If youβre thinking of requesting a reference for a potential employee, youβre probably in the final stages of your hiring process β so, well done! Your finalist candidate may have provided you with a list of references or you could have done some research on your own to find former employers.
Whatever the case, itβs best to reach out to former employers with a friendly email before calling them. You will learn whatβs a convenient time to connect and give some time to the employer to remember the employee andΒ prepare their answer. This way youβll increase the chances of receiving useful information. Hereβs an email template you can customize to your needs:
Subject line:Β Could you provide a reference for [Candidate_name]?
Hello [Name],
My name is [your name] and I work for [your company name]. Weβre in the process of hiring for a [job title] and one of your former colleagues, [Candidate_name], has made the final cut.
Before we make an official offer, Iβd like some more information to ensure weβre making the right choice. Iβm reaching out to you because [Candidate_name pointed to you as a potential reference/ mentioned you were her manager for several years/ etc.] Itβd be very useful if you could tell me a bit about your overall experience working with [Candidate_name] and whether youβd recommend [him/her].
Could I call you for a brief discussion today or tomorrow? Please let me know if the number [Candidate_name] provided is accurate: [+00100000000]. If youβd rather send me information via email, feel free to do so.
Of course, our communication is confidential.
Thank you for your help,
[Your name]
[Email signature]
When requesting a reference for a new employee via phone, ask a few targeted questions to get a well-rounded view of their past work and behavior.