This video from a radio show here in Australia highlights what we teach all our clients – Reference Checks are weak assessments.
There are many reasons why a previous employer may give positive or negative feedback.
Here are some potential reasons for positive/non-negative feedback :
- the candidate performed well
- the candidate was bad and they want to get rid of them
- the referee feels bad about giving a bad reference
- the referee is concerned about legal implications and so gives bland, minimal reference
Here are some potential reasons for negative feedback:
- candidate performed poorly
- referee wants to keep candidate
- personality clash
- unfair manager
- referee feeling like they can’t make the reference too perfect
So, should you do reference checks? Yes, but remember they only provide supporting evidence – use them to compliment the primary evidence you obtained in other assessments (eg interview etc).
What’s been your experience with Reference Checks?
Lucas