Stack Your References

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

I began working as a recruiter in 1972 and did it for what seemed like 100 years. In the course of doing that, I checked many references.

I have never heard a former employer say, “Jeff, you would be doing a disservice to your client if you refer this person.”

or

“Jeff, tell your client to run, not walk, to the next candidate. This one is a human waste.”

No, everyone says nice polite things about their former colleague or subordinate. Once in a while, an employer will say, “Sorry, our firm has a policy against our

giving references for all former employees.”

I’ll test that by trying to reference check someone else and invariably it is a company-wide prohibition.

So why do companies check references?

They are hoping for the one occasion where it is not a company-wide ban and they find the needle in a haystack who either gives them the name of someone who will say awful things about them (very unlikely to occur) or they find the one company that where someone whispers to them not to hire someone.