FortySouth

A little while back I wrote about how job references are increasingly becoming irrelevant to smart managers because the said referees have the propensity to tell them what they want to hear – that you have a fine candidate. In essence, references inadvertently degrade to a factor of lesser significance when selecting “the candidate” from the herd.

Well I held that view until recently when I happened upon a slightly dated yet insightful excerpt from Dr. Pierre Mornell’s Hiring Smart! in my reading that struck me as genius:

Here’s the simplest, most effective reference check that I know. It’s also fast and legal. Call references at what you assume will be their lunchtime–you want to reach an assistant or voice mail. If it’s voice mail, leave a simple message. If it’s an assistant, be sure that he or she understands the last sentence of your message.

You say: “Jane Jones is a candidate for (the position) in our company. Your name has been given as a reference. Please call me back if the candidate was outstanding.”

The results are both immediate and revealing. If the candidate is outstanding, I guarantee that people will respond quickly and want to help. Take such a response as a green light. Proceed to the next level by checking out the individual.

However, if only 2 or 3 of the 10 references selected by the candidate return your call, this message is also loud and clear.

Now then, would your references initiate a callback? What would they say of you?

By the way, the excerpt is recommended reading for hiring managers and job seekers alike. Better yet, get the book.

I recently read this article from the Standard about why we need to alert referees/references listed on our resumes before attending an interview and found it ludicrous on at least two counts:

• It’s not scalable – most people not only list multiple references, but they apply for multiple job opportunities at any given time. (Cast your bread upon the waters.. you need a job, right?) Sending out the ‘red alert’ for every instance becomes unmanageable and, frankly, annoying after a while.
• Smart employers don’t care (unless you give them reason to) – you will be evaluated primarily on the work that you’ve done and what (results) you have to show for it. If a potential employer seems to be placing a lot of weight on your references, think again. Priorities, priorities.

I think of references as falling in roughly two categories Continue reading

The last several weeks have been quite challenging. While finding jobs in this economic climate is rough, switching jobs is not any better as I’ve since come to learn. I’ve been looking to transition jobs lately and fortunately, I got a job offer about a fortnight ago, after an arduous search, to work for an amazing company in the Bay Area, CA.

There’s a lot of advice out there on what strategies to adopt especially now when many companies are either folding up or announcing lay offs, and I tried to read some of it although after a while it became a tad overwhelming. So this is not “expert advice” (find some here), just some ideas I’ve picked up in my job search so I promise to keep it short and sweet . Continue reading