You will need to provide references for most jobs. It’s rare that you will be offered a role at a company without having to provide professional references. Sometimes you will even have to provide personal references. But the fact remains that you do need references to get a job.
However, it’s becoming more common for people to have to provide references before the interview. Why is this now a thing? Why do interviewers now want to have the references up front before the interview takes place?
Well, it all has to do with the current job market. The workforce is in a totally different space than it was a few years ago. Much of this has to do with things such as “the great resignation” while it also has to do with other factors that have made finding quality employees so difficult.
People who are interviewing at a company can look up on Glassdoor or other job sites and review the company. Sometimes you can even see reviews of large companies in popular Reddit threads.
But employers are left to bring in people based solely on the power of their resumes. And as anyone experienced in the recruiting world will tell you, resumes tell only part of the story and most of the time they are faked.
They Want To Weed Out Bad Candidates
The number one reason that people ask for references before the interview is to weed out bad candidates. By asking for references up front, it helps to weed out some of the less professional people.
There are a few reasons why asking for references up front weeds out the non-professionals and bad candidates.
First, many people just like to send out their resume and apply for jobs. For whatever reason, they just like sending out resumes. They often times have no intention of going on an interview, or if they do they have no incentive of taking a new job. Asking for references will deter these people who are not serious.
Secondly, asking people to supply references will weed out people who lie on their resume. If they know that you will inquire about their prior work experience from a third party, then it will make them think twice. Many people lie about being fired or let go for poor performance. The common statement is that there was company restructuring.
Finally, asking someone to provide references makes the candidate more proactive. You might be surprised as to how many people simply don’t show up for interviews. This is less common in professional working environments than it is in blue collar work such as the medical field or social service industry.
Serious candidates who actually want to work will have no problem providing references. The only time this is an issue is when they are currently working and are actively interviewing elsewhere in order to leave a role. That is in and of itself concerning to most employers are they are not fond of interviewing people who are already working. Unless you are being headhunted for a major executive role, most employers are hesitant about people who are “exploring their options”. What that means in most cases is that the person simply wants to see what’s out there and if anything will return to their current employer with an offer letter and try and angle for a higher salary.
If You Don’t Have References, You’re Not Trustworthy In Their Eyes
If you are unable to provide professional references then most employers and recruiters will consider you untrustworthy. They simply won’t think that you are someone who is a good employee.
In certain lines of work, professional references are extremely easy to obtain. Anyone who has gone through non-profit job training program or government run program is going to have multiple references.
For hospital work and other medical and non-professional roles it’s normally custom to ask for multiple references. This is due to the nature of the work (it’s not a professional setting and many employees come from non-traditional work environments) as well as the high turnover amongst medical professionals.
Companies that need to hire non-traditional employees: case mangers, staff for non-profits, medical staff, and other non-professionals, need to have multiple references conduced.
If you are unable to provide a single reference for a potential employers then you simply will be discarded. Without references, many HR staff consider job interviews a waste of time.
If you have references but you do not want to provide them, be ready with a good reason. And expect to have to provide the references once the interview is completed.
A good reason might be that you do not give references until after the interview and when the hiring process has moved along.
If you are applying to work in a corporate environment, they will understand this. If you are applying for a government role, a medical position such as a hospital, or else a non-profit, then you might run into some trouble. People who work in these roles often has a sketchy work history as well as long periods of unemployment.
The reason employers want references is that they want to avoid hiring people who:
- Are Lying on their resume
- Are problem people who cause disturbances at work
- Habitually call out sick
- Are Underperformers
Your References Are Only Part of the Story
The truth is that employers and recruiters know that references are not that reliable. Most people can get a fake reference. The work is what counts. However, references are still needed. Recruiters really only call references if the person is going to be offered a job. It’s unlikly that a recruiter would waste time before that because references are only part of the package.
In certain industries such medical work, references are only part of the package. Drug testing is a standard for nurses, technicians, and other hospital employees. Likewise, background checks to see if the individual has committed a felony is also a standard
Even though recruiers will always want to talk on the phone, they also want the ability to call and check your references. Recruiters and employers use multiple ways to vet out the good canadidates.
Why Don’t They Ask For References After the Interview?
Many places do ask for references after the interview. It’s actually more standard to ask someone for their professional references after the interview.
The reason why most employers don’t ask for references up front is because they have no desire to call and check references for people they don’t want to hire.
The fact is that most people who interview for a job are simply going to tank the interview. This isn’t because the person wants to do poorly on the interview, it’s more a question of the hiring manager not doing any sort of prescreening.
Most companies pre-screen people before allowing them to come in for an interview. If they don’t, then what happens is that they are left with an abundance of people who are simply not qualified. The problem rests in not doing phone screens or Zoom pre-screens. Savvy recruiters know that you cannot rely on a resume alone, it simply won’t tell you the whole story.
Hey I’m Chris . 20+ years in the industry. I’ve worked every role from Executive recrutier to Agency founder and consultant. If you want to learn more or reach me,vist the about page or use my contact form.