Essential Questions to Ask During a Reference Check
The key to making excellent hiring decisions is knowing what questions to ask during a reference check. The rest comes easily!
Checking references is a crucial step of the pre-employment screening process that allows you to paint a thorough and accurate picture of a candidate before you hire them. Skipping reference checks can lead to costly mistakes that you can avoid by asking a few easy questions.
Reference checks are a valuable opportunity to learn more about a candidate from somebody who has experience working with them. However, it is essential to plan carefully and decide what questions to ask references before you conduct a reference check. That way, you can ensure the data you gather on your candidates is accurate, unbiased, and comprehensive so you can identify the right candidate with certainty.
The Best Questions for References
Your reference checking questions may vary based on the candidate you are screening, the position you are filling, and the method by which you are conducting reference checks. In general, open-ended questions will allow you to gather the most information on a candidate.
Without further ado, here are seven qualitative questions you can use for any reference check:
1. What is your relationship to the candidate?
Purpose: To determine the relationship between the candidate and their reference so you can evaluate the fairness and accuracy of their responses.
2. What are the candidate’s three most significant strengths and weaknesses?
Purpose: To paint a balanced and realistic picture of how skilled the candidate is. Identifying the pro's and con's of each candidate will help you rank them once you are finished checking references.
3. Do you think I should hire this candidate? Why or why not?
Purpose: To get a straight answer regarding the candidate's fitness for the job.
4. Why is the candidate leaving their current position?
Purpose: To find out if the candidate left their previous employer on good terms. History often repeats itself, and if the candidate is leaving their job for the wrong reasons, you may want to hire somebody else.
5. What is it like to work on a team with the candidate?
Purpose: To find out if the candidate is a team player, if they are motivated and productive, or if they are lazy and distracting.
6. How can I help the candidate reach their potential?
Purpose: To learn more about the candidate’s areas for improvement, and to get advice on how you can help them do it. This reference question will provide some insight into the candidate’s learning style, too.
7. Is there anything else I should know about the candidate that we have not discussed?
Purpose: To allow the reference to share further information that you may not have considered before checking references.
Quantify Your Open-Ended Reference Responses
After you conduct a reference check, it is time to rank your candidates. Quantifying subjective responses may sound like unbearably tedious administrative work. However, you can save hundreds of hours (and papercuts) by having a robot analyze your references for you.
Jointl makes the pre-employment screening process easy from start to finish with a ready-made selection of reference checking templates that you can tailor based on your individual needs. Once you have created your surveys, Jointl automatically sends them to your references and converts all qualitative responses into quantifiable data so it can rank your candidates for you.
Perhaps the best thing about Jointl is its generosity; recruiters for small businesses can use the platform to conduct up to three free reference checks per month, and charities get free unlimited access. Sign up now, and bid farewell to tedious admin work!