This week, I am making four job offers, which is rather unusual for me. After the third interview, once we have selected THE candidate, I call their references. Reference calls are a big debate in my industry. Should you? Shouldn’t you? As one client so eloquently stated, “Why do I want to call a bunch of people who love this person?”
Here is why. Because they love this person.
I made 12 reference calls in 2 days. As a result, my faith in humanity and my ability to interview and hire great people was reinforced. Some of the comments I heard about the 4 candidates about to receive a job offer were:
“I know that you will love working with him as much as I did.”
“You are so lucky to have her!”
“He is welcome back here anytime.”
“What a great guy. If I could hire him away from you, I would.”
Reference calls are specifically designed to get a feel for someone outside of the interview process to give you additional insight into the person you are about to hire. The information that you get can aid in your assessment of a person’s work ethic, likeability, cultural fit and integrity. Good references are eager to help their friend/co-worker/employee get to the next phase of their career. Not only do their words speak volumes. It is a telling sign of a great new employee when their references call back quickly.
Get at least three references from your potential new hires. Ask for bosses and co-workers and tailor the questions to that particular candidate. Then, pick up the phone and call those references. If you feel like I did yesterday, you can make the job offer with confidence.
Happy, happy hiring!
Ready to turn your hiring process to an effective and efficient system that recruits A-list players? Contact Beth Smith to learn more.