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Checking references and qualifications: what are the issues?

10 June 2008

Source: WorkplaceInfo

Some studies have claimed that up to 30% of job applicants’ CVs are in some respects dishonest, or have at least distorted the truth. And technology is in some ways making it easier to prepare ‘evidence’ of qualifications that is faked. Checking references and qualifications remains one of the most widely used selection methods, probably number two after interviews.
Despite the above problems, if done thoroughly it appears to be one of the most reliable predictors of future success on the job, particularly past work performance.

This is the first in a series of articles that examines the issues of checking in detail.

Types of references

Job applicants may present four types of references at interviews or with their CVs:

1. Letters by previous employers – these record details of the employee’s employment (dates, job title, summary of job duties, etc) and make comments about the quality of the person’s job performance.

The main problem with these letters is that no-one is going to show you a letter that isn’t favourable to them. It is advisable to contact the author of the letter to discuss the contents further.

2. Documentary evidence of qualifications – may include secondary and tertiary education certificates/degrees, trade certificates (with updates as required), licences that may be required to perform a job (eg driving motor vehicle, operating machinery), and work permits and other documents that confirm that the person is legally entitled to work in Australia.
The challenge with all these is to confirm that the documents are genuine, not fake.

3. Certificates of service issued by previous employers – these documents merely confirm the objective details of the person’s employment (dates, job titles and little else). The inability of a job applicant to present anything more than this in relation to a previous job is not a reflection on that person. Many employers have a firm policy not to provide any information beyond this in written documents. They may be willing to expand on the information if contacted by telephone, but not always. Sometimes, but rarely, the certificate will add that the employer can be contacted for further details.

4. Personal or character references – usually in the form of letters by acquaintances of the job applicant.

The relevance of these is often questionable, and sometimes they may have been written by family members (eg a sister who uses her husband’s surname), friends, or even ‘people’ who don’t actually exist, which can be difficult to verify. However, they should not always be dismissed out of hand.

For example, young job applicants may present them because they have little or no actual employment experience, but the references relate to voluntary work for or membership of charities, sporting clubs, surf life saving, emergency service organisations or other community organisations. They may allude to skills, experience and personal attributes that will be valuable in the workplace and are therefore worth following up.

In summary, it is important to assess the relevance of personal and character references, then assess their authenticity.

What are you actually checking?

First thing to remember is that reference and qualifications checking is simply one element of the overall selection process. This means that it has to be placed in the context of other information collected from other elements, such as face-to-face interviews or various types of tests. It may be used to clarify or further explore issues raised during the interview.

Where a particular qualification is mandatory for legal reasons, it is essential to ensure that it is validly held. The obvious example is being legally allowed to work in Australia, for which applicants may present copies of birth certificates, passports or work permits.

The current situation and issues regarding work permits are discussed in detail in the article Illegal workers: an overview.

The other documents that must be verified are licences or certificates that the employee must have in order to perform the work, such as a current driver’s licence.

Advisable checks

Apart from these mandatory checks, reference checking may also look for the following:

  • informed comments from people who have managed or worked closely with the applicant about his/her quality of work, how he/she handled particular issues at work, suitability for the job vacancy and personal attributes relevant to work (such as reliability, timekeeping/absenteeism, initiative, etc)
  • evidence of recurring patterns in relation to work performance and attributes – note the comments above that past job performance is regarded as one of the most reliable predictors of future performance
  • further information that may answer questions or ‘gaps’ in information that became apparent during other stages of the recruitment/selection processes
  • clarification of any apparent discrepancies in the information presented so far, such as conflicting dates in different documents, how past ‘remuneration’ was defined, ambiguities in job titles, etc. For example, your ‘Communications Distribution Coordinator’ may have been the mail clerk or a ‘Catering Manager’ the tea lady
  • further investigation of isolated issues and events, to place them in proper context. A one-off event that appears to reflect badly on the applicant may be less significant if more is known about the circumstances in which it occurred
  • verification of the employee’s real reasons for leaving the previous job
  • whether the previous employer would be willing to re-employ the person – and if not, why not.

What to be wary of

Reference checking may alert you to signs of possible problems, but it is very unlikely you will uncover the full story in such cases. Past employers are usually happy to praise and recommend good employees, but normally very cautious regarding ‘problem’ ones. The reasons may include:

  • Fear of being sued for defamation if a person becomes aware that he/she was the subject of an unfavourable reference. Even if the employer told the absolute truth, the threat or actual conduct of legal proceedings is a costly distraction to the business. Even if there weren’t legal proceedings, there would be the chance of various other forms of retribution by the employee.
  • Unwillingness to jeopardise a person’s future career prospects or ability to earn a living.
  • Some employers may provide a glowing reference as part of a ‘deal’ done with the employee, eg to settle a personality clash, or a generous termination package put together to avert a claim of unfair dismissal or breach of contract.

Therefore, once again you should only consider references in the overall context of all information you have obtained from all sources. On their own, they can’t provide the full picture. The only thing you can be almost guaranteed to achieve from them is verification of most factual employment details.

A certificate of service may disadvantage both the new employer and the job applicant in the sense that it leaves many questions unanswered for the employer and doesn’t present the applicant in a more favourable light. Again, don’t read anything good or bad into the certificate, it’s merely a factual statement, so put it in the context of the other information you collect.

Conclusion

Where qualifications are essential to performing the job, you must check them. Failure to do so could leave your organisation legally exposed if something goes wrong. Where they are not essential, it is still a good idea to check.

Seeking further information and opinions about past job performance and suitability for employment is highly recommended, as it appears to be one of the most reliable selection techniques available. But there are limitations as discussed above on the value of the information you will obtain, and checking needs to be done in a consistent and methodical way.

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