It’s Monday, and I have spent almost the entire afternoon checking referencesfor candidates heading out to in-person interviews. You always learn something checking references – specifically, you learn a lot about how your candidate relates to their colleagues. Not necessarily in the answers to the questions, but in their enthusiasm or lack thereof to return your call and give a review of the person in question. You can tell if a candidate took special care to stay in touch and foster a great relationship with each reference, and if they selected their contacts carefully for the opportunity at hand. And then there are those candidates who don’t understand the importance of reference.

“Hi, my name is Amanda Frey, and I’m a Creative Recruiter with Talent Zoo in Altanta, GA. I was given your name by John Smith-he has listed you as a reference.”

“Who?”

Seriously. It happens. Too often candidates list references they worked with 15 years ago, or in desperation list the owner of a children’s music store where they once designed a brochure 10 years ago. This is not a helpful reflection of your skills, your level of leadership or your ability to work in a team environment. It’s like pulling teeth, trying to put together 3 sounds references for my candidates. Please, make an extra effort to not only maintain good relationships with old references, but to also gather new ones and stay in touch. A vague or irrelevant reference can cost you a great job. For more information go here.

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