Why the Second Interview is the Best Time to Conduct Reference Checks

A solid reference checking strategy can give your organization a competitive advantage when it comes to making smarter hiring decisions. Your team has likely already put a lot of thought into the content of your reference surveys, and how you can extract actionable insights from their results. Critically, when you perform reference checks can also impact their efficacy. Let’s dive in.

The Strategic Timing of Reference Checks

In the past, reference checks have been used largely to confirm information you’ve already been given by a promising candidate. References are only contacted when you’ve already decided to make an offer, and simply need to vet the candidate’s claims for accuracy. This practice of late reference checking can prove problematic: left to the last minute, you may lose out on valuable insights that could have otherwise prevented a bad hire.

Strategic reference checking asks you to time your reference checks strategically. Soliciting reference feedback early allows you to more accurately evaluate your candidate before any kind of decision is made. This also supports a more efficient hiring process overall, and fosters a stronger workforce by ensuring quality hires every time.

Why Checking References After the Second Interview Works Best

Late reference checks mean you lose out on useful information. But reference checks that are too early can prove a waste of resources. Even supported by automation and dedicated AI tools, the reference checking process takes time, and should only be performed after an initial evaluation of your candidate’s potential.

By the end of the second interview, you should have amassed enough information about your candidate to determine whether they might be a good fit for your company. Performing reference checks at this stage ensures that you are only investing this time and energy into strong and promising talent.

Critically, reference feedback will also help you to determine the accuracy of your candidate’s interview performance. Positive alignment between the two is ideal, but you may find disparities that call the candidate’s honesty into question. 

Gathering reference insights at this stage will finally work to inform your final interview questions. Based on reference feedback, you can craft questions that address discrepancies, gain greater context, or elaborate on performance narratives that will help you to arrive at your final decision.

How to Structure the Reference Check Process at This Stage

To enable more efficient reference checking, candidates should be asked to provide professional references before the second interview. This can either be in their application, during their first interview, or in the invitation to their second. At the very latest, references should be due by the beginning of the second interview for immediate outreach following.

Reference surveys, whether being delivered digitally or over the phone, should follow a structured form or script to ensure consistency. Modified to fit the requirements of the role in question, a uniform call script ensures that you are getting the same insights from different references, as well as across your pool of candidates. Learn more about building a strategic call script here.

Leveraging a structured reference checking protocol will also support easier alignment between reference feedback and interview insights. Your reference surveys should work to inform and clarify candidate conversations – consider asking references the same or similar questions that you ask candidates during their interviews for easier crosschecking.

Key Questions to Ask When Checking References After the Second Interview

The questions you include in your reference survey may be weighted differently depending on the specifics of the role. However these critical questions should always be included on your reference check surveys.

• Confirmation questions. At the top, make sure to confirm all job-specific information with the reference, including when the candidate worked with them, what was their role, and how long they were with this company. Here you should also confirm their technical job responsibilities and performance history.
  
  

• Behavioral questions. These questions give greater behavioral context to the candidate’s job performance and work ethic. Ask how the candidate handles challenges, collaborates with teams, and responds to feedback or criticism.
  
  

• Soft skill questions. These questions provide insight into a candidate’s growth potential. Ask for feedback about the candidate’s prospects for leadership, their communication style, and adaptability in the face of change.

In addition to these questions, remind your interviewers to ask follow-ups or request elaboration to ensure you’re getting the full picture on a given candidate.

How Reference Feedback Influences the Final Hiring Decision

Following the second interview, the final candidate conversation is often performed as a formality. Many organizations will already know who they want to hire after the second interview – however waiting for reference feedback before you make your shortlist will ensure a more advantageous decision in the end.

• Reference checks allow you to validate candidate strengths, as well as address any lingering red flags. They can help you to sort mediocre candidates who put on a good performance from the excellent but modest, shy, or awkward candidates.
  
  
• Reference checks allow you to refine your approach to the final interview – whether that’s the last round of questions, or how to structure a conversation around discrepancies between candidate and reference answers.
  
  
• Reference checks make it easier to decide between top candidates based on the insights you gain. Even if all candidates in question receive only glowing reviews, reference feedback can help you determine which will prove the best fit for your company and the needs of the role.

The Role of Digital Reference Checking in This Process

Strategizing the timing of your reference check helps to both accelerate the process and improve its efficacy. These two advantages may also be supported with the implementation of technological solutions that ensure accuracy and compliance.

Automated digital reference checking saves your team the trouble of playing phone tag with a long list of references. An initial outreach can be made immediately following the second interview, with reminders sent at a rate you choose until the questions have been answered. A phone call can then be scheduled to ask follow-up questions or to gain greater context, if necessary.

AI-supported reference checking solutions can also automatically verify your references, ensuring higher quality insights that lead you to a better hiring decision.

Why Businesses Should Incorporate Reference Checks After the Second Interview

Taking a strategic approach to reference checking – both the content and timing – can help to more easily drive your organization towards its hiring goals. 

Slow, unclear hiring processes can mean you lose out on top talent, leading to greater expenditure of both time and money to make up for the losses. But a specific and well-designed reference check, delivered at the right time, can expedite the process and still deliver a quality hire at the end.

Crosschq is a modern, AI-powered hiring intelligence platform that makes every hire the right hire. Sign up for a free demo to learn more.