Hiding in plain sight! Tips on getting references that matter
Pro Tip: If you are hiring an experienced professional, look here for the best references
You need to hire someone. You have boiled it down to the last couple of candidates. Now it is time to do a little more digging into their backgrounds. Most of you will go directly to the last place a person worked for a reference. You get the same response. Yes, Ms. Jones worked here from February 2015 until last month. No, we can’t comment on anything else.
If Ms. Jones didn’t lie on her resume about her start date, then that’s all you confirmed. You still don’t know what type of worker she could be. There is a better place to find out about your candidates. We all have them listed on the last page of our resumes. They are often there to pad our experiences and make us look like we have more interests outside of work. Yes, I’m talking about where the candidate volunteers their time.
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We all want professionals that have well-rounded lives. If they have listed that they are part of the local Rotary or volunteer at the Church, this will offer some great insight. But don’t stop there. Pick up the phone and contact those charities.
Did Ms. Jones participate as a volunteer? What part did they play in the community fundraising event? Although Ms. Jones is a member, you will often find that she doesn’t come to the meetings or play a significant role in the circumstances. These groups and nonprofits will most often give you the truth about Ms. Jones, something their previous employers are hesitant to do.
From my own experiences, there are many people that I have volunteered with that I will never do business with. And others where I found a greater appreciation for their work ethic. It is incredible that private and public faces are so radically different. So, as you do your digging, find someone in those groups your candidate claims to be involved with and see what they have to say about Ms. Jones.
If they don’t put in the effort for something they are volunteering for, what type of effort will they give you?
Assume you are hiring a contractor to do some work around the house or your business. One of them says they are on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. What do they do there? Are they active in the events and activities that the associations sponsors? Or are they simply using it to improve their image in the community? Maybe you will find out that they miss most meetings or are a bully in the boardroom and not very cooperative. Do you want them working for you?
There is also another side of this coin. Your future employee may be putting excessive hours into the charity of their choice. Is this a threat to the energy level that they will offer you? Of course, we would like to take our chances on hiring a new employee that goes all in than one that is just checking boxes.
The answers are often right in front of us. We need to be creative in our hiring practices. As we mentioned in a blog a few weeks about picking the right candidate, we want them to be a good fit for our team. We don’t want to catch them in a lie, but we want to know one of those intangibles in hiring. What is their effort level? Are they willing to go that extra mile? Digging into their extra-curricular activities may be a way for you to get the inside information you need to make that final decision.
As we mentioned a few blogs ago, the Kole Performance Group can help you with a DISC Assessment on your next team member. Research like this is one of those steps that you and your hiring team may want to add to your process. It may be an extra step today, but it can lead to a better team tomorrow!
We would love to hear your thoughts about these or the other articles that we’ve published!