[K-Women Talk] 'Reference Checks' for Hiring the 'Right Person'

Whose Judgment Matters More Than Public Opinion
Answers Vary Greatly Depending on the Direction of the Questions

Munsun Kyung, Executive Director at Unico Search

Management scholar Peter Drucker once said, "If you spend only five minutes on hiring, you will end up spending 5,000 hours dealing with a wrongly hired person." Along with the increasing trend of frequent and experienced hires, requests for additional ‘reference checks’ after candidate interviews have noticeably increased in the headhunting industry. While ‘reference check’ requests for executives and leadership positions were common in the past, they have now expanded to include even operational-level employees. According to a survey by a job recruitment platform, 80% of HR managers responded that reference checks are necessary during hiring.

Companies use reference checks not just to hire good people, but to select the ‘Right Person’ who fits the company’s organizational culture and the specific position. Reference checks are used to verify detailed facts such as whether the candidate led projects as stated on their resume, whether they possess the actual job competencies, and whether they have the appropriate disposition for the company and role as a team member or team leader.

What is the most important aspect of conducting a ‘reference check’? It is about which ‘people’ to ask and what ‘questions’ to pose. References are generally conducted with supervisors, colleagues, or subordinates, but usually focus on former coworkers or ex-employees rather than current employees of the candidate’s company. It is important to obtain the candidate’s ‘consent form’ in advance, and through a comprehensive consent form, reference checks on unspecified referees are also possible.

Questions typically cover areas such as job performance, strengths and areas for improvement, work style, leadership, communication and interpersonal relationships, reasons for leaving, and integrity. A key point to note is that all questions must be tailored to the hiring company and the position. Therefore, the questioner’s understanding of the company and job is essential. In fact, even when the same reference is asked about the same candidate, the direction and manner of the questions can lead to significantly different answers.

Interpreting the results of reference checks must also be done carefully. For example, a candidate recognized for strong drive and business acumen once received a negative comment from one reference, stating that the candidate caused a lot of organizational noise. After conducting additional reference checks from various perspectives, it was concluded that the candidate’s strong drive was a great asset for new business but also raised concerns about organizational noise. This was communicated to the client company, helping them decide to hire the ‘Right Person’ from a business perspective.

Confucius reportedly answered his disciple Zigong’s question, “Should people be judged by public opinion?” by saying that whose judgment matters is more important than public opinion or popularity. The important point in interpreting reference checks is to verify biases and rumors, avoid falling into the trap of public opinion, and assess whether the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses align with the company’s hiring objectives.

Finally, what should candidates keep in mind when selecting references? First, they should be well aware of both their strengths and areas for improvement. Since no one is without flaws, there is no need to hide them. In such cases, it is recommended to select references who can accurately explain the facts without distortion rather than those who only provide positive feedback or try to conceal weaknesses.

Moon Seon-kyung, Executive Director at Unico Search

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.