Filling in the Gaps on a Background Check
How do you balance the want of expanding your candidate pool while accommodating the need to keep your company safe? One good way is to carefully check references. When used properly, references can be a wonderful way to mitigate risk when considering applicants with less-than-spotless criminal records. Checking references allows a company to examine the skillsets and character of their prospective employees and simultaneously mitigate some heartburn uncovered during the background screening process.
10 Reference-Checking Questions to Ask
Typical reference-checking questions include asking specific questions about needed skills, as well as direct questions about the character. While it is a good plan to ask specific questions around areas of potential heartburn, you can ask some basic, standard questions to get the conversation started. Catapult’s background-checking team usually asks these ten questions:
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How long have you known the reference, and in what context?
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How would you describe him/her? (Please describe some specific traits; for example, is the applicant an introvert or more outgoing and people-oriented).
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What would you consider their greatest strengths or best qualities?
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What do you perceive are their weaknesses?
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How would you describe their problem-solving techniques and abilities?
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Describe their personality in difficult or stressful situations.
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Tell me about their relationship-building skills.
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How well do they meet deadlines and manage multiple tasks at once?
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Would you recommend them for a job based on your knowledge of their work ethic and integrity?
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Is there anything else you would like to tell me about them that I have not already asked?
While references are great at uncovering your applicant’s good traits, they can also be instrumental in uncovering warning signs. When checking references, we believe it is a good practice to ask those checked for other possible references. This allows you to get a more candid reaction from those who are a layer deeper than what was provided by the candidate.
In today’s climate of states and even local governments restricting criminal information, adding reference checks to your screening process is a simple way to help ensure you hire the best candidate.
To get help with references or for more information about our background screening services*, please contact Kevin W. von der Lippe at (336) 899-1150 or by e-mail at kevin.vonderlippe@letscatapult.org.
*Catapult Services Corporation is a wholly owned licensed investigative agency of Catapult Employers Association, Inc., specializing in corporate pre-employment background screening. Our corporate agency license is BPN 001473P11 M.
