by Beverly Aarons
20. May 2009 08:38
One of the most important steps that a recruiter can take in vetting the suitability of a job candidate is to perform thorough background checks that include reference checks. Before doing so, a recruiter needs to notify the job candidate that he/she will perform a reference check. Most of the time a job candidate's references will be positive; but there are times when a recruiter will receive a negative reference. What should a recruiter do?
1. First try to determine if the negative reference is legitimate or given by someone who "has it in" for the job candidate. Although this is rare, sometimes negative references are illegitimate.
2. Get specifics. Find out specifics about why the former employer is giving a negative reference.
3. Cross check various references. Is everyone giving a negative reference on this job candidate? Are the majority positive or negative? If you have two references and one is saying something negative; go back to the positive reference and say, "I received some negative feedback about this job candidate, is there anything about him/her that might not make him/her a good employee?" This gives the reference the opportunity to "come clean" if he/she was being less than honest.
4. To tell or not to tell…the job candidate. The jury is out on whether a recruiter should disclose to a job candidate that he/she was given a negative reference. Some recruiters believe in disclosure while others think it's important to keep reference feedback confidential. However, if the recruiter promised to keep feedback from references confidential he/she was honor that promise.