Personal references

Carolkh

Do you have any favorite questions you ask of personal employment references? I don't generally take much stock in personal references but any information is helpful. Thanks.

Pricehcs

After they get done telling you how wonderful the candidate is, I like to say this...

"________ sounds like an excellent candidate and I'm sure they would do very well here. Let me ask you this. What is the one thing you know about _________ now that you wish you knew before they came to work for/with you?"

It's always interesting the answers you'll get after setting the reference giver's mind at ease that they have accomplished their objective of giving a good reference.

#1 thing a consultant shouldn't say: "I could tell you the answer right now, but we're committed to a three month project..." #-o

TN HR

My thought on personal references is that they seldom will give you objective information and as such never use them. But, to answer your question, I think I would try to gain as much job or experience-specific information. For example, if the personal reference was a co-worker, I would try to gain as much as I could regarding their relationship relative to work, how they may have collaborated on projects, what they think other's perception is of the individual in the workplace, etc. I hope this helps.

Gene

blw

We had a risk/loss control survey done in February and one recommendation was to get a personal reference from a family member! - which is the one personal reference I never wanted. It was relevant to our client base and I have immplemented the recommendation.

"Considerations should be given to requiring that at least one personal reference be a close family member when screening employment and volunteer applicants who will be working directly with children or vulnerable adults. This check should be done over the telephone to detect any hesitation or reluctance that could be a "red flag" to the applican't's suitability for the position. It has been found that a family member is more likely that a friend or co-worker to make a comment that would subtly reveal a problem behavior."

marc

Like you, I always thought personal references were a waste of time, but I dutifully call every one of them. You would be surprised how many applicants do not sound out their personal references to determine whether or not to use them. One memorable phone call received a diatribe regarding the low moral character of the applicant and went on to describe what a generally unreliable person he was. Further, the reference accused the applicant of drug use and other criminal activities.

I hung up amazed at the venom of the reference. I still think they have little value, but every once in a while you get a doozy.

Cinderella

Marc, I've had the same experience....it happens more often than people think.