a similar position?

Is there anything else you think we should know about [candidate]?  Do you have any reservations about recommending [candidate]?  These questions help employers verify the candidate’s background and gain insight into their professional behavior, skills, and potential fit for the role.

Knowing the landscape of the references exercise.  Now you must think critically about who you want to use as a reference.  Don’t just pick a few names and jot them down in a hurry.  This can be harder that you think.  If you are still employed and looking, then using someone from your current work might be awkward or not possible.  You can reach back a bit deeper into your work history, but if you go back too many positions that might look odd as well.  A suggestion is to create a list and make it 4-8 people long with a variety of connections to you.  You may want to use different people for different opportunities, or you may have to give out references with certain relationships to you. Have a solid list.

You should be sure that your chosen references are good with being used by you as a reference and have a sense of what they think about you.  Don’t ‘hope for the best’ in this situation.  Contact each person in advance and confirm that they are comfortable being a positive reference for you.  This can be an e-mail or a phone call.  It can be helpful to also give them some background on the position that you are a candidate for. 

There is also the potential that you will have unknown references giving their opinions.  These would be people that you might have in common with the hiring company but were not going to use as references.  If the hiring manager or someone at the company knows someone that worked with you previously, they may reach out to them for some comments too.  There probably isn’t a lot you can do on this front, but if you see some common connections on LinkedIn or if you know a past co-worker is working there or interfaces with this company frequently then you might want to proactively do some damage control.  Reach out to this person and ask them for their thoughts on this new potential company.  Work to chat them up and see if you can warm them up so that at worst they are a neutral reference.

You are given the opportunity to control your own destiny in this situation.  Make sure that you select the right person.  This is also a good reason to try and always be a professional and treat people as well as you can.  One never knows where those people may end up or who they might know.  Work to create positive references during your day-to-day work.