Employers are interested in more than just job history
Senior managers remove approximately one in three candidates (34 percent) from consideration for a position after checking their references, according to a new survey.
In addition to verifying the information jobseekers have submitted is accurate, a number of employers also conduct reference checks to ensure a candidate will be a good fit with the organization.
Thirty-eight percent of managers say obtaining a view of a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses is the main purpose of a reference check in the employee selection process.
Twenty-two percent of senior managers say they want to find out about a candidate’s past job duties and experience — making it the second most popular piece of information managers hope to receive.
Confirming a candidate’s job title and employment dates was ranked third, with 19 percent of senior managers naming it as their main intent when conducting reference checks.
Twelve percent of managers want to get a sense of the applicant’s preferred work culture, and 10 percent say information about the candidate’s prior workplace accomplishments is the most important detail they hope to find out by checking references.
For more about the specific insight reference checks can provide, view this information about the recent Accountemps survey.