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Image of tractor with visitors. Image by Edwin Remsberg

Checking References Provided by Candidates 

A reference check is a process of verifying information about a candidate during the  hiring process and is a great way to acquire additional information. By talking to  previous employers, reference checks are helpful in 1) verifying facts and skill sets like  employment history, job duties, job title and educational attainment; 2) discovering how  the candidate interacts with others, solves problems, or takes direction and 3) learning about a candidate’s work ethic, performance, dependability, attitude and communication  skills. This information might not be apparent during an interview or by reviewing a  resume or cover letter. 

Sources of references can come from a variety of places including conversations with  current and previous managers/employers or co-workers and could include letters of  recommendation, samples of work if applicable, verification of skill sets, and educational  background. Checking out a person’s social media can also provide information. Reviewing this information will help you verify information and learn more about the  candidate.

Considerations When Checking References 

Be sure to inform candidates that you check references and check the references  yourself; don’t delegate this task to others on your team. 

Make the process easy by conducting the reference check via phone and assure  the reference of confidentiality.  

Introduce yourself, your business and provide the name of the person who has  applied for your job. 

Check the validity of the reference – you don’t want to get a fake report – verify  the references title, name, what company they worked for while working with the  candidate, what dates they worked together and if they were the candidate’s  supervisor/co-worker. 

Start off with easy questions like verifying how the reference knows the candidate  and for how long, verifying employment dates, job responsibilities/title and work  history.  

Describe the open position you are hiring for and ask the reference if they think  the candidate would be a fit for the role. 

Make sure and give the reference time to answer each question and do not lead  them to easy answers, have them answer directly. 

Create a list of questions including open ended questions. Take notes so you can  compare it with other candidates. 

Create a list of qualities/skills and have the reference rank the candidate on a  scale of 1 (very positive) to 4 (very negative). Examples might include:  dependability, timeliness, thoroughness in task completion, ability to get along  with others, positive attitude, aptitude and ability to get along with co-workers, independent problem solving or judgement etc.

Action Steps/Questions to Consider 

What are the important traits/skills needed by the candidate for the job role as well as  working for your business that could be ranked on a 4 point scale? 

Select the number of the following open ended questions that would work best for you: 

1. What was your relationship with the candidate? 

2. How long did you work with each other? 

3. How would you rate their work?  

4. What were their daily duties? 

5. What were their main responsibilities? 

6. Were they dependable? Did they get to work on time? 

7. Did they complete the tasks and assignments given to them? 

8. Did they take direction well? 

9. How did they support coworkers? 

10.Why did they leave your position? 

11.What are their strong points?  

12.What are their weak points? Or What qualities would need to be improved? 13.How did they get along with other people?  

14.How was the candidate with respect to communication and listening skills? 15.Were there any behaviors that affected job performance? 

16.Would you rehire? yes or no If no why not?  

17.Did they require a lot of supervision or work well independently? 18.How did the candidate handle work-related stress? 

19.Do you think the candidate can do the job we spoke about? 

20.Would you like to add anything else? 

What are my next steps?

Evaluation and Selection of Job Candidates 

Significant time, money and energy go into the employee recruitment, interview and  reference check process. Ideally, the recruitment and interview steps have yielded  several candidates from which to choose. The process of evaluating the candidates  should be given the same attention as other steps in the employment process. It is  important to reflect on the candidates and take the time to make a good selection.  

Considerations: 

Go back to the position description and review the necessary qualifications for  the job. Make a chart with the necessary qualifications and characteristics on one  axis and the potential candidates names on the other. Don’t forget to important  characteristics like: dependability, positive attitude, aptitude and ability to get  along with co-workers, quality of work, dedication/alignment with company goals,  initiative/problem solving, safety, dependability/absenteeism, interpersonal  relations/communication ability (written and orally), organization skills, faces  issues, utilization of resources, judgement, growth and development/training,  manages conflict, production, teamwork/assists, and/or job specific performance  categories 

Make an assessment of how well each candidate meets the basic qualifications and rank them on this basis. 

Now rank the candidates in regard to the traits that you want to see in your team  members.  

Sometimes we find extremely qualified individuals who lack the attitudinal skills  needed in the farm workplace. Think through the tradeoffs between candidates  who meet qualifications but lack the skills to work well with others along with  dependability, a positive attitude and willingness to learn. What kind of training  would this candidate need? Are you willing to spend the time and energy to do  this training? 

Once you have narrowed down your list of candidates, you may still be unsure about  who to hire. Consider conducting a second interview with the candidate to clarify any  reservations you might have. Think about including others on your team to be part of the  review and/or interview process; their insights may help you finalize a decision.  

Alternatively, you may have a limited number of candidates who are not quite the right  fit for your job. Then it’s time to think about what kind of training you’ll need to provide, if  you need to reassess the job description or if you need to continue your search for  alternative candidates. There are always tradeoffs in terms of your time, effort and  funds.

Action Steps/Questions to Consider

Create a table that lists qualifications on the left column and candidates across the top  to be able to compare each candidate in an organized fashion? 

What are the skills /qualifications that candidates must have to even be considered? 

How would you train employees who may not have all the skills needed? What resources can you use to help in the training? 

What are next steps in preparing to hire the right person for your job? 

References 

O’Rourke, M. (2023). Farm Employee Management: Evaluation and Selection of Job  Candidates Iowa State University Extension Publication c1-75. Found: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c1-75.html

Last Page: The Interview Process                                                                                                 Next Page: Employee Resources

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021‐70027‐34693, and is funded by the NE Risk Management Education Center.

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