SHARE IF YOU DARE. What is the value of prior employment references?

From BrightMove.com Oct 20, 2009

"References
available upon request." We are all extremely familiar with the phrase,
or some variation thereof, indicating that a host of credible witnesses
stand at the ready to affirm a candidate's praises. Some modern day
camps including the University of California at Berkeley https://career.berkeley.edu/Guide/ResumeLetterWriting.pdf and Emory University in Atlanta http://www.career.emory.edu/students/pdf/Resume_Guide.pdf no
longer recommend including the classic expression as a part of a
polished and professional CV. It is now assumed that if the candidate
is as fabulous as they claim, they will be able to produce at least a
couple of living human beings to back up their lavish assertions
without having to spell out such at the bottom of their resume.



CNNmoney.com recently ran an excellent story called "The Nightmare Employee," http://bit.ly/3yJs18
which seems to indicate a certain futility in the checking of
references while acknowledging that there is an underlying need
nonetheless. Not everyone shares the same opinion. One senior
management coworker of mine once proclaimed that he believed it was an
employer-beware market, and that no effort should be made to secure
references at all.

I must admit I am hopeful that this manager is in the minority.
Throughout my career, I have witnessed many eyebrow-raising incidents.
I personally researched and eventually uncovered two separate internal
embezzlement cases that totaled well over $2 million. I was given the
glorious responsibility of securing a 25,000 square foot building,
housing 215 employees, against a Y2K bomb threat from an unstable
paranoid clerk, and I have observed first-hand what looked to be a wad
of cash and a white powdery baggie exchanging hands on company
property. Seeing what I have seen, I would argue that the potential
risk of not obtaining any references at all well overshadows the risk
of getting only love stories and fairy tales. Anything must be better
than nothing, right? Interestingly, after I learned later that a former
superior of one of these embezzlers was probably aware of the
candidate's knack for cooking cash, I asked why the unsavory habits of
the crook weren't shared when the references were checked. The
superior's response? Nobody ever asked.


I do believe that
the wise recruiter would be well advised to take the preponderance of
those eagerly provided references with a heavy grain of salt. The
majority of candidates will not list a reference who does not at a
minimum knowingly view them in a positive light. And a fair share of
these references would, if enough detective work were conducted, turn
out to be thoroughly unfamiliar with the candidate's working capacity
in any way, shape or form. Sorority sisters, bowling teammates, cousins
and parents are all more than happy to serve as employment references
despite likely never having personally observed the candidate produce
anything more than a rib-tickling one-liner or facilitate any project
more complex than a game of beer pong.



But what about the situations in which we receive a less than stellar
reference on a candidate we were, up until then, feeling good about?
Unless there were some verifiable data such as a criminal conviction
record, shouldn't these unfavorable reports be received as warily as
the affirmative ones? Is it possible that either the negative
reference-giver could have been settling a personal vendetta, or
perhaps that the employment situation was so intolerable that most
logical people would have hastily vacated? Possibly then we as
recruiters will be required to lean heavily upon that which makes us
good at what we do - our gut instinct. We should conduct as thoroughly
detailed an interview as possible, and incorporate comprehensive lines
of questioning paired with queries regarding specific job
responsibilities. If we add in our wisdom and due diligence to the
standard criminal background and social security verification checks
that we should all automatically incorporate, it's likely the best that
we can hope for.

Next week, let's turn the tables and look at how we should - or
should not - respond when we're the one being asked for the reference.

Nanci Lamborn

BrightMove Team Blogger/Writer

Nanci Lamborn is a 20-year veteran of human resources and
recruiting. She   currently recruits in the Atlanta area for the
insurance industry and recently obtained her SPHR designation.