Candidate references: how to take them so they actually help

You have your finalist. The interviews went well and all that’s left is “the references bit”. Someone makes a ten-minute call, asks what the candidate was like to work with, and hears that they’re “very hard-working” and “get on with everyone”. It goes in the file and the offer goes out.

Done like that, references add nothing. Which is a shame, because done properly they are one of the few ways you have to test what you saw in interviews against someone who has actually worked with the person. For senior and leadership roles, where a wrong hire is expensive, we never skip them.

Timing matters more than you’d think

References belong at the end, when you’re down to one or two finalists. Asking for them from every candidate early on is impractical and wears out the people who have to take the calls.

But the end doesn’t mean after you’ve decided. If you take them when the offer is all but sent, nobody really listens. They need to arrive in time to change something.

And never behind the candidate’s back. Calling someone at their current employer without their knowledge can put them in a very difficult spot if they haven’t told anyone they’re looking. What we usually recommend is mentioning in the first interview that this stage exists. That way there are no surprises and the candidate has time to line up their contacts.

Who to call

A direct manager is the most common referee and usually the one with the fullest picture of performance. A peer tells you something different, what it’s like to work alongside the person day to day. If the role involves a lot of contact with outside parties, a client or external partner can add to the picture.

For leadership roles, the references we learn most from tend to come from people who reported to the candidate. They tell you what it’s like to have them as a boss, which doesn’t always match how their own boss sees them.

Ask for references from relevant, reasonably recent roles. If they’re all from many years ago, or only from people who were close friends, it’s fair to ask why.

Consent, discretion and common sense

When you take references you are handling information about people, both the candidate and the referee. Get the candidate’s explicit permission before calling anyone, and agree together who you’ll contact. Then speak only to those people. “Backdoor” references, where you track down contacts yourself, are bad practice and leave you exposed.

Keep the conversation professional. Health, personal life and family circumstances are off limits, as is anything unrelated to how the person performs in the role. Keep only what you need, for as long as you need it, like everything else from the process. And check with whoever handles data protection at your company that your privacy notice and the information you give candidates cover this stage.

Referees deserve discretion too. Tell them what you’ll use their input for, and don’t repeat their comments word for word to the candidate or to anyone outside the process.

Questions that actually work

Ask “what were they like to work with?” and you’ll get generalities back. What works is asking for examples and context. These are some of the questions we use most:

• “What exactly was their role, and how did yours relate to it?”
• “What’s the best thing they did while you worked together? Can you give me an example?”
• “They told us they led this project. How did it look from where you were?”
• “If you worked with them again, where would you hope they’d have grown?”
• “What kind of team do they do their best work in? And where would they find it harder?”
• For leadership roles: “How did they give feedback? What happened to the people on their team?”
• And to finish: “Given the chance, would you work with them again?”

Listen to what isn’t said as well. A long pause, very generic praise or a dodge around a specific question are all worth exploring calmly, without jumping to conclusions.

Reading between the lines without rushing

A single reference rarely settles anything. What we look for are patterns. If two or three people who don’t know each other point to the same thing, good or bad, that’s something you can rely on.

Compare it with what you saw in the interviews, too. If it fits, great. If there are real differences, go back to the candidate before deciding. And keep context in mind. A weakness in one company may not matter at all in yours, and someone who didn’t fit one culture can do very well in another.

If something worrying comes up, the fair thing is to give the candidate a chance to explain it.

What usually spoils them

Sending a form by email is the most common mistake. People are far more guarded in writing, and you lose the chance to follow up. Handing the call to someone who doesn’t know the role doesn’t work either, because they won’t know where to dig.

The hardest one to avoid is hearing only what you want to hear. Once you’ve decided to hire, any doubtful comment turns into “nothing serious”. That’s exactly why we insist on taking references before the final decision.

One last thing

Say thank you. Referees are giving up their time to help someone who isn’t you, and a short note after the call looks after your relationship with them and with the candidate. It’s a small gesture, but it says a lot about how your company works.

At Mimmic Talent, references are part of every recruitment and Executive Search process we run, handled discreetly for candidates and referees alike. If you’d like a fresh pair of eyes on how you take them today, drop us a line.