When it comes to talent acquisition, ensuring you bring on board the right candidate can make or break your team. But a great resume is just the start – you need to dig deeper and sneak a peek into what’s really going on behind the scenes. And who better to give you all the scoop than those who’ve worked with the candidate before?
Reference checks are a critical part of the hiring process, helping you verify a candidate’s credentials and gather insights about their job performance, interpersonal skills, and overall fit for the role. By tapping into their past work experiences, you can get a clearer picture of what you might expect in the future and how they’ll perform in your company.
After all, history has a way of repeating itself. So, when it comes to hiring, by looking back, you can actually move forward. And we’re here to help. Today, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and prepared 10 reference check questions + bonus tips that can help you make more informed hiring decisions. Scroll on.
Why Reference Checks Matter
Comprehensive reference checks are more than just a formality – they provide a window into a candidate’s past work experiences and behaviors, which can be indicative of future performance. Pre-employment screening helps you avoid the costly mistake of a bad hire. By asking the right questions, you can uncover information that may not have come up during the interview process.
After all, no one’s going to volunteer their own skeletons. So, skipping checking potential employee references? Not an option if you want top talent.
What Are Reference Check Questions?
Reference check questions are a set of inquiries directed to a candidate’s previous employers, colleagues, or personal contacts to verify their background, skills, and overall job performance. Think of them as your secret weapon to get the real story behind the resume.
They help you understand if a candidate can truly deliver on what they promised during the interview and uncover insights about their work ethic, reliability, and fit for your team.
What Is an Example of a Reference Question?
An example of an excellent reference check question could be: “Can you describe the candidate’s job performance and how they handled their responsibilities?” Why? This question goes beyond the surface and gets straight to the heart of how the candidate performed in their previous role. It helps you understand their strengths, weaknesses, and how they tackled everyday tasks.
You might hear about their ability to meet deadlines, their teamwork skills, or how they dealt with challenges. This kind of question is golden because it provides a snapshot of what you can expect if you decide to bring them on board.
Preparing for the Reference Check
Before diving into the questions for reference checks, it’s crucial to be prepared. Here are a few steps to take:
- Gather Personal and Professional References: Ensure you have a mix of both personal references and professional references.
- Verify Contact Information: Double-check the contact details to ensure they are correct. Verifying the background of the contact person or company is a smart move to ensure you receive reliable and honest references. Unfortunately, fake references are all too common these days.
- Confirm Your Reference List: Reach out to your potential references early in your job search to confirm their willingness to speak with potential employers. If any reference appears hesitant or refuses, thank them and move on to the next option.
- Set Clear Expectations: Clearly communicate about the upcoming reference check. Let references know when they might receive a call or email and what information you’re seeking.
- Prepare a Set of Targeted Questions: Have a list of reference check questions ready to go (we’ve got you covered on that below). These questions should help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the applicant.
Always ensure that you handle the information shared by references with confidentiality and professionalism and keep the legal restrictions and guidelines related to reference checks in your region in mind.
10 Employment Reference Check Questions to Get You Started
To help you nail this step quickly and effectively, we’ve put together a list of sample reference questions for meaningful reference checks that we thought would come in handy. Feel free to use them as such or tweak them to fit your specific needs. After all, every hire is unique.
To get the most out of your reference check process, ensure you actively listen – pay close attention to the answers, and don’t be afraid to ask additional questions for clarification. You might also want to take notes and document the responses for future reference.
1. Can You Confirm the Candidate’s Job Titles and Responsibilities?
Understanding the exact job titles and responsibilities held by the candidate helps you verify the information they provided in their resume or during the interview.
2. How Would You Describe Their Job Performance?
This question provides a direct insight into the candidate’s job performance and professional skills to help you gauge how well they met their job expectations.
3. What Are Their Strengths and Weaknesses?
Learning about a candidate’s biggest strengths and weaknesses helps you assess their suitability for the role and areas where they may need support.
4. How Are Their Communication and Interpersonal Skills?
Besides specific job-related skills or technical skills, effective communication skills and strong interpersonal skills are crucial in most roles. This question helps you understand how well they work with others and communicate.
5. Can You Provide an Example of How They Handled a Challenging Situation?
Real-world examples of past behavior can be very telling. This question sheds light on the candidate’s problem-solving abilities and resilience to challenging scenarios, pressure, or work-related stress.
