Do you ever check references?

I always check references and not just the references given by the candidate. The most important references you make are "backdoor" references - those not offered by the candidate. Sometimes you have to network to get to unofficial references but it's worth doing.

Also, I make sure to ask hard questions of references. I'm not interested in hearing how great the candidate is - I wouldn't be checking references if I didn't think the person was a good candidate. I focus on two lines of questions with references. First, I dig deep on negative suspicions about the candidate. Second, I probe any claims of ownership the candidate has made such as "I was responsible for growing revenues from $0 to $100M". Being responsible for and participating in are two really different things.

I always recommend to my clients that they check references and key qualifications claimed. It can have insurance implications in come cases and is also a basic honesty check.

In the past this process exposed one individual whose entire academic history was fiction - the irony was that the client was convinced the person had the right technical skills but of course the lie had completely undermined trust and confidence.

Absolutely. There is nothing like getting the spoken word from someone about someone else. Influx in voices, hmm, umms, and ahhs lead to the thought that perhaps this person is not as wonderful as they claim to be on paper. A well rehearsed reference knows how to answer the "regular" questions, but I like to throw a couple of my own whose response has to be spontaneous and non-rehearsed while staying within the privacy guidelines in Human Resources.

Best,

Junior Sanchez {LION}
Chief Executive Officer
RIFT SUCCESS

I've always been a fan of reference checks and would not make a significant hire without doing so. If your firm does an effective job of securing a release for reference checks, most firms are quite willing to go beyond name, title and dates of employment (and many are increasingly willing even without).

There are two places I want to make sure I touch while checking references. The first is to verify employment history. I've seen situations where a candidate showed dates from x to y; however, when checked the dates were far shorter than y, leaving a gap in employment history. We ultimately found that candidate had been incarcerated. A second is to determine what the person's responsibilities included. Since job titles are not an indication of what the person did, I want to make sure the experience is as relevant as what we've been advised. I like asking if there are others I may be able to speak with who can share information about the candidate. The ease with which that is shared is often telling, though not in every case.

The easy way to answer this is if you don't check references, and you hire them, it's on you to take the responsibility for what they do or don't do, can't do or in a horrible scenario - might do to others (theft of work, theft of items), etc.

With the many ways to check references these days, the minutes dedicated to this practice is worth millions in your company.

Like Junior Sanchez mentioned - you should always throw a few surprise questions in - that is when you get the truest and best picture of your potential new hire.

A few uncommon ones to ask but will tell you a lot about a person are:
-did they seek interest in training or outside learning to enhance their skills, or if you provided any, did they attend eagerly or was forced/mandatory
-do you know if they were actively involved in any non profits or cbo's? (community based organizations).

This helps you get a well rounded picture of the type of person they are as well - good to determine if they will gel with the others in the company or fit easily in the team.

First one tells you: they are an advancer and have an open mind and hunger to know more to do a better job or produce more efficient work product, etc.

Second one tells you: those that dedicate free time to some cause or mission are more willing to be a helpful person on a team or more willing to go the extra mile to get something done. Also, not a clock watcher or a 'paycheck collector' and are really in a position or job because they want to be. Also, this person will be learning a lot of other skills when in these types of organizations that might be useful to your company immediately or in the future - so make sure to keep up with them on it - ask them how the non profit is going, etc.