By: Paul Croteau
Date: October 10, 2009

Conducting an executive search for a senior professional is a lengthy and strenuous effort that can take anywhere from eight to sixteen weeks. Interviewers are serenaded and charmed by multiple candidates with great communication skills and complex experience. Finally the time comes to make an offer to a finalist and begin checking references.

Unfortunately, for those organizations conducting their own search process, checking references is often one of the poorest performed tasks in the entire search process. People are not only tired by the time they reach this stage of the process, they often don’t recognize the true value of reference checking. Some perceive reference checking as a time consuming process that doesn’t provide sufficient results, particularly because the references provided by candidates are always presumed to be supportive.

But this is not the case. With up to 30% of resumes containing exaggerated information, failing to thoroughly check references often leads to hiring the wrong person. These individuals are inevitably someone who has lied about their educational credentials, or are individuals with a bad reputation or who may have been terminated for unprofessional conduct. Checking references can save time and dollars, help to clarify gaps in employment and help to “get a feel” for whether or not an individual will fit into the corporate culture. This fit is extremely important because no matter how qualified the candidate is from a technical standpoint, if they don’t fit the culture, they will inevitably fail in their new job.

Reference checking finalist candidates should be structured so that the information candidates have provided is confirmed by the referees. Reference checking should also provide an additional opportunity to seek more in-depth information on the quality of their performance as well as strengths and areas of challenge in the eye of the referee.

First of all, require the candidate to provide a broader base of referees, including someone to whom they reported, someone who would be considered a colleague and someone who reported to the candidate. This is known as a “360” reference check because it examines the capabilities of the candidate from several viewpoints. For more senior roles, you can ask for additional references… just enough to give you satisfaction that you have examined all angles. However, avoid being presented with a reference from the candidate’s faith leader unless he/she has led a number of volunteer activities and this leadership experience is important to the selection. Avoid relatives and others who are simply friends and supporters.

First of all, it is important to make certain you are speaking with the correct person… in other words, an individual who can accurately evaluate the applicant's capabilities. This may be a colleague who worked on a project with the candidate and/or a supervisor. Confirm the relationship and determine the value of continuing with this reference. Next, be sure to give a brief description of the role the applicant is being considered for, some of the challenges the candidate will face and an outline of the position’s first year objectives. This helps to provide a sense of context for the referee and makes it easier to comment on the skills of the candidate.  Reference checking should reflect the same questions that were asked of the candidate. Don’t waste your time inquiring about dates or job titles; instead focus on skillsets and confirmation of experiences. If a candidate had responded with a scenario representing a tough challenge, then inquire of the referee if they could confirm their story and what their perspective is. Place special attention to the roles and responsibilities the candidate had in each scenario. This is important because many people exaggerate their role on the team.

While I don’t particularly like the question, “would you hire this candidate again”, it is a phenomenally telling question. For instance, a referee may be very positive about all of the candidate’s credentials, but when it comes to answering this question, you will often be confronted with a wall of silence or a lot of “hemming and hawing”. Be sure to explore this situation further so there is no misunderstanding.

Reference checking is one of the poorest done elements of the search process for senior level positions and is even more of a problem for front line positions. Be sure that process sloppiness doesn’t happen to you. Plan for good reference checking and tie it in closely with the candidate questioning process.


Research and Review: 6P Marketing

Paul Croteau, B.Comm., CMA, FCMA is a partner with Waterhouse Executive Search Partners, a Canada-wide executive search firm. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 204-943-0553.