Would you like to know what spot-on questions to ask while running a reference check for your potential hire? If so, then you are reading the right article. 

I’ll also share an instance when we avoided making a bad hiring decision by asking a set of exact questions.

 If you’d love to get my previous lessons on Job searching, interviewing, or recruiting strategies, you can find all of that here at therecruitmentinsights.com. While there, you can also download a free actionable checklist for hiring quality talents and get a free ready-to-use resume template to level up your career.

 With that being said, let’s get started.

 Alright!

In my previous article, I discussed why conducting reference checks is valuable and how you can overcome the challenge of getting generic feedback to gain deep insights about your potential hires. If you haven't read that article yet, I’ll put the link here.

 This is in continuation with the previous one on a reference check. I share the top 10 targeted questions you should ask to avoid missing key details about your potential hire.

 Asking these questions will help you make informed decisions about your candidate. Before you reach out to the references via phone or email, don't forget to verify on LinkedIn whether they were in the same company when your potential hire was there, and also check the job title of the reference to make sure you are contacting either a former boss or someone who worked closely with the candidate.

 Start by cross-verifying the dates of employment and position held by the candidate.

 Such as Dates of Employment: From Mar 2022 to Aug 2023

Position Held: Senior Manager - Presales

   Now, here are the top 10 questions to get the responses for                     

1.       Please describe the type of work for which the candidate was responsible.

2.       How would you describe their relationships with co-workers, subordinates (if applicable), and superiors? 

3.       Are they more of an individual contributor, or are they more team-oriented? Why do you think so?

 4.       Were they in a lot of high-pressure or stressful work situations? If so, how did they handle such situations?

 5.       How would you describe the quantity and quality of output generated by them?

 6.       What were their strengths on the job?

 7.       What were their weaknesses on the job?

 8.       What is your overall assessment of them?

 9.       Would they be eligible for rehire at your organization? Why or why not?

 10.   How would you rate them overall on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 being the Excellent?

This led me to share an instance when we avoided making a bad hiring decision. We had a candidate who claimed to have spent over four years at his previous company, but it turned out he was there only for a brief three months – a major red flag.

 This discrepancy popped up when we reached out to the candidate's reference.  We went back to the candidate stating that this is what we learned about him. He was reluctant to agree on that. He told me that his current co. did run the check, and it was all good. 

He had good luck with his current company which took the previous co. details from him but never learned about his previous fake exp. I am sure that’s when he dared to share his previous boss's name with us.  Little did he know we'd do our due diligence; he would have never shared his previous boss's name with us.

 Having that said, we still didn't believe in going by hearing one side of the story, so we asked the candidate to reach out to his previous company’s boss and have him email us to clear up the misunderstanding and confirm the work tenure that the candidate mentioned on his resume.

 Guess what? Neither did we receive an email from the previous boss nor any further communication from the candidate.

 This incident was a clear indication of a fake candidate. Despite the candidate's attempt to mislead, our thorough reference check uncovered the truth, and in the end, we decided it was best not to proceed with him.

 So, that's my story. Ever found yourself in a similar spot? How did you handle it? 

Happy Recruiting!