When do recruiters check references

What the Experts Say Checking references is often seen as one small piece of the hiring protocol—the final motion to go through before you extend a formal offer to a candidate. Here are some tips to make the most of reference checks.

Seek input The first step in the process is to solicit feedback from all the people in your organization who interviewed the candidate, according to Claman. What would you like to follow up on? What do you wish you knew more about? What you learn should form the basis of your questions for the references.

If you want to measure his influencing skills, talk to peers. Next, Claman advises complimenting the applicant. If you display skepticism toward the candidate or hesitate, the reference will likely clam up out of loyalty, she says.

Emphasize the value of having a reliable reference. Then ask the reference if she has seen Mary perform in similar circumstances. What did she do? Isabel Thottam, Monster contributor. This is what recruiters and your references talk about. Tags: interview. Related Articles. Browse articles by Find The Right Career Path.

Professional Development. Most Recent Jobs. See More Jobs. Many people ask what it means if an employer does a reference check after-interview for job-seekers, and the simple answer is that they are interested in you. However, it does not necessarily mean anything more than that, so don't start to get your hopes up too much, too soon. In some cases, competition within your particular industry, or chosen profession may be very fierce, and you may go from one job interview to the next without any success at all.

To learn that an employer is taking up references for you is a good sign and, if your references are good, this could very well result in you receiving an offer of employment. But a look behind the scenes will show you why you should not get too excited. It's very easy to assume that if you have made it through the initial job interview and your prospective employer is taking up references that you probably got the job. Although your resume holds a lot of weight when applying to a new position, you also need previous references who will attest to who you are as an employee.

Putting in the extra time and effort to select and provide references is imperative. But when do companies conduct the reference checks? References are often conducted once an employer is interested in a candidate although it depends on each employer.