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An MSPB publication has said recent research confirms that cautions it raised in a 2005 report on checking references of federal job applicants still apply, in particular that those providing references:
* Are mainly motivated by desire to reward competent employees with advancement or a career change—and not by a desire to “hold poor candidates accountable or help hiring organizations avoid making bad hires. Hiring managers should take this as a reminder that, in general, reference providers to are looking out for the candidate.”
* Are willing to talk, but mainly only positively. While a high percentage keep their commitment to be a reference, of those who don’t, the main reason was that they are reluctant to share negative information about a person. “It seems “no news is bad news” with respect to reference checking. While a single uncontactable reference is not a red flag, a larger number may be.”
* Are more willing to answer questions about technical topics such as what a job required a person to do, than judgmental questions such as whether they would hire that person again or about the person’s weaknesses or potential for future success.
In sum, it said, references “are motivated to help job candidates, rather than hiring organizations. They are willing to share supportive information about well-qualified candidates, while any discussions about problematic candidates are avoided. Even with good candidates, they are less willing to discuss negative information.”
The MSPB further urged conducting reference checks in an interactive way such as a phone call, rather than through a messaging exchange. “Hiring managers can use that interaction to probe for the information they need and increase the effectiveness of the assessment,” it said.
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