Managed Check
Professional Reference Checking Service
Assess the candidate’s professional competence, performance, and conduct through comprehensive verification of provided professional references.
Trusted by 2,000+ companies
What is Professional Reference Check?
A professional reference check is the process of contacting a candidate’s former employers, supervisors, colleagues, or other professional contacts to gain insights into their work ethic, skills, behavior, and overall performance. It is an essential step in the hiring process to validate a candidate’s credentials and determine their suitability for a specific role.
Key Aspects of a Professional Reference Check
Verification of Professional History
Gathers feedback on interpersonal skills, teamwork, leadership qualities, and ability to adapt to workplace dynamics.
Assessment of Skills and Competence
Provides insights into the candidate’s technical abilities, problem-solving skills, and job-specific expertise.
Evaluation of Behavioral Attributes
Confirms the accuracy of the candidate’s work history, including their roles, responsibilities, and achievements.
Cultural Fit
Helps assess whether the candidate’s values, work style, and personality align with the organization’s culture.
Red Flags Identification
Highlights potential issues, such as poor performance, disciplinary actions, or conflicts, that may affect the candidate’s fit for the role.
Features of Professional Reference Check
Comprehensive Employment Verification
Confirm the accuracy and reliability of a candidate’s employment with a comprehensive background verification, ensuring informed hiring decisions.
Fraud Detection
Identify and flag discrepancies or fraudulent activities/individuals to protect organisations against potential risks, ensuring the integrity of the hiring process.
Customizable Questions
Tailors reference checks based on the specific requirements of the role or industry
Fast. Accurate. Efficient.
Your line of defense against impersonation frauds and stolen identities
1000+
Field Force
99%
Verification Accuracy
90%
Checks done in 1-5 days
How to do Refrence Check?
How AuthBridge’s Professional Reference Check Works?
STEP 1
Provide referee details like name, company name, professional
STEP 2
Our experts verify te references shared by the candidate
STEP 3
Review the results and make the right hiring decisions for your business
Professional Reference Check across various industries and categories
Education
The education sector can use the Professional Reference Check to ensure that their educators possess the required skills to create a positive learning environment.
Private Sector Companies
Private sector companies, regardless of their size, use the Professional Reference Check to verify the credentials of their new hires before onboarding them.
Healthcare
The healthcare sector can use the Professional Reference Check to validate the credentials and work history of their medical professional to ensure they have the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards required for the workplace.
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FAQs on Professional Reference Check
A Professional Reference is an important part of the background verification process that enables organisations to conduct a thorough screening of the candidates, ensuring they’re a good fit for the company.
While conducting a professional reference check of any candidate, organisations verify candidates’ skills and educational qualifications essential for the job. In addition to this, they cross-verify their past employment details to ensure they align well with the organisation’s needs.
Yes, a reference check is usually one of the final steps of the background screening process where organisations cross-verify candidate details with their past employers to ensure accuracy and reliability.
No, but they reach out to a majority of them to ensure that all the details are correct.
Yes, an individual can lose a job if a reference provides negative or unsatisfactory feedback.
Professional Reference Check: What Every Employer Should Know
Table of Contents
Click a topic to scroll directly to it.
Introduction
According to a report by one of India’s premier magazines and digital networks for leaders in human resources, 64.2% of employees have lied about skills, experience, or references at least once on their resumes. While these statistics reveal the widespread web of lies found on resumes, they also highlight the growing need for employers to verify their candidate’s credentials before onboarding them, ensuring the safety of their company.
Key Questions to Ask During a Reference Check
Employers must ask their candidates to provide a list of references including their former managers’ and colleagues’ names, phone numbers and email addresses. In addition to this, organisations can ask them to set up a call with their references. This approach facilitates smoother communication with the references.
Provided below is a list of questions that employers can ask their candidate’s references to reveal deeper insights into their work ethic, personality, and overall contributions in their previous roles:
- What was the relationship of the reference with the candidate?
- What roles and responsibilities did the candidate have in their organisation?
- How did they handle challenges or conflicts in the workplace?
- How long did the candidate work with their organisation?
- What were the candidate’s key strengths and areas of improvement at work?
- If provided the opportunity, would you consider rehiring the candidate?
- Did the candidate achieve any major accomplishments during their time with your organisation?
- How was the candidate’s relationship with their colleagues at work?
These questions provide a comprehensive view of the candidate, helping you ensure whether they are the right fit for the organisation or not.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid During a Reference Check
While reference checks are essential for any organisation, asking the wrong questions can lead to misleading or incomplete information, ultimately affecting hiring decisions. This approach could present a fairly negative picture of the candidate, leading them to lose their job.
For instance, asking general questions such as “Was the candidate good at their job?” doesn’t provide the correct answer to understanding the candidate’s behaviour or performance at work. Instead, asking the right questions like “How was the candidate’s relationship with their peers at work?” or “Did they achieve any major accomplishments during their time with the organisation?” could help employers cloud the true picture of their candidate’s potential.
To avoid such situations, we have listed below a few mistakes that every employer should avoid to make the right decisions:
Asking Open-Ended Questions
Employers should avoid the mistake of asking open-ended questions to their candidates. This might seem like a good idea but can lead to general responses, leading to incomplete information.
Relying on Biased References
Sometimes, candidates provide references who are more likely to provide positive feedback. To avoid such situations, employers must ask them for multiple references to not have biased feedback and a broader perspective on their work history.
Neglecting to Verify Information
Employers must cross-verify details received during reference checks to ensure that the information provided by the candidate aligns with the one stated by their references.
Best Practices for Conducting a Reference Check
A reference check is a critical step in the hiring process that helps validate a candidate’s skills, behavior, and suitability for a role. To ensure its effectiveness, organizations should follow these best practices:
1. Obtain Candidate Consent
- Why: Secures the candidate’s approval to contact their references and ensures compliance with privacy laws.
- How: Include a consent form as part of the application process, detailing what information will be sought and how it will be used.
2. Define Clear Objectives
- Why: Ensures the reference check aligns with the job requirements and organizational goals.
- How: Identify the specific skills, behaviors, or experiences you need to verify before starting the process.
3. Use Structured Questionnaires
- Why: Promotes consistency and ensures all candidates are evaluated against the same criteria.
- How: Develop a standardized list of questions that cover key aspects like job performance, teamwork, leadership, and areas for improvement.
4. Speak to the Right References
- Why: Collecting insights from relevant individuals ensures the feedback is accurate and credible.
- How: Prioritize direct supervisors, colleagues, or managers who have closely worked with the candidate.
5. Ask Open-Ended Questions
- Why: Encourages references to provide detailed and qualitative feedback.
- How: Use questions like:
- “Can you describe the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses?”
- “How did they handle challenges in their role?”
- “Would you rehire this person?”
6. Verify Information Provided by the Candidate
- Why: Confirms the accuracy of the candidate’s claims about their previous roles, responsibilities, and achievements.
- How: Cross-check details like job titles, dates of employment, and accomplishments with references.
7. Look for Patterns in Feedback
- Why: Identifying recurring themes in responses helps form a comprehensive picture of the candidate.
- How: Note consistent strengths or concerns mentioned across different references.
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