What to Ask From Applicant's Reference for Hiring

Are you looking for the right talent for an important job role in your organization? If yes, then you must have shortlisted the number of resumes with impressive accomplishments. But while analyzing and assuming candidates' potential through their resume it becomes crucial to look at other important details like candidate's reference. You can grab much information about the potential, working styles and other important information about the candidate by asking a few questions from the person mentioned in the reference.

Why does Reference need To Be Checked?

Earlier the reference section was just meant to be filled but hardly any hiring department bothers to contact the person or if the call was made it just to verify about the link of the candidate with the company and his or her job role. But time has changed. Now checking the reference is one of the most important aspects of the hiring process. The proper communication builds with the reference that helps the hiring team to:

Verify the candidate's general details
Know about the job roles and potentials
Gather information that has not been mentioned in the resume

Questions to Ask from the Referred Person

What is your relationship with the candidate?

The most important and the basic question that the hiring member must ask the person being mentioned for reference is the kind of relationship with the candidate. Generally, the person adds the reference of the person who is close to him or her as a family member or friends. Although those people are emotionally attached but might present the wrong information about the candidate. It is therefore good to choose the reference with whom candidates are not emotionally attached.

Do you know candidates outside work?

After knowing the relationship between the two you can dig a little deeper to extract more details. Try to know whether or not the person is in contact with the candidate outside the office. If yes, then take all the important information by carefully listening to every single detail during the assessment.

Does the candidate always show up on time and work hard?

You can reach the local landlord of the candidate to inquire more about the candidate. You can start with the standard question and know whether he or she always show you on time and work hard. This would help you in grabbing the valuable information that can make your decision-making process simple.

What are the candidates' strengths and weaknesses?

During the interview, you might have asked about the candidate's strength but recording his or her weakness is equally important. Ask the reference person who could highlight some of the things that direct towards the candidates' weaknesses. This helps you get a wide picture of the weaknesses that could be corrected with time while the others that are hard to overcome. Thus, getting the right answer to the question helps you in making the right and better decision.

Would you rehire the candidate?

Last but not least, if the reference person is the boss or manager of the previous company then you can ask whether they will hire the candidate in the future? Note the time taken by them to answer the question. The first few seconds let you know their answer that the verbal statement does not. Your alertness during the whole process will help in hiring the right candidate for the organization.

Conclusion

Hiring is one of the major processes and the key that will define the company's progress in the near future. Any business or organization's success depends on the employee and the team and therefore choosing the right people to assure your growth and success. Apart from this, it is essential to look for other aspects while interviewing the candidate that one must keep in mind.

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