In Karen Alphonse’s four-part article series, she addresses the various aspects of hiring and recruiting in the higher levels of the nonprofit sector. In her third part of the series, “References: How to Get Great Input, Part Three” she addresses the best way to effectively and ethically check a candidate’s references. First, the name of the game is professionalism. The hirer’s questions about a candidate must center on the candidate’s professional persona, rather than aspects of their personal life, as questions on religion, sexuality, political stances, or other private matters could entangle an organization in a mess of liability issues. The focus should be on the strengths, performance, and demonstrated capabilities of a candidate. These subjects should be explored and discussed with as much detail and specificity as possible, so that the hirer may know specifically how the candidate will perform in the potential new role and whether the role is right for them. It is possible, the writer suggests, that these findings might demonstrate that a candidate would be a more effective Chief Executive Officer than Executive Director, and digging for the specifics of the candidate’s professional history will reveal this difference.

The article also has advice on how hirers should interact with their candidates in light of the information gained from the references. If a reference turns out to be a detractor for the candidate, an employer is not obligated to inform the candidate that a trusted reference has been speaking badly about them. Instead, an employer may suggest that the candidate update their reference list, and let the candidate decide which references are most likely beneficial.

Alphonse, Karen. ‘References: How to Get Great Input, Part 3’. Mission Connected Blog. 27 April 2017. Web. 23 January 2012.

Read more about how ExecSearches can assist your organization with reference checking your next executive.

Last updated on January 5th, 2018 at 02:15 pm