How candidates and hiring authorities should prepare for reference checks

Reference checks may seem like a routine feature of the hiring process, but choosing the right people at the right time can get complicated fast.

Say you’re applying to a new organization that requires a reference from your current workplace. Do you reveal to your coworkers that you’re seeking a new role? On the flip side, should a hiring authority stall their offer if they can’t get in contact with their preferred reference?
These situations can get tricky, so in this article we share advice for candidates and hiring authorities looking to successfully enter the reference check stage of the hiring process.

Personal vs. professional references. As a candidate, it’s important to have a diverse network of individuals willing to serve as references for your next exciting opportunity. This ensures that no matter what type of information a hiring authority wants to learn about you, at least one person in your network can give solid testimony. One way to do this is by keeping personal and professional references.

Personal references could be someone like an accountant, client or friend who knows you well enough to talk about your personality, but also knows enough about your career to put these traits into a business context. By speaking with these types of references, hiring authorities will get a sense of your character and get to know you better as an individual.

Professional references could be anyone you work with directly who has in-depth experience completing projects with you and who feels confident sharing information about your work style (think bosses, teammates or partners). These references help hiring authorities understand how you operate during the workday, and what special skills you bring to the office.

Navigating confidentiality. Many candidates are hired out from their current organizations, which can mean adhering to some level of confidentiality with their current team until an offer is accepted. But most hiring authorities require candidates to provide professional contacts from their current role.

Candidates should consider teammates who have retired or moved on from their organization within the last five years as top reference choices in these situations, because they can give first-hand testimony about you without jeopardizing your employment status.

Another option is to have a trusted coworker serve as one of your references, under the condition that they will not reveal your candidacy in outside organizations before you accept an offer. This will protect your status and position at the current organization, but it should be considered a last resort since it places the burden of confidentiality on a teammate.

As a hiring authority, you should also remain flexible in your reference qualifications. Current team members or bosses are not always able to provide testimony about a candidate, and this shouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier.

Preparing candidates early on. Every party involved in the hiring process will benefit from having a detailed list of reference check requirements as early as possible.

Our recruiters have seen instances where companies put in last-minute requests for references who are hard to reach or who are unable to speak on behalf of the candidate. These types of requests often leave candidates calling people who they have not recently spoken to on a tight deadline, which is why hiring authorities should provide a detailed description of exactly what they need out of references as soon as they identify a candidate.

The earlier this is done the better, because many candidates need time to curate the right contact list and bring these individuals up to speed on what will be asked of them during reference checks. And for candidates, be sure to have a back-up option if one of your top choices for references is unresponsive or unavailable.
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Reference checks can become difficult for a number of reasons. Whether a candidate’s references cannot speak due to confidentiality, or they cannot be reached at all, being open and communicative will help initiate a smooth hiring process. No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, be sure to make the other party aware of your needs, and don’t hesitate to give updates throughout the process.

To learn more about Eric Spell’s executive search capabilities, call or text him at (336) 217-9116 or email at eric.spell@charlesaris.com.