An employee background from a previous employer or job performance reference is one of the most important factors on the hiring process of certain companies and corporations. In fact, it is a powerful tool that can tell if the person is suited for the job or not. However, there are things that could influence the credibility of the reference. So, one might as well try asking for reference from the applicant’s friends and workmates. Then, the profile of the applicant or a business contact can be verified better.

Another way to tell the credibility of the reference from the previous employer is by assessing the standing of the company where the job applicant came from, and the reason why the employee left. This way, the company on which the applicant is trying to get a position can get a better judgment on the guy.

1. Some companies do have a policy of only providing dates of employment and "eligible for rehire = Y/N" to protect themselves from this type of charge. It's not particularly useful for the overall employment community, to be sure.

2. Jack Welch tells a story of someone who didn't return his calls about a reference--after a few tries, he realized "Not returning a call" was a subtle negative.

3. Read between the lines. Gushingly positive references may also be suspect, but a real "warning off" will probably sound different from a fake "we're mad he left." (Unless the candidate left them in the lurch, and if so, he probably dropped the ball on other projects, too.)

4. You can get a bit of background from reading a person's received recommendations on LI. To be more prepared, read all the recommendations the person wrote about other people.

5. Think about all the times you ask your friends for recommendations for any kind of help--carpenters and handymen, doctors, lawn services--aren't you evaluating both their words and their ability to make recommendations? Chances are, you're better at this than you think.

Hello @ritrzblok!

Having job applicants to cite references is essential so that you will be able to gather hard and qualitative data. You will be able to confirm the track record, skills and competencies plus information about the role the candidate played within the organization he/she had worked for like certain responsibilities and performances. Tangible examples will enable you to know more how the candidate manages and communicates, including his/her track record and both strengths and areas of improvement. You can also include more qualitative questions about the candidate's style, interpersonal interactions and approach to work.

If you ask for a reference list, suggest to the candidates that they will provide references from peers, direct reports, their own bosses, and other individuals outside their organizations whom they have worked closely. Once you have spoken with this broad list of people, you will be able to have a rounded view on how a candidate deals with other people at different levels in their organization including outside organization.

Source:
http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/HiringToolkit/ReferenceCheck.aspx

If it were me, I wouldn't list any reference for a job where I left on less-than-favorable terms. That being said, yes I do wonder about the credibility of references given by some job applicants. At my prior company, managers were under strict orders not to provide any specific information about previous employees if they were contacted. All they could do was confirm that the person did indeed work there. I do know, however, that in at least two cases previous managers did indeed give me great references when they were called (I'm not sure if they could get into trouble for this, but I really did appreciate the gesture).

Because of my previous company's policy, I used other business contacts as references, rather than just prior employers. They wrote letters of recommendation for me and seemed happy to provide contact information for future employers.