It’s a bit ironic to think that one could say all the right things in an interview, yet the job offer may depend more on the words of someone else. This is all thanks to reference checks. No one can know for sure what references will say, but this article aims to shed some light on what recruiters are digging for.

Evaluation of Skills

Recruiters want to learn about actual job performance. This includes things such as leadership skills, adaptability, decision making, etc. Recruiters often want a confirming example along with evaluating the skill.

Verification

Honesty is integrated into the culture of many companies and organizations; therefore, recruiters understandably want to hire honest candidates. To ensure that the statements a candidate has made about previous work experiences are true, reference checks verify the validity of a resume and other claims made during the interview. The only way to authenticate these claims is to get in touch with someone that knows and is willing to confirm or deny the claims.

Gathering Opinions

Another crucial point of reference checks is simply to gain a better understanding of the likeability of a candidate. It’s very tough to determine the personality of a candidate through a couple of face-to-face interactions. While one may be very successful in a field of work, it doesn’t necessarily follow that others enjoy working with them. This is important information for recruiters to know, and is best learned through the feedback of references.

Reference checks can provide a more complete picture of an individual. While it’s a bit worrisome to think that past employers and peers may have a say in your future employment, it should also be kept in mind that reference checks are usually helpful. Although your relationship with your past employer may have been somewhat less than ideal, it is always better to be honest and open in the interview phase, as reference checks will likely reveal the truth.

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A Reference check and an employment verification are two completely different steps in the hiring of an employee. The stage at which they both take place is basically the only thing that they have in common. Let’s begin answering the question above by breaking the two actions down with definitions.

Reference Check- The process of getting information about a person from previous employers, schools, colleges, or other available sources including professional and personal peers.

Employment Verification: The practice of verifying the employment eligibility and the past work history of current or potential employees. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/employment-verification.html

A reference check is a much broader tool than an employment verification. It uses varying methods of collecting information from multiple sources which cover many aspects of the prospective employee’s life.

The most frequently used sources:

Former managers in the workplace
Former peers in the work space
Current outside interest peers
Family members
Religious group peers

Areas of interest include:

Demonstrated work ethic
Personality traits
Cultural fit
Past behaviors as predictors of future behavior
Punctuality

In the past, most employers have conducted reference checks themselves. The outdated process consisted of:

Collecting the reference information from the candidate
Phoning each reference individually and asking a series of questions
Documenting responses for record keeping purposes

This process is time consuming and labor intensive. Advances in technology can automate the process for greater efficiency and improved time management. www.reflynk.com

Employment verification has a narrower focus than reference checks. The sole purpose of employment verifications is to confirm the various aspects of a candidate’s work history, such as:

Employment dates
Employment positions and responsibilities
Salary history (in some cases)

In some cases, the employment verification can include verifying Education Certification or License Certification.

Some of this verification is still done manually, but there are multiple database sources that companies can access to verify information. In many cases, this can be done in conjunction with a background check.

Reference checks cover a much broader range of sources over a greater number of topics. Employment verifications simply verify information that was given during the application process. These two time consuming but necessary steps of the hiring process are vital to considering a candidate’s suitability for employment.

What Exactly is Revealed Through Reference Checks?

What Is the Difference Between a Reference Check and Employment Verification?