Managing Writers

After complaining about a perceived lack of reference check calls, I received the second in a week, after a long dry spell. Probably not a trend, but it was heartening to see another company checking references.

The call brought up a few additional thoughts:

• I’ve noticed that when someone who worked for me years ago needs a reference, I sometimes find it harder to remember the specific assignment than to remember how well he or she did the job. I know who I can give a good recommendation to, but once or twice, I’ve fumbled the supposedly “easy” question, “what did he/she do for you?” even when I knew without a doubt that he or she did a good job on the now-forgotten assignment.
• The most recent call came from a company that does contract services in the IT area. While I’m not currently in the market for such services, the fact that they demonstrated at least a degree of due diligence in hiring is a plus that I would consider in evaluating the company for possible work.
• The same company send a thank you note, which in addition to being a nice gesture, provided them with an opportunity to sell their services. It’s rare that an advertisement comes across as a plus, but I admire companies that recognize the importance of spreading a wide net, as long as they don’t overdo it.

I just got a call asking for a reference for someone who worked in my group a few years ago. I was glad to give a reference, and happy that I could give this person a good one.

Surprisingly, this is the first call I’ve received to check a reference in over a year. During that same year, I’ve had half a dozen people ask me if I would be a reference, and in the years before, I’ve agreed to give references to many more. Some of those requests were generic, like: “if I need a reference would you give me one?” But others were clearly specific, with the company identified. Yet, this is the first time in ages that anyone has bothered to call me to check a reference.

In my book, Managing Writers, I stated that I only got called about half of the time. That’s clearly an overestimate at this point.

So why don’t more managers check references? Here’s my shot at enumerating the top reasons:

• The applicant has obviously chosen references who will say good things, so why waste time listening to someone describe how wonderful the applicant is?
• Once you’ve decided to hire someone, you just want to get on with things and not slow down the process.
• You don’t want to take the chance of receiving information that conflicts with a decision you have already made.
• The hiring process always seems to happen when you’re under pressure; you need someone right now, your “real” job is waiting, and you really don’t want to go out and find more people to interview if you unearth a problem with this person.

Regarding the first point, yes, you’re going to get someone that the applicant thinks will say good things about him or her. But, having called a lot of people to check references, I think it is still possible to learn important information, even from a “pre-screened” person. For example, you can check facts; what did the applicant work on? when did he or she work there? and so forth. In addition, you can often learn a lot from the way someone responds to questions. Even those who are restricted by their company to “name, rank, and serial number” answers may reveal their opinion in the way they respond.

The hiring manager I spoke with today didn’t ask anything out of the ordinary, and there was nothing out of the ordinary in my responses, but I think I made it clear that my evaluation of the candidate as an excellent technical writer was sincere and well-founded. I’m pretty sure that if I had thought otherwise, my meaning would have come through, even if I had used similar words.

The other three points, frankly, just add up to laziness. As strong as the urge may be to skip this step, there’s really no good reason for not calling references when you’re hiring. The call today took about five minutes, was cordial, and confirmed the likely perceptions of the caller. But, if it hadn’t, that one call could have saved him the trouble of hiring, and potentially firing, the wrong person. Since I like to call only when I’m ready to hire, it’s no more than a few phone calls about that one candidate. But if you don’t call, you are losing important information about one of the most important things you do as a manager (and one of the hardest things to undo).