When checking references, you will need to ignore your parents’ advice

Sometimes, parents give their children advice that is well-intended, but not practical in the adult world.

Consider the oft-repeated, “Never talk to strangers.” As adults, most of us talk to strangers every day. It is part of the job, including when we are checking references before making hiring decisions.

Typically, job candidates provide us with a list of former managers or supervisors who are familiar with their work. Most names on these lists are of are people we have never met—strangers. Before you make your hiring decision, you will need to violate your mother’s advice by talking to these strangers.

If only your parents had been able to see into the future, to the day when you would be a manager or supervisor; they might have rephrased their advice. “Be cautious about how much stock you put in what strangers tell you,” might have been better advice for their daughter or son, that future supervisor or manager.

This is especially true when it comes to making a decision about who to hire for your organization. Shockingly, many managers and supervisors seem to actually entrust these decisions and the future of their organizations to complete strangers.

During reference checks they ask:

“What do you think of George?”
“Would you describe Sue as a good worker?”
“Would you hire Jack again?”
“Are you aware of any reason that we should not hire him?”

What do managers do with the resulting information? If the stranger thinks George is a “great guy,” that Sue is a “real asset,” or that she would hire Jack again, what conclusion does the manager draw?

“Sounds like he is someone we should hire.” After all, a complete stranger, whose name was given to him by the candidate, said she would hire Jack again. “That’s good enough for me!”

There is a better way to check references. Managers need to learn how to converse meaningfully with strangers that job candidates list as references.

Stop asking strangers for their opinions. Instead, ask them to describe how the candidate handled a specific situation, using the same Behaviour Description Interview approach that you use during the interview.

“Describe a time when Jack dealt with an upset customer.”
“Can you give me with an example of an innovative approach Sue used to solve a problem?”
“How did Stanley demonstrate that he was a ‘team player?’ Can you provide a specific example of how he contributed to the success of his work team?”

This technique works best when the questions asked during reference checks are similar to those asked of candidates, or reflect topics explored during interviews. Are the descriptions provided by the reference consistent with what the candidate said during the interview?

In his Interview Right to Hire Right workshops, Nelson Scott teaches participants how to talk to strangers during reference checks, to gather high-quality information on which to base hiring decisions. Contact Nelson to learn if Interview Right to Hire Right training would be right for your supervisors or managers, or to schedule a workshop for your managers and supervisors.