Scientific Hiring: Day 7 - Bonus Lesson

Uncovering the Truth in Candidate References

Welcome to Scientific Hiring - Day 7

Ready to hear what others say about your top picks?

Yesterday, I taught you how to build and execute a candidate audition or “test drive” to see if your candidates can truly meet your standards.

Did you create your audition?

If your top pick passed your audition—it’s time to call their references.

Reference Checks

Reference calls can significantly reduce your mis-hires by 20 - 50%.

But here’s the kicker.

References should not convince you to hire someone, but instead—validate your conclusions and provide insight on how to optimize their performance.

Think about it...

You’ve already decided to hire them.
You’ve interviewed them, asked questions to predict success, and put them through an audition.
You don’t need anyone to sell you on them.

Instead, you want to learn from their past managers who know their strengths and weaknesses.

This helps you understand how to accelerate their learning curve to get them immersed in their new role as quickly as possible.

Consequently, if you learn your candidate is not as strong as you thought, you have the opportunity to reassess your decision to hire them.

This is why references are so valuable.

Reference checks ensure you hire the right people, set them up for success, and avoid mis-hires.

Reference calling is an art and I’ve devoted an entire module to it in the Scientific Hiring Academy, which is a masterclass in hiring.

Today's lesson covers a few key points from that module.

Meaningful questions to ask a candidate's references:

1.) “What did you like best about him, and how well would you say he treated his peers?

2.) “The role we have planned for Julie requires leadership and creativity. How well would you rate her in those areas from excellent to poor?”

Questions like these provide you with valuable insights into the candidate's interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and ability to think creatively.

They help you understand how the candidate performed in previous roles and how they might fit into your team.

Isn't that what you really want to know about your top pick?

Here's my five best reference calling tips:

Make calling references easier: Ask the candidate to arrange their references to call you.

Never delegate reference checking to anyone, but yourself.

If you’re unable to speak with any references, it’s best to pass on the candidate.

Inform candidates the first time you meet them that if they’re considered for the role, you’ll ask for references.

Limit calls to 20-minutes or less and be hyper-focused with your questions.

Learn from my mistakes:

I once screwed-up and skipped reference calls because we were on a tight deadline, and I trusted my gut feeling about a candidate.

They seemed perfect on paper and gave a great interview and I didn't want to lose them, so I rushed the decision and hired them without a reference check.

Once they started, I soon realized they lacked critical skills and had serious teamwork issues.

This caused significant disruptions and delays—all of which could have been caught with a simple reference check.

Since then, I’ve learned the importance of thorough reference checks and never skipped them again.

Reference checks are a pain, but they ensure you hire the right people so you avoid costly mistakes.

Now it’s your turn.

Draft your reference check script and tailor it to match the specific requirements and expectations of the role.

Create questions that will provide insights into the candidate's skills, work ethic, teamwork abilities, and any other key attributes critical to the position.

Only then can you make a well-informed hiring decision.

By the end of today, create at least five reference questions you feel would help you gain valuable insights from a candidate’s past manager.

Want my three favorite reference questions?

Reply to the email that brought you here and put “reference” in the subject line and I’ll send them to you.

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up and I’ll show you how to make your top pick an offer they can’t refuse.

How to apply the 80/20 rule to this lesson:

The 80/20 rule shows that focusing on the most critical 20% of actions delivers 80% of your results.

In hiring, this means prioritizing thorough reference checks.

By asking meaningful questions and having direct conversations with references, you can greatly reduce the risk of a bad hire and make more informed decisions.

In short, a small, focused effort on reference checks can prevent most hiring mistakes.

By crafting just a few targeted questions, you gain valuable insights that lead to better hires with minimal effort.

When you're ready, there's three ways I can help you:

1. The Scientific Hiring Academy: If you find this short series on Scientific Hiring helpful but want help to quickly implement everything you've learned, then try the Academy. It's designed with the power of the Socratic Interview Method and the precision of Scientific Hiring to ensure you make informed data-driven decisions and only hire A-Players.

The Academy doesn’t just guide you—it transforms how you and your team approach hiring, whether you’re building from scratch or refining your current practices.

2. Book a 1:1 call with me to discover how you can apply scientific hiring methods to your business.

3. If you frequently hire for the same role, ask me about customized training to ensure all your hiring managers are aligned with your hiring standards and procedures.

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