Personal References

Employment reference checks: The whole picture

When interviewing an applicant for a position you automatically ask questions about the experience and education related to the position. It is also important to get information about a person’s character relating to the job. An employment personal reference check is the optimal way to get that information.

Employment personal reference checks: What to ask

During an employment personal reference check we call the applicant’s resume references that are work-related or personal, and ask a list of questions. The questions can be extracted from our pre-developed questionnaires, or you can develop your own list of questions if there are certain areas you want to ask about.

References provided are with whom they are barely acquainted or, worse yet, names of people they don’t even know.

We recommend you inquire about the applicant’s relationship to the reference and how long they have known each other to evaluate the information. Other information we recommend you ask include:

• Have you ever worked with this applicant? If yes, please describe your observations of them on the job.
• Please describe for me your observations of his/her greatest strength (as an employee, worker, volunteer?)
• What, in your opinion, is his/her weakest area requiring improvement (as an employee, worker, volunteer)?
• Please comment on your opinion of the applicant’s character and integrity.
• Please comment on your knowledge of any habitual problems this applicant may have such as drinking, drugs, morals, etc.
• Would you have any reservations whatsoever in recommending this applicant for employment with us?

For more information on our resume reference checks, or any of our other services we offer here at PeopleCheck, please contact us today!