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1. Checking References
Always check references, especially from former supervisors, including UCSC applicants, before you make a final selection. This is applicable whether the position is being filled via recruitment, non-recruitment, or waiver. Always check more than one reference.
Reference checks are a critical part of the selection process. Reference checks can give you information on how an applicant has actually performed and past performance is the best predictor of future success.
In addition, employers have sometimes been found liable for negligent hiring when an employee with a history of violence or other serious problems is hired without a reasonably thorough reference check.
You may check references at any time in the process. When you are unable to distinguish among candidates based on the application alone, especially when interpersonal skills or judgment are essential for the job, it may be worth the investment of time to do a reference check on your top group of candidates before you decide whom to interview.
Advising the Applicant
- As a courtesy, inform an applicant before you check references. An applicant’s permission is not required except in the case where the applicant has asked that we not contact his/her current employer. In this situation you should call and explain that you are now checking references. If the applicant refuses to give you permission, explain that without this information you will not be able to consider him/her further.
- It is legally permissible to contact references other than those provided by the applicant. Again, as a courtesy, inform the applicant that you will be doing this. If the applicant has concerns about a particular person, you may certainly take those concerns into consideration.
Conducting the Reference Check
- Job-related questions are the key to a good reference check. You can establish what the applicant’s duties were, how their performance was evaluated, and what strengths and weaknesses were identified.
- It is a good practice to develop a set of reference questions and use them for each candidate on which you are seeking information.
- Remember that the illegal questions used for interviewing also pertain to reference checks.
- After identifying yourself and your reason for calling, describe the job and find out what kind of work relationship the reference has had with the applicant -- first hand observation of performance is most valuable, and we have a responsibility to evaluate the credibility of the information we receive in the reference check.
- You may ask about whether the applicant had an acceptable attendance record but may not ask about a person’s use of sick leave, medical leave, or workers’ compensation. Do not discuss a person’s disability, and ignore any information about disability that is volunteered. If a reference begins to discuss impermissible areas, steer the discussion back to job-related factors.
- You should check the references of a UCSC applicant in the same manner as any other applicant, including contacting current and former supervisors.
Confidentiality
- It is not necessary to advise contacts for reference checks of circumstances under which information they provide will be disclosed to the applicant at the outset of the reference check. However, do not promise that information will be kept strictly confidential.
- Applicants who request information regarding reference checks will be told that it is not our practice to disclose this information. However, applicants who make formal written requests are entitled to copies of your notes from the Reference Check. If the reference asked for confidentiality and is not a current supervisor, details can be deleted from the notes that would identify the source.
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