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Ok, let’s dive in for today. What’s Cooking?

The Art of Reference Check

Unless my clients ask for it, I don’t do them. That’s how I felt about reference checks when I first started out in recruitment business.

After all, no one is paying me for the extra work. It’s bad mentality I have to admit but then it’s probably closest to human nature to assume you do the same if you were me.

Unless you have a compelling reason.

If you don’t, I have one for you.

Reference checks are your shortcuts.

How so?

By doing reference checks for your candidate, you increase the confidence the hiring team has for the candidate, effectively affirming their intent to hire.

Never leave it to chance that they will hire after the final interview, because sometimes there is a lingering concern that spins out from nowhere.

Your reference check is the defense against those unexpected curveballs.

Always cover your bases and remember to send in the reference checks together with the candidate’s profile so that they are presented to the hiring team without fear.

Don’t work hard for nothing.

Finally, let me share a tip about reference check. Most recruiters use a template with standard questions. Doing so reduces the effectiveness of the reference checks significantly.

Why?

Because no two referees are ever in the same situation / relationship with your candidate. If so, why do you ask the referees the same questions?

To make things worse, you put N.A for questions that don’t apply to that working relationship. Why not just replace those questions with relevant ones?

I make each reference check unique so that when my clients read them, they get a complete picture of how my candidate performs and behaves under different circumstances.

Don’t just give boring facts. With reference checks, tell a story - a compelling one on why your candidate is the best option for the role.

p.s. Follow me on LinkedIn and DM “The Solo Recruiter” if you want to learn how to craft reference checks that bring out the collective YES from the hiring team.

Joo Kwang
​Author of Solopreneur’s Guide to Recruitment Business

​About this newsletter: You are receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly TSR (The Solo Recruiter) newsletter. Every week, you learn the strategies that successful recruiters use to grow their businesses. So you can also do the same and launch your business.