What’s Being Missed by Skipping the Hard Conversations
I’m just going to say this…
Reference checks long ago became a formality.
Everyone knows it’s just theatre.
Three names from the candidate.
Hand-picked by them.
Who say what they’re told to say.
Nobody learns anything of importance.
But here’s what recruiters miss. The reference check isn’t broken. It’s just being done wrong. A real reference check isn’t verification. It’s discovery. The last chance to really understand who this person is before you send them off to your client.
Done correctly, reference checks reveal patterns that resumes hide. They expose the context behind reported accomplishments. Uncover working styles and habits, growth areas, and questions that interviews can’t answer.
Done wrong, they’re 15 minutes of a recruiter’s life they will never get back.
The difference? How you approach the conversation.
Here’s the ‘routine’ reference check:
”Sarah worked for you from 2019 to 2022, correct? Would you describe her as a strong performer? Would you rehire her?”
What exactly do you learn from that? Absolutely nothing. All you did was waste everyone’s time.
The real reference check might sound like this:
”Help me understand what the team looked like when Sarah joined. What was the situation she walked into? What did she accomplish that surprised you? Where did she struggle? If you were Sarah’s next manager, what would you tell them about how to best lead her?”
Those questions don’t have scripted answers. They require the reference to actually think. And the best part is when people think, they often reveal things.
But what if we take a different route?
What if we conduct what I call the ‘back-door reference’?
The back-door reference is someone who worked with the candidate but wasn’t on the submitted list of references. It could be a colleague from the company, or someone who reported to them, or even a peer from a project they happened to mention.
I know what you’re thinking. “I’m going behind their back maliciously.” No, you’re conducting real due diligence. The best candidates welcome it because they have nothing to hide. The ones who push back about it are telling you something. Something you need to know.
What does a thorough reference check reveal about a candidate?
How they handle adversity.
How they treat people.
What their real strengths and weaknesses are.
Whether their reported accomplishments are real.
Think of it this way - the reference check is your last line of defense against a bad placement. And guess what? It’s free!
Everyone in staffing does reference checks.
But not everyone does them to really learn something.
I challenge you to be the staffing firm that treats reference checks as discovery, not just verification. Who asks questions that don’t have scripted answers. That does the ‘back-door’ work that separates real facts from theatre.
That’s the difference between recruiters who make good placements and those who make great placements.