I have worked in candidate evaluations for a top finance company as well as some smaller companies and non-profits.
On references
On listing them:
My recommendation to the OP and others is to not list or send your references on your resume unless it is specifically asked for upfront, and despite you suggesting that all employers ask for them, I disagree… Most companies, if they ask for references, will do so only after an initial interview. The benefit of this is that you can inform your references ahead of time that you are interviewing with a specific company for a specific position. As someone who has been a reference for several friends and colleagues, it’s always great to have this heads up.
On calling them:
At my current firm I would say I call references around 50% of the time. We don’t really have strict criteria and I would say its more at the hiring managers discretion but below are a few scenario’s where its more or less likely that we call a reference.
More Likely to call: Short tenure at previous positions, applicants who apply via web (vs. referral or recruiter), applicants for managerial or high business risk positions, applicants who make claims that we want to validate.
Less Likely to call: highly technical workers who can demonstrate that aptitude in an interview, kids right out of school, referral’s or candidates from trusted recruiters, people who come off as very open and honest (it’s a managers bias opinion)
On whether or not its rational:
I am a big proponent of holistic hiring and grading an applicant on the full package. I want as much data and info on a person when making a hiring decision, even/especially if that data paints the candidate in a negative light. Nobody is perfect, which is why we still love to ask the question “what is your biggest weakness.” At the end of the day I have a picture of my candidate that tells me his/her experience (1-10), his/her aptitude for learning (1-10), his/her culture fit (1-10), and additional measurements based on the position. Any company that doesn’t strive for learning as much as possible about their employees is doing it wrong / irrationally in my opinion. People are the most important part of any company and the consequences of hiring wrong can be catastrophic.
I have worked in candidate evaluations for a top finance company as well as some smaller companies and non-profits.
On references
On listing them: My recommendation to the OP and others is to not list or send your references on your resume unless it is specifically asked for upfront, and despite you suggesting that all employers ask for them, I disagree… Most companies, if they ask for references, will do so only after an initial interview. The benefit of this is that you can inform your references ahead of time that you are interviewing with a specific company for a specific position. As someone who has been a reference for several friends and colleagues, it’s always great to have this heads up.
On calling them: At my current firm I would say I call references around 50% of the time. We don’t really have strict criteria and I would say its more at the hiring managers discretion but below are a few scenario’s where its more or less likely that we call a reference.
More Likely to call: Short tenure at previous positions, applicants who apply via web (vs. referral or recruiter), applicants for managerial or high business risk positions, applicants who make claims that we want to validate.
Less Likely to call: highly technical workers who can demonstrate that aptitude in an interview, kids right out of school, referral’s or candidates from trusted recruiters, people who come off as very open and honest (it’s a managers bias opinion)
On whether or not its rational: I am a big proponent of holistic hiring and grading an applicant on the full package. I want as much data and info on a person when making a hiring decision, even/especially if that data paints the candidate in a negative light. Nobody is perfect, which is why we still love to ask the question “what is your biggest weakness.” At the end of the day I have a picture of my candidate that tells me his/her experience (1-10), his/her aptitude for learning (1-10), his/her culture fit (1-10), and additional measurements based on the position. Any company that doesn’t strive for learning as much as possible about their employees is doing it wrong / irrationally in my opinion. People are the most important part of any company and the consequences of hiring wrong can be catastrophic.