Here are some actual examples of questions and responses in references checked by Allison & Taylor Reference Checking: We would like to verify that (the candidate) held the position (title) from (dates), is this correct? • He was an account executive, not a Senior V.P.” • “His name doesn’t ring a bell.” • “We do not have this person anywhere in our records.” • “I am not allowed to say anything about this person, as she was fired.” Some references will refuse to rank a past employee due to an unfavorable impression: • “No comment, he could not do anything correctly in the position he held with us.” • “Let’s save time. Basically, you could rank her inadequate in all areas.” When questioned about strengths and weaknesses: • “I cannot think of any strengths, only weaknesses.” • “I’m sure there must be some strengths but nothing jumps out at me.” • “Weaknesses seem to stick in my mind ... I’d have to really think about any strengths.” • “I’d rather not comment - you can take that however you want.” Regarding Eligibility for re-hire: Is this person eligible for re-hire? • “He is not. I’m really not supposed to say much but he was unreliable and sick at lot.” • “Probably not. She had a hard time working in a team environment. • “No, but I can’t say why.” • “Probably not, but it’s just a suspicion of mine.” • “No, because he didn’t want to work here and made it clear he didn’t want to work here.” • “I wouldn’t re-hire him. He was disorganized and dishonest.” • “No, it was the departure - kind of burned his bridges when he left.” • “No, she stole from the company. We have an investigation pending.” When asked about the reason for employment separation: Could you fully describe the circumstances and reason for the separation? • “She was fired.” • “She was let go - she didn’t do her part as expected.” • “He was let go ... there was a conflict with the children - he didn’t follow safety standards and guidelines.” • “I fired him! He and his buddy had some illegal things going.” • “She had been written up and she walked out on work ... because she was upset.” • “It was a rather delicate and awkward situation. You should call her other past employers. I made the mistake of not doing that.” • “She was terminated in an investigation...” (The reference then got very quiet and said he had the General Counsel in his office and couldn’t say anything more.)” Responses to questions about performance: References are asked to rank skills on a scale from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (outstanding): • Oral Communications: “Can I give a negative number ... -1”? • Financial Skills: “Well, that’s why our company had a major layoff - left her in charge of finances!” • Written Communications: “You mean when she finally turned in the reports due a week earlier?” • Technical Skills: “Is zero in your rating scale?” • Interpersonal Relations: “One. He had a problem with a few of the people. I should have ended the relationship just after he started.” • Productivity: “Is there a rating less than inadequate? • Employee Relations: “There was a lot of he said / she said happening with other employees. And other than her leaving, nothing else has changed. We haven’t had any problems since then, so we know she was the source of the problem.” • Decision Making: “He couldn’t make a decision if his life depended on it!” • Leadership: “He had no leadership skills.” • Crisis Management: “He [fireman] totally ignored the emergency call when it came in. He said he didn’t hear it!” • Short Term Planning: “Lousy, can’t remember something that was completed on time!”
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