Reference Check
A verification step in which a prospective employer contacts former managers or colleagues to assess a candidate's past performance and validate key claims.
A reference check involves speaking with people who have worked directly with a candidate — typically former managers, senior colleagues, or clients — to verify their performance, skills, and character. Reference checks are typically conducted after a candidate has progressed to the final stages of the hiring process and before an offer is made.
To get genuinely useful information from reference checks, recruiters should ask specific, open-ended questions rather than closed yes/no questions. "Can you describe a specific example of how [candidate] handled a high-pressure situation?" yields far more insight than "Was [candidate] a good employee?"
The value of reference checks depends on the quality of the references provided. Candidates naturally select referees who will speak positively about them. For roles where verification is critical — senior leadership, finance, or roles involving vulnerable populations — companies may also seek references beyond those provided by the candidate.