In the last two issues of HIRING LINE we discussed nine practical aspects of checking references that will help a prospective employer. Even in this day of litigation these practical approaches will help us check references safely and still find what we need to know

Degrees
It is estimated that 20% of the people who say they have a degree don’t. So what is so important about that? Well nothing unless the candidate says or states in his resume that he does have one. Not that we believe a person has to have a degree. In fact, there is no good reason for most of the employers who require degrees to do so. Be that as it may. If an employer specifically asks if a person has a degree and the candidate states he does then it is revealed that he does not, this candidate just can’t he trusted. He should not he hired. Degrees should be verified as a matter of course. It’s simple to do. One just calls the college or university, speaks to the registrars office and asks them to confirm if a certain person has had a degree conferred on them. The college or university will either verify the record or say they have no record of it. They will probably tell no more than this. Schools sometimes make mistakes so checking it again especially if there is a discrepancy is of value.

The School
If the school cannot confirm the candidate has a degree when he says he does, it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance to prove it. Colleges and universities though, are very sensitive to the position they are in. They seldom make mistakes regarding these inquiries, but there have been rare instances of crossed records of people with similar names, etc. If there is a discrepancy, let the candidate prove his position. If a discrepancy occurs notify the candidate and let him try to set the record correct. Nine out of ten times though, this will be very embarrassing for the candidate and he will eliminate himself from consideration.

A Lie
As much as we would like to have empathy, sympathy and want to give the benefit of the doubt to a candidate, no one can justify hiring someone who lies about the matter of having a degree. None of us can afford to hire anyone who fabricates such things. Our natural inclination is to wonder where else they may lie. There is no good excuse for this. We have seen instances where candidates have begged for mercy and convinced prospective employers it’s the only place they have lied. We do not recommend hiring such a person. They simply can’t be trusted. As a matter of course degrees should lie verified.

Unvolunteered References
No candidate is going to give as a referral, someone whom they did not like, get along with, etc. No one would volunteer references they believe will be poor or bad ones. Other than previous employers, most references we check are given to us by candidates and are obviously people who are going to say positive things.

With an amount of effort an employer can find people who know about the candidate. People that worked with him are familiar enough with him to be of value. These kind of objective references can be very valuable. Previous clients or customers of sales candidates, for instance, can give a perspective of the candidate one can’t get elsewhere. Simply asking initial references who else might have knowledge of the candidate will give one other references. These volunteered references may offer other facets of the candidate not found in traditional first line references.

Previous Bosses
These people are going to tell you the most about how an individual performs on the job. Try not to settle for checking previous employment references with anyone other than previous, immediate bosses. They will know the most. Sometimes candidates who fear a bad reference from a previous boss will claim that they can’t find their previous boss so they’ll get a previous peer or subordinate or someone they once worked with etc., to provide a reference. Don’t buy it! Make the candidate find previous bosses. Take no excuses. Don’t rely on the candidates previous employers personnel department. They are going to confirm salary, starting and ending dates, etc. Nice stuff maybe, but it’s not going to help you really hire right. Find previous direct supervisors and ask them questions that will help you not only decide to hire or not to hire the candidate but will give you direction of how to manage the person should he be hired.

Get specific answers to specific factual questions. Ask the same questions of all references. This way they can be compared and three days later one doesn’t have to rely on recollection. Patterned questions will provide an in-depth overall picture.

Tony Beshara is owner and president of Babich & Associates.   Beshara has been in business since 1973, and he alone averages $2.5 – $4 million per year in billings. If you have any questions about this article, please call (214) 823-9999.

© Tony Beshara, Babich & Associates