From the course: Tech Career Skills: Interviewing Developers

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Reference checking

Reference checking

From the course: Tech Career Skills: Interviewing Developers

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Reference checking

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- More often than not your human resources department will be responsible for any reference checking. But occasionally in small companies I've had to do it. It's not just a chore, it can also be very hard to get candid answers. In human resources departments anyone who might be asked for a reference is coached to only answer fairly generic questions about the candidate's employment. If a marginal candidate has asked a friend or acquaintance who worked on their team to be a reference that person will often be reluctant to discuss the candidate's flaws. I do have one interesting way to deal with that problem. If I can get anyone on the phone who actually worked with the candidate I ask this question. If this person wrote the control program for an elevator would you ride in it? I've never had anyone answer no. But that's not what I'm after. I want to know how long it takes them to answer yes. The longer they take the more…

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