90% of recruiters will ask these typical reference check questions

What are typical reference check questions?

One of the bloggers I read on a regular basis, Donna Svei from the Avid Careerist, posted a great article on how to prep your referees.

Donna refers to a study of 500 HR professionals that found that 90% ask reference check questions about the same seven topics.

Typical reference check questions interviewers will ask will vary around the following themes:

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Would you re-hire this person?

What was your personality or character like in the workplace?

How did you get along with other people?

Were there any discipline problems with you?

What was your work performance like?

What kind of work ethic did you have?

Punctuality and attendance?

These are all good reference check questions.

Many people checking your references will also ask specific questions that relate to your work performance. So things that you are asked in the interview could be a strong clue as to the line of questions your recruiter will ask.

Will recruiters always conduct reference checks?

Nope.

Many people get hung up on reference checks, but actually there are many circumstances I can quote where recruiters have not done checks, or have accepted the strange sounding person the candidate has supplied.

(If you’re worried about what to do, check out this post here)

What are recruiters really looking for when they check your references?

I used to find reference checking to be a bit of an art, especially when I have suspected some issues with the performance of the person I have been referencing.

Referees  can reluctant to say anything too detrimental for fear of being sued, or they are simply nice people, and do not want to get in the way of someone getting a new job.

One of the biggest and most telling questions I used to ask as a recruiter was would you re-hire this person? – as often this is what it all came down to. Quite often referees can give reasonable sounding answers to all of the other questions I would ask, and I would listen thinking “it’s not exactly a glowing reference – yet I can’t pin the referee down on what the main issue is with this person.”

If there was any hesitation in the referee’s voice or if the referee said something like: “I personally would.” I would start to dig into why.

I’d comment on the referee’s tone and say they didn’t sound certain. I’d ask some pointed questions and I’d speak to all of the referees the candidate supplied.

*Tip* Let your referees know when they will get a call about a reference check

Donna suggests to prime your referees to let them know that they will receive a call, the questions that are likely to come up and why you think you are a good fit for the new job.

This, she says, can counter any negativity about your suitability for a new job.

This means if your referee says they wouldn’t re-hire you, directly or otherwise, they can still talk more confidently about whether you are a good fit for the new role.

It’s also a good idea to send them the latest copy of your resume.

That way they can know what you’ve been up to since the time they knew you.

Tagged as: referees, reference check questions