Professional Reference Check

Believe it or not, some hiring platforms have found lies on resumes to be as high as 40 percent, and three out of four hiring teams claim to have caught someone lying on their resume. 

While it seems inevitable that people will lie or exaggerate about their experiences and accomplishments, hiring teams do have some methods for verifying information on resumes, CVs, and interviews. Reference checks have been around for decades, but new technologies have made it easier to optimize, streamline, and automate the process, freeing up space and time for recruiters to do other important tasks. 

Below is everything you need to know about professional reference checks and how to make the most of them in your hiring process. 

What is a professional reference check?

A professional reference check is a screening process wherein hiring teams contact a prospective candidate’s references–typically former employers, coworkers, mentors, and academic leaders. Traditionally, companies conducted reference checks manually, which took up a lot of time and energy from hiring teams. 

Today, with automated reference checks, like Crosschq’s 360 reference check features, you can speed up the process by 95 percent. Automated reference checks are fast, easy to use, and comprehensive in the kind of data they offer. On top of that, they allow you to create new talent pools by converting professional references into candidates for your company at a low cost. 

Competent reference checks will help you verify information on the resume and in the interview, give you insight into a candidate’s team skills, leadership skills, communication skills, and other core competencies related to the role. 

The goal of a professional reference check

The goal of a professional reference is to provide you with more data and information on prospective hires. Verifying information obtained through a resume, CV, or interview isn’t just about screening out inconsistencies. You can use that information as fodder for your interview. Reference checks will often provide the information your candidates didn’t mention in their job application, and you can integrate that information into your interview to add more precise and effective questions.

Reference checks give you more data and information on a new hire from someone who has worked closely with that individual in the past. With new features that make reference checks all the more useful and easier to use, professional reference checks should be a part of every hiring process. 

What employers should know about professional reference checks

It’s important to note that reference checks aren’t everything. They’re a valuable practice that you can benefit from in several ways, but they are ultimately one piece of a holistic process. 

Despite the fact that the terms are often used interchangeably, reference checks are different from background checks. While reference checks provide insight into the myriad of skills and professional experiences of an employee, background checks help verify legal identities, financial histories, criminal backgrounds, and other facts that are verifiable through documented histories.

Professional reference check benefits

With 360 digital reference checks, it will take you a lot less time and energy to complete reference checks and benefit from reference insights. Crosschq’s modern reference check tool is also more accurate, allowing your candidates to identify which references are best suited to speak to different aspects of a candidate’s history.

Here a few other benefits of advanced professional reference checks:

• Due diligence in hiring: Similar to a background check, reference checks help keep you and your organization safer by illuminating what kind of candidate you’re inviting to your workplace. It’s one piece of the due diligence process of verifying the character and histories of new hires. 

• Uncover red flags: Candidates may skew the truth or leave out information that might be interpreted negatively by hiring teams. References aren’t there to point out every flaw a candidate has, but they can identify important red flags (or the lack thereof) that you need to be aware of to get an accurate sense of a candidate. 

• Create a talent pool: If you get hundreds or thousands of job applications for a position, you could have several thousand references in your database. Crosschq will automatically integrate those references into a talent pool, providing you with a high-quality talent pool for a low cost. 

• Reduce unconscious bias: Automated reference checks allow you to offer the same questions to your candidates, regardless of their personal background or orientation. These questions are designed to provide you with a complete picture of a candidate based on their skillset, work experiences, and other relevant indicators. 

Why Crosschq has everything you need 

Reference checks don’t have to be long and tedious processes. With Crosschq, you can streamline, digitize, and automated reference checks to find the best matches. Reference check quicker, smarter, and more equitably with Crosschq 360 today. 

Request a demo to learn more about how Crosschq can help.