From the Investigator's Point of View--Good and Bad Work References

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The other day while working on a fairly standard Background Investigation for a long standing client, I began making the reference calls necessary to complete the investigation. I was baffled when one of the references said he’d never heard of the subject of the investigation, and the other reference said, “Yeah. I know him. But between you and me? He’s bad news.”

What?

I was floored. It’s not like I picked these references to call. Like any references, they were provided by the subject himself, and it completely knocked me over that he would list references who would a) speak ill of him, or b) not know him at all. Who does that?

More people than you think.

There is, in fact, a method to the madness of providing excellent references, and it involves more than just listing buddies or the first person that comes to mind at your last job. Below are three quick tips to picking your professional references, and ways to avoid being caught in an embarrassing situation.

Take your time, do it right

You know how it is. You’re nervous and a little crunched for time as you sit in the reception area filling out a preliminary employment application. You reach the section that asks you for references, but this is the last minute, so you hastily decide on your references and possibly even just list your friends. Bad idea.  Instead, sit down ahead of time and really consider who you will use as your professional references—across the board. Think about your former jobs, and the work you liked doing most. Now, who are the people who saw or benefitted from this work the most? Big plus if they were a supervisor. Bigger plus if they were a repeatedly satisfied outside client. Big minus if they didn’t actually ever work with you in any capacity, and are just ready and willing friends looking to help you out.

So, are we cool?

Simple enough.  Whenever you are thinking of listing a professional reference, send an email to that person and make sure it’s okay with them and that they will provide a good reference. Not only does this ensure that this person remembers working with you, but it alerts this person that a reference check call will be coming their way. When they know it’s coming, they are more likely to be prepared to give a clear and concise reference, rather than be responding from a place of surprise, which can read to a person checking references as hesitation to speak well of you, rather than just being caught off guard. So avoid it altogether. Email ahead of time.

The best of friends, the worst of references

I get it. It does make some sense. You want someone to provide the best possible reference for you, so you’re going to pick the person you were best buddies with at your last job, right? Wrong. When people try to list their best work pals to act as references, any seasoned reference checker (whether it’s a private investigator or HR professional) can smell something rotten in the State of Denmark almost immediately. These references will usually GUSH about you, and ramble on and on about how you are the most innovative and important thing to hit American business since electricity.  Instead, select people who were supervisors, regular clients, or people in other departments who you dealt with on a regular basis that can vouch for your credibility and proficiency without getting all verklempt.

Dana Rossi is an Investigative Analyst at MSA Investigations