Streamlining Your Hiring Process Part 2

Post Interview Follow-up and Ultimate Reference Checking

After the Interview

Gather input from others you respect and compare notes:

Typically, a company will invite a candidate back for a second or third visit to meet with several persons with whom he/she would work, including peers, direct reports, and perhaps board members. For these sessions, consider adding the following to the process:

• Include an independent executive whose judgment you respect and value, even if he/she is not officially on the “selection team.”
• Give each person on the interview schedule an assignment. For example: ask one person to concentrate on the candidate’s functional knowledge and skills; another to explore leadership style and organizational “fit,” and ask your most trusted interviewer to probe for the candidate’s ethics and values. Provide each person on the panel with this guide as a primer.

Ultimate Reference Checking

All too often, by the time a company is ready to check references, the decision-makers are so enthusiastic about the candidate (and ready to hire) that reference-checking is cursory and relegated to a formality. In fact, this duty is one of the most important elements of the entire candidate evaluation process.

Again, thoroughness will be rewarded. The questions you ask, and, of whom, can make all the difference in getting to the essence of a candidate’s ethical values. For now, consider the following:

• Compare the list of references provided against the resume: Are there omissions that concern you?
• If you are not satisfied with the reference list, ask the candidate to provide more, including persons to whom they reported, direct reports, customers—whoever makes sense based on the career history.
• Tell the candidate that you may contact others whom you know at his/her past employers. Out of respect for confidentiality, don’t ask for anyone at his/her current employer at this point but inform the candidate that you will do so after an offer is extended and accepted.
• Take advantage of the fact that people you may know personally, who also know the candidate, are most likely to be helpful and forthcoming about the individual.
• When you speak to a reference, ask if there is someone else at the company whom you should contact for more insights. Your goal is to talk to several references in addition to those provided by the candidate.
• Be sure that Human Resources has done the basics: verified education; checked public records for criminal and civil litigation; ordered a personal credit report, if appropriate; and paved the way for income verification.
• Especially for senior-most hires, personally meet with one of the references to get the full-benefit of a face-to-face discussion.

Wait to ask your toughest questions about ethical behavior and values until after you establish rapport and credibility with the reference. Begin by asking: “What were the candidate’s most important achievements at the company? And, what was the person’s role in each?”Compare the answers from the reference to what the candidate reported in the resume and shared in your personal interview. Is there alignment?

• What was your personal experience in working with this executive?
• Could you count on this individual to follow through on commitments?
• What happened when things between you didn’t go as planned?
• How were your commitments negotiated?
• Were you satisfied that the result was fair and reasonable?
• Tell me about a time when everyone’s back was to the wall—when the stakes were high and alternatives difficult.
• How did he/she work through it?
• Would you rely on this person in the future to do the right thing when the chips are down?
• Do people trust him/her?
• How does he/she relate to people (e.g. open/direct or illusive)?
• Is there anything else I should know about the candidate that we have not discussed?

Part 3 will outline some critical considerations when making the final hiring decision.