Checking references

H

Henny Penny

Guest
A friend of mine has recently applied for a job in Carlow and has asked me to be a referee for her. She needed 3 referees and said that the company in question would make an appointment to visit each of the referees in person and ask about the candidate. Is this normal? She said that the company employes a person full time to carry out this role. It is a job in the pharmaceutical industry that she is applying for.
 
that the company in question would make an appointment to visit each of the referees in person and ask about the candidate.
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Very unusual - a phone check is the usual process.
 
Sounds like the HR dept of the company are just making sure she doesn't spoof. I doubt they would go this far.
 
Maybe (given the industry) they go visit technical referees to check out the technologies and the scale of the operation, but if you are just a personal referee (I'm guessing here) then there would be little point in going to visit you at home to gauge the reference.

Was there anything on your friends C.V. that might have been a bit iffy - it does seem strange that they made this point specifically and with this detail.

The whole point of giving references is that the potential employer makes contact with them, but I have never heard of a site visit for a reference.

z
 
And bear in mind most, if not all, people will not put anyone who they feel would give them a bad or satifactory reference down as a referee in the first place - Mind you, that's another argument.
 
references

Thanks for all the replies ... obviously times are changing when staff attrition is so high that they want to make sure you really want the job before they give it to you. I will post again if and when I'm asked to give the reference.
Incidentally, when we employ staff in our local community playgroup we ask for written references which are followed up by a phone call and then the referee is asked to complete a questionaire in writing regarding the candidate ... you can't be too careful.
 
..

Taking on staff is a serious investment if you consider that you may be employing them for 30 years or more. The total investment could be a million or more! A forward-thinking employer will see the wisdom therefore in verifying references properly.

Unfortunately, most companies don't haver the time or resources to do this properly but it really seems worth it.
 
Security Checking ...........

Checking References is all very well but for some type of work ( on site service - gas, plumbing, electrics etc ) it is useful to know if the applicant has any recent Form.

If you call up the Gardai and just ask they will not let on. ( Dare say its a bit different if you have a pal in the force ......... ).

Govt Departments would seem to have no problem checking contractor employees for A Record.

What is the official way for Private sector business to handle this ?

DnD
 
Checked ...

Well I had a visit from the human rescource manager yesterday in my home ... to check my friends reference. It was tough going ... almost as bad as an interview ... if she doesn't get the job, I will feel so bad.
I asked the HR man a bit about his job ... he's had it for 15 years and gets to travel the world checking people out ... it obviously pays the company to pay him in the long run.
 
HR manager...

Travelling around the world to verfiy references!

I think a career change to HR would be a VERY good move!
 
Re: HR manager...

That's very odd, and a bit intrusive. I don't think I'd want to work for a company that is that mis-trusting of their employees, unless its a job like childcare or such like.

Who are the company, by the way ?
 
Re: HR manager...

Not sure if I would agree with you NoelC

Employing someone is a longterm investment. If you were to hire someone on a salary of €25K this can equate to a cost to a company of roughly €50K per year. Over five years that is an investment of over €250,000.

Before investing that type of money I would ensure I spent time making sure that I am investing my money in something that will give me a return and not rely on a 2-4 page word document and maybe two conversations.

So checking references is one way. Another way is to ensure those who are doing the interviews have been given good interview skills courses.

C
 
references

The company in question is Servie in Arklow ... sorry if I haven't spelled that correctly.

They use the theory that it is better to find the right person first and then employ them rather than invest in the wrong person.
 
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