A normal part of your hiring process is checking references on job candidates, however, for decades hiring managers have been checking references with supervisors and managers only. While these references are important, even more important, is what the job candidate’s coworkers think. If you are looking to get the best job candidate references, ask your candidates to list past coworkers as references. Here is why:
- Past supervisors and managers typically will give you canned responses when you ask for a reference on a candidate. They will typically answer yes and no questions regarding dependability, reliability, meeting deadlines, etc. This information is important, but only tells part of the story.
- Past coworkers have “been in the trenches” with the candidate, and typically will shed more light on their true work habits. They can give you specific information on how they handle stress, how helpful they are, and their personality on the job.
- Past coworkers are not bound by the normal corporate “red tape” that many supervisors and managers are bound by, therefore, they can give you more than a yes or no answer. You can ask them to elaborate on a comment or give you specific examples. This can help you get a clearer image of the job candidate.
- Personality and fitting into company culture is difficult to ascertain, however, when you ask these questions of past coworkers, you are more likely to get the real truth about how they fit in. Did everyone like working with the candidate or was the candidate difficult to get along with.
Checking references of a job candidate with their prior supervisors and managers is a good idea, it can reveal a high level of information about the foundation of the candidate. However, if you want to learn more about the true personality, behavior, and work ethic of a candidate, you should ask for prior coworkers references as well.
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