You think you’ve found the perfect candidate for your team, but there’s one more step you need to take before officially offering her the job: reference checks. Instead of seeing them as one final hurdle, take reference checks as an opportunity to get a sense of who a candidate really is. Start by asking how the reference knows the candidate. He might have managed your candidate for five years — or just be the candidate’s brother-in-law; you don’t know until you ask. And never show any negativity or skepticism toward the candidate. The reference might clam up. Instead, collect input from everyone who interviewed the candidate and focus on one or two concerns. Try open-ended questions like, “What were Christine’s responsibilities?” or “Tell me about the team Christine worked on.” Ask for specific examples and don’t interrupt — sometimes the reference will give you important information if you just wait a little. Then match what the reference says to what the candidate said.
Adapted from "How to Get the Most Out of Reference Checks," by Priscilla Claman
