As Published in Business 2 Business, February 2009

Social Networks Prompt

Resurrection Of Reference Checks

By Ira S Wolfe

Up until just a few years ago, reference checks were the nemesis of hiring managers.   Former employers are as reticent as soldiers captured behind enemy lines to provide anything more than name, rank and serial number to inquiring recruiters– or in the case of candidates, their name, previous title and employment dates. 

Now imagine you had the capability to check a potential employee's references and get the real scoop before you even received his or her resume. Through the connectivity of the Internet, reference checking has been resurrected from the catacombs of human resource tools. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and Jobster and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are making it easier for employers to get the skinny on candidates who may have inflated credentials on their resumes or who weren’t quite as loved by everyone they worked with as they might have you believe.

This reference checking resurrection, which started mostly with Web-savvy recruiters in the technology industry, is spreading. Recruiters just a year or two ago used networking sites to check on entry-level and midlevel job seekers. But today even professionals and CEOs are subject to being evaluated by this "informal reference checking."

Recruiters use such sites to find mutual connections they can hit up for information. Through the networking sites, they get in touch with people who have worked with job candidates in the past or know them personally. Many hiring managers say they even check to see if they have mutual connections with a candidate on Facebook and MySpace, the popular social-networking sites.

Traditionally, recruiters have called references after a thorough face-to-face interview. The contacts were provided by the job seekers and were typically people who were most likely to provide a positive recommendation.  But when the recruiter contacted previous employers, the conversations have been polite but succinct as human resource and supervising managers headed into their bunkers under the threat of defamation.

For example, let’s say John Smith is your top choice for the vacant operations manager position in your organization. John graciously offers the names of previous bosses and co-workers.  Before sites like LinkedIn, you attempted to reach these reference sources and wring out whatever information you could. 

Networking sites have completely changed everything.  With over 33 million members on LinkedIn alone, recruiters can access entire personal networks. Many hiring managers and recruiters check Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites for mutual connections even before any consideration is given to interview a candidate in person.  Instead of restricting your reference checking to the candidate’s sources, you simply can type in the name of John’s previous employer and dates of employment.  Depending on the size of the company you might come up with one to a hundred former co-workers or managers who might know something about John that neither John nor his listed reference was willing to share.

LinkedIn, Facebook and other networking sites are a wonderful networking tool but like everything else you get out of it what you put in. If you put no effort into recruiting, screening and reference checking, you'll get little to nothing out of it.

Using LinkedIn

The learning curve to use tools like LinkedIn is very short.  Using LinkedIn to search for reference is really quite easy.

Of course, there a few things you’ll need before getting started.

• LinkedIn account (it’s free!)

• Computer with Internet access

• Knowledge of the years of an individual's employment

• Knowledge of the company an individual worked for

Once you created your LinkedIn account, you’re ready to begin your search.

Step 1: Go to the LinkedIn Web site to begin (www.LinkedIn.com)

Step 2: Log on to your LinkedIn account and begin from your home page.

Step 3: Access the site map, located at the bottom of the home page. You can also access the "Full Sitemap" by clicking on the link within the small site map.

Step4: Find the first category, titled "People." Notice the subcategories within "People."

Step 5: Click on the "Reference Search" link subcategory.

Step 6: Enter the name of the company and the years of employment for the individual you are checking. You will enter this information into the boxes provided for you.

Step 7: Click on the "Search" button to begin your reference check.

For more information about workforce trends and hiring and leadeship selection,, contact Ira S Wolfe at 717.291.4640 or iwolfe@super-solutions.com