by Paul W. Barada
Monster Salary and Negotiation Expert
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We all know what employers shouldn't ask. They should never, ever ask questions even remotely related to age, race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, martial status or sexual orientation.
Having said that, it's important to understand that the ultimate purpose of reference checking is to help the prospective employer determine not only if you're really right for the job to be filled, but also if the job is really right for you. While that may sound strange, there are so many variables that impact an employment decision, and the hiring process needs to be seen as a two-way street.
Even if your experience, skill set, training and education are right, it's equally important to understand such things as your interpersonal skills and if your management style fits the prospective employer's corporate culture. There's more to thorough reference checking, in other words, than just a checklist of threshold qualifications! That's why people genuinely interested in advancing their careers should be prepared to provide prospective employers with the names of references who are familiar with their job performance over time -- people with whom the candidate has actually worked on a day-to-day basis.
So what do prospective employers ask when they call a reference? Typically, they ask about a broad range of job performance-related topics. Employers who recognize the value-add that careful reference checking can bring to the employment exercise will ask about such things as job responsibilities, quality of overall job performance, productivity, ability to work with others, strengths, weaknesses, areas for improvement, specific achievements on the job, motivation and, of course, eligibility for rehire. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, it suggests typical questions most careful employers ask when talking with references. It's not a matter of looking for dirt, however, but helping ensure that the right person is hired for the right job -- the first time.
Here's an example: Not long ago, a major manufacturing firm in the Midwest wanted to hire a senior internal auditor. The top candidate had been with one of the Big Six accounting firms. All his references were coworkers, but they were also friends. After extensive conversations with each reference, the employer came to the conclusion that the candidate had performed well as an auditor and had a very bright future, but none of his references felt he was ready for a senior-level position. Their concern, simply stated, was that his level of experience was not sufficient to handle senior-level responsibility from the first day on the job, and that he might be thrown off his career path. Armed with that knowledge, the company hired the guy anyway, but at a lower level. Within six months, after he had time to get his feet on the ground with the new employer, he was promoted to the senior-level position. That's what real reference checking is about.
