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Personal References: The Candid Conversation The "Born Again Believer" Advantage Personal references often provide surprisingly candid responses because they genuinely want to help their friend or colleague succeed. This creates unique investigative opportunities: Honest Assessments
Friends and colleagues may reveal authentic insights about work ethic, reliability, and character
Detect Omitted Employers
References often inadvertently mention jobs or roles not listed on the application
Clarify Job Responsibilities
Real-world descriptions of daily duties may differ significantly from resume claims
Uncover Employment Gaps
Casual conversation may reveal reasons for unexplained periods between jobs
Best Practices for Collection
• Conduct personal reference checks before employment verification to establish baseline information • Collect both cell phone numbers and email addresses for maximum reach • Request more references than needed (e.g., 5 provided for 3 required) to account for non-responses
When Using Screening Companies:
• • •
Review number of contact attempts made
Evaluate the depth and relevance of interview questions
Monitor success rates and response quality
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Employment Verification Strategies
1
Distinguish Verification Types Employment Verification confirms dates and titles. Professional References assess performance, skills, and character. Know which you're conducting and set expectations accordingly.
2
Leverage Employment Credit Reports Use credit reports to identify employers through payroll deposits, then verify those employers that don't appear on the application to uncover omitted positions.
3
Utilize "The Work Number" This automated employment verification service maintained by Equifax provides instant verification for thousands of major employers, dramatically reducing verification time.
4
Beware "Liars for Hire" Services like Paladin offer fake employment verification. Combat this by verifying company legitimacy, using direct corporate numbers, and cross-referencing multiple sources.
Quality Control Measures
When outsourcing to screening companies, demand transparency:
• •
How many contact attempts were made? What specific questions were asked?
• What percentage of verifications are successfully completed? • How are problematic verifications flagged?
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