6. How Well Did They Get Along with Co-Workers and Management?
Understanding a candidate’s interpersonal skills within the workplace is essential. It helps you determine if they are a good fit for your company culture. Is the candidate a team player? How are their collaboration skills? You’ll find out soon enough.
7. Would You Rehire This Person?
A straightforward question that often yields a clear “yes” or “no”, giving you a solid indication of the candidate’s overall performance and reliability.
8. How Did They Handle Feedback and Criticism?
This question helps you understand the candidate’s attitude towards feedback and their willingness to improve – a key performance indicator.
9. Were They Punctual and Reliable?
Reliability and punctuality are critical traits in any employee. This question helps you gauge the candidate’s dependability.
10. Do You Have Any Additional Questions or Comments About This Candidate?
Giving the reference an opportunity to share anything else on their minds can sometimes uncover critical information that wasn’t addressed in the other questions.
Follow-up Questions
Follow-up questions are a way to dig deeper into any areas of concern or interest. While they aren’t always necessary, they can provide valuable insights if you need more information during your reference check. Here are a few examples:
- Can you elaborate on the candidate’s specific role in the project you just mentioned?
- What specific challenges did the candidate face in their role, and how did they overcome them? Can you describe it?
- Can you provide more detail on the candidate’s listening skills and ability to follow instructions?
How Many References Are Required During a Reference Check?
The magic number when gathering references typically ranges from three to five. This mix should ideally include both professional and personal references. Professional references, like current supervisors, former managers, or colleagues, can give you a clear picture of the candidate’s job performance and work habits.
Personal references, on the other hand, can offer insights into their character and interpersonal skills. By having a balanced set of references, you get a well-rounded view of the candidate, ensuring that you make the most informed hiring decision possible. It’s all about getting enough perspectives to paint the full picture.
How PURR Can Help: Automated Reference Checks
Want to save time but reap the benefits of reference checks? We’ve got the digital reference check solution you’ve been looking for. PURR is a generative AI-powered recruiting software that streamlines the entire hiring process, including background checks, making it easier and faster to vet potential employees. Here’s how PURR’s features can benefit your company and hiring team:
- Make Smarter Hiring Choices: Quickly and efficiently verify candidate information.
- Empower Your HR Team: Save your HR team from endless phone calls and web searches by providing comprehensive reference feedback at their fingertips.
- Ensure Cultural Fit and Skills Verification: Use AI to match candidates’ skills and culture fit with your company’s needs.
How It Works
PURR automates and simplifies the hiring and reference-checking process, helping you make informed hiring decisions quickly and efficiently, ultimately resulting in more successful hires.
- Initiating Reference Checks: When a candidate advances to the second-to-last interview round, PURR automatically kicks off the reference check process if needed. No need for manual intervention.
- Gathering Info: Based on your company’s preferences, PURR either sends a question form to the candidates to fill out or collects their responses via an AI dialer for a smooth and efficient collection of reference details.
- Rating the Responses: Once the references are collected, PURR’s system automatically rates the replies as good, bad, or neutral. This quick rating system helps you easily identify which candidates are standing out.
- Human Review: For a personal touch, dedicated interviewers can review the automated ratings. They can dive deeper into the responses if needed to ensure all concerns and questions are addressed.
- Making a Decision: When you’re ready to make a decision, simply click a button to extend an offer to the chosen candidate. PURR streamlines this final step, making the offer process seamless.
- Run a Background Check: To add an extra layer of verification, you can also run a background check on the applicant powered by Checkr. This ensures you have all the information you need before making a final decision.
Make the Most of Your Reference Checks with PURR, Your Partner in Modern Hiring
Acing your hiring process is not just about having answers to rely on but about asking the right reference check questions. It ensures you have all the necessary first-hand information at your fingertips to make an informed hire. By using AI recruitment software and tools like PURR, you can further enhance and streamline this process, making it more efficient and effective.
Remember, choosing the right person isn’t just about filling a role or checking boxes; it’s about finding the right fit for your team and ensuring your new hires can thrive in their roles. Take PURR’s revolutionary features for a spin anytime by signing up for a 45-day free trial.
Need a hand or have any questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Happy hiring!