What is Reference Check? Effective method of verifying candidate information

I. What is the reference check? Purpose of verifying candidate information

Reference check translates to verifying candidate information, this is the process by which employers verify information provided by candidates such as education, experience, skills and personality. This verification is performed against reference channels. Verifying candidate information is considered an important activity for employers in particular as well as businesses in general. Through contact with the candidate's leaders, colleagues or old friends, employers will get a comprehensive, honest and authentic view of the candidate's abilities and personality.

Thus, the purpose of doing reference checking is: 
Adding blank information During the interview or recruitment process, it is very rare for a candidate to automatically provide all the necessary information that the employer needs. users need to know to evaluate in the most objective way. At that time, finding out and validating information will help employers know more about that information to better understand the candidate as well as make the most reasonable assessment.

Authentication of candidates providing candidates information to the employer is right or not? The implementation of the Reference Check will help the employer to authenticate whether the candidate is providing the true information or not. In case of irrationality between candidates provided and employer information, it is necessary to change the direction to learn more deeply.

Discover other candidates's other personalities, besides checking the staff background, what are the characteristics of the candidate that the company wants to understand more deeply? Or you are wondering that with this personality, whether the candidate is suitable for corporate culture? By performing information authentication, you will have more data on candidates to help make an accurate recruitment decision for your company.

II. The role of reference check in recruitment

Thanks to the application of Reference Check in recruitment, businesses will have a deeper, broader view with many important screening data on their candidates, supporting the consideration of the most suitable candidate for each job position. Specifically:

First, the Reference Checking helps the employer verify the honesty of information shown in the resume. Specifically, information about qualifications, personality, ability to work ... of candidates.

Next, the implementation of Reference Check helps to exploit more hidden corners in work and life that candidates have not shown, often errors and shortcomings do not want to mention. Knowing these things is not to blame or look at them, but the purpose is for the employer to see how they have overcome and complete after each error.

In addition, the staff's background checks to check the professional competence in accordance with the nature of the job that is recruiting through the ability to adapt to the previous job, especially the same work. 

Check behavior, ability to communicate at work and at the office. These skills are an important part of candidate evaluation.

III. 5 steps to effectively verify candidate information

1. Determine when to perform information verification Not always employers can take advantage to verify candidate information. The implementation of a reference check also needs a scientific order of execution to be highly effective. The times to verify that candidate information are before the interview, after the interview, and after the offer. And the time is often chosen after the interview because at this time, businesses have already screened a number of candidates, without wasting time verifying too many people, but still supporting more accurate decision making. 

In addition, the collection of data and candidate information actually requires many steps and takes a lot of time. Employers must allocate time so as not to affect the recruitment work of the enterprise. Some appropriate times to perform candidate information verification:

After the initial interviews, when you have narrowed down the list of potential employees 
When you are nearing completion of the hiring process and preparing to make a decision 
Special case, when you are confused about a detail in the interview, test your assumptions by contacting references

2. Make a list of things to understand about the candidate 
Making a list of the information you need to verify about the candidate helps the employer not to get confused during the reference process. When contacting a reference, be sure to introduce yourself and the position you are applying for, and ask if he or she has free time to talk to you about this. Employers need to make a good first impression with the reference so that they can get the most objective and honest information.

Then, listen to the story and take careful notes of the information you are given. Since the reference took the time to memorize and outline the information back to you, appreciate their help and thank them after the conversation.

3. Send an open letter of introduction via email or directly introduce the purpose of the conversation

A previous direct manager of the candidate is the best option, even if they have left the organization, as they will have first-hand experience of managing the candidate closely over a period of time. If a candidate has lost contact with a previous line manager, use email or LinkedIn to send an invitation to contact them.

4. Interview or short telephone conversation with the reference person

As mentioned, where it's important to consider the candidate, ask them for an in-person appointment. When contacting a reference, be sure to introduce yourself and the position you are applying for, and ask if he or she has free time to talk to you about this. Don't forget to refer to the personal references attached to the candidate's resume. Interactions with friends or colleagues on social networks can very well reveal a candidate's personality, opinion, or attitude. Their public shares on social networks also partly voice their concerns.

5. At the end of the chat, send a thank-you email to the reference

Employers should take the time to build a good relationship with references. This will make the person more comfortable sharing information with you. Because you not only need their help now, but many times in the future. Don't forget to stay in touch with the people you refer to, as chances are you'll want to ask for more information about the candidate and continue to need their help.

Thus, it is extremely important to verify candidate information for all vacancies, especially important positions, requiring careful screening when selecting candidates. Every company, especially the HR department, needs to understand the steps to perform reference checking as shared above to bring about the best recruitment efficiency.