When you have a vacancy, you are really under pressure to find a replacement candidate quickly.
Well I always was, especially if I had to do their work while I looked for a candidate.
And when it comes to hiring, the challenge is dealing with people on their very best interview behaviour. So how can you effectively and objectively assess what they are really like. Most of the information you get is self-reported; resumes, interviews and the choice of references are all information provided by the candidate.
DISC report. I would certainly suggest that you ask the candidate to complete a simple DISC review of themselves to enable you to assess their behaviour preferences. And Acumen.sg can certainly help you conduct this as well as enable you to review the report… but apart from buying Acumen.sg services, what else can you do?
External References. Sure in theory written references are supposed to be an objective and independent view of a person. But I’ve written many references and I am always honest in what I write but always polite to the candidate as well. When hiring, I rarely refer to written references. So it comes down to how best to use candidates telephone references to really assess how they are in working life. And again these references are people recommended by the candidate. How can you get useful objective views from potentially biased views?
Any candidate who has made it to the stage where you are ringing references knows how to present themselves, act appropriately with a potential employer, and has sufficient experience to make you believe they can do the job. They have also given you the contact information of three of their last managers and/or direct reports without hesitation. No hirer should be conducting reference checks on a candidate who doesn’t meet these basic requirements.
What I’m looking for in a telephone reference check interview, then, aren’t the obvious faults, you should have picked these up in your internal interviews. They’re the habits that can’t possibly be detected in a normal, one hour job interview.
Before the call.
Will you persuade a reference to say negative things about their friend — it would make them feel disloyal, and rightly so — so you can’t approach your issues directly. Instead, I suggest, taking the opposite tack, build trust with the referee, and get them to empathise with your situation. Give them an elevator pitch on your company, so that they know this could be a good next step for the candidate. Both you and the referee should want the same thing from this call: confirmation that this particular candidate and this job are a great fit, or not.
I’ve spent a few decades thinking how best to hire people and these are my six questions set to create a great environment for a reference check.
1. How do you know her? How long have you worked together, and what did you work on?
Boring, sure, not all questions are asked to get information. These are to warm things up. I know the answers already, because the candidate will have told me. They’re innocuous, and they give me a chance to make small talk with the reference and build rapport.
2. What can we do for her?
This is where you pivot. I don’t need the reference to sell their friend. I know that’s what they are prepared to do, and they probably have a couple pre-arranged answers, which not what I’m looking for.
Instead, I want them to reimagine the situation from their friend’s point of view and sincerely ask themselves how this job and my company will benefit the candidate. Getting this job will not be good for the candidate if it’s not the right match. Hiring them only works if it works for everyone.
Example: I was doing a reference check on someone we later hired as an Marketing Manager. Her manager told me she had complained about red tape, so we needed to be a fast organisation where decisions weren’t made for political reasons. “Give her the room to run and build and she’ll be much happier,” she told me. Great insight for me on the candidate.
3. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and our company is no exception. What are some of the skills our team should have to complement hers?
The point of the hiring interviews is to build something for the future. I hope the process is seen as constructive, and this question asks for constructive feedback on the candidate. You want to set candidates up for success, so you have to make sure the people and resources exist for that. Some people need strategic guidance, but handle details very well. Others work best in small, tight teams. What’s important here is that you’ve made it acceptable for the reference to tell you how the candidate fits well on a team while encouraging them to remain loyal to their friend. Keep it constructive.
Example: Hiring a researcher, I was told by a former manager that I should pair him up with an experienced researcher as boss or a boss who was well versed in research. I was told he was most effective with a little guidance on prioritisation, but did fine on testing and assessment. Since we we hiring for a stand alone researcher role I knew we couldn’t handle those constraints.
4. Do you remember a specific case where she delivered on a difficult task in a way that was either ahead of schedule or above expectations?
This gives the reference an opportunity to tell a story that makes his friend shine and to enable them to report back that they told a great story about the candidate. It’s actually not important what she delivered. This question, like the first, is not what it appears to be. The answer will show you what her optimum work conditions are. It may also allow you to deduce whether you can supply those conditions. You’ll learn what pushes her to excel, what she really loves, and how you can best motivate her once she joins the team.
5. You’re hiring your second employee in a small new department (in her area of expertise) and could poach anyone. You make a list of candidates. Where is she on that list? Why? For which role in the team set up exactly?
The key part of this question is the “for which role.” I want them to tell me about the specific role this person would play in a four or five person team. Team leader leader? All around flexible manager? Idea person? Detail-oriented executor? What you’re doing is asking the reference to put themselves in your shoes: an employer building a team.
Example: a reference once said “She’s top 5 overall. Not #1 because I’m not good at commercialisation and she’s not either, so my #1 next hire would be a business orientated guy to build the commercialisation part. But in terms of technical leadership and ability, she’d be my #1 hire.
6. Would you work for her? (If it’s plausible, why didn’t you?)
Again, you’re turning things on their head and asking the reference to think about the candidate in new ways. You’re also making this interview very personal, and very focused on the reference. If you do it right, they’ll open up to you, and that’s the best information you can hope to get.
That’s it. Six constructive purposeful questions to make the most of your phone interview. Remember, if something interesting comes up, take time to pursue it, don’t just stick to the script. You’re not doing this to fill in a questionnaire, you’re trying to see if the hire can join your team for 3-5 years or whether you’ll be firing her and rehiring within six months.
My best advice is to remember how much rapport with the referee matters. Think about smiling while you talk, even though it’s a phone call — the other person can hear it in your voice.
What are your favourite questions when you are interviewing and that have given you great insight? Please share them if you don’t mind.