How to Verify References From a Job Applicant
Before hiring any employee for your business, you should always check their references. The need to check a job applicant's references has become more important in recent years. Some courts have held employers liable in cases in which an employee committed a crime on the job and the employer could have discovered the person’s criminal background by contacting references before hiring them.
Below we offer helpful tips for getting the most from your employee reference checks when hiring new employees.
9 tips on how to check a job applicant's references
1. Have job applicants sign a release allowing you to ask references detailed questions and conduct background checks
For fear of lawsuits, many companies won’t give out any information about past employees other than dates of employment, salary, and job title. An attorney can help you develop a form that will prevent job applicants from suing you or the references based on these discussions, so you can ask more pertinent questions.
2. Try to talk to former direct managers
If at all possible, talk to former supervisors or others who worked directly with the employee. They can give you more useful feedback than the company’s personnel department.
3. Listen to what’s not being said
If a former employer gives a lackluster recommendation or is strangely silent when you ask about the job applicant, they’re probably trying to tell you something.
4. Verify salary or wages
Don’t take the person’s word for how much they were paid by prior employers. Job applicants may try to inflate prior salaries in the hopes of influencing you. Check with the former employer’s personnel department.
5. Verify educational background
Contact colleges, universities, and certification programs to verify when the applicant attended and what degrees or certifications they earned. You’d be surprised at how many job applicants falsify education information.
6. Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles
If the person will be driving on the job (e.g., making deliveries or sales calls), it’s important to find out about their driving record. A record laden with speeding tickets or drunk driving offenses gives you valuable insights.
7. Conduct a background check
More detailed than a reference check, a background check can uncover criminal records and may be appropriate for sensitive positions. Do your own background check by looking at courthouse records on the person in the county where they live, where they lived before their current residence, and where they were born. You can also hire a third-party company to handle the task. (Before conducting such a search, check both local and state laws pertaining to background checks to ensure you are legally able to do so without the subject’s permission.)
8. Conduct a credit check
If employees will be handling money or have access to your business’s bank accounts, it’s wise to do a credit check with one of the major credit reporting bureaus. Keep in mind that if you turn down an applicant because of a bad credit report, you must inform them of this fact.
9. Just do it!
When it comes to reference checks, the biggest mistake that most small businesses make is failing to do them at all. It’s easy to get excited when a candidate seems perfect for the job—but don’t let your eagerness cause you to skip this essential step.
