So you’re hiring for a new role on your team. (Congrats! That’s so exciting!) You’re interviewed candidates, had them talk with HR, and you’ve narrowed it down to a finalist or two. Now it’s time to check their references before making a decision and extending an offer.
Asking questions of a reference isn’t easy. References are usually so positive about the candidate that you don’t always get the honest feedback you’re looking for. But I’ve found a few questions that might help you get the answers you need to make the final decision about a candidate:
How did you previously work with the candidate (as their manager, colleague, etc)? — The candidate may not have explained their working relationship with the reference, so make sure you nail that down first. The more direct the relationship, the more weight you can put on their recommendation of the candidate.
How do they work best? — This gives the reference an opportunity to gush about the candidate’s skills and personality. Let them be enthusiastic — after all, you might soon be hiring this person for your team!
What would you like to see more of from them in the next few years? — If you ask a reference, “What are this candidate’s weaknesses?”, they may not answer candidly. But I’ve found that this question allows references an opportunity to discuss those weaknesses in an indirect way. Listen carefully: If they tell you a candidate could work on a certain skill or trait in the future, that’s their way of pointing out a candidate’s flaws. This question may also point you towards strengths or roles you hadn’t previously thought about for the candidate!
What can we do to put them in a position to succeed? — If you’re going to hire this person, you should find out what you can do to motivate them and help them succeed. Everyone is driven by different things — let the candidate’s former bosses and colleagues point you in the right direction before they start this new job!
Is there anything else I haven’t asked about that you’d like to tell me about them? — This is a neat trick a former journalism professor taught me. Sometimes, when you’re writing a story, a source has something they want to tell you, but you haven’t asked the right question yet to get them to start talking about it. So reporters are taught to ask this question to see if there’s anything left that’s weighing on that source’s mind. Don’t finish a reference check without asking this — ask it, and give them a few seconds to consider. You never know when they’ll open up about something unexpected.
One last rule of reference checks: Keep them short! 10 or 15 minutes is usually all you need from a reference to get the information you need.
Good luck — just a few questions might help you find the perfect candidate for this new role.
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Sept. 2021 update: I saw this thread on Twitter recently, and really loved this additional question from Amanda Natividad: “When was the last time you didn’t see eye-to-eye?”
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That photo was taken by by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash.