MY new position asked for six references two of which had to be supervisors. That’s my whole department. Unfortunately, I’ve been at my job long enough that one of my supervisors had actually passed away so I had trouble with meeting the two supervisor requirement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I have worked at 5 independent schools. None of them called any of my references, ever.

This is appalling. And it’s how things like this happen.

http://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-private-school-teacher-arrested-accused-of-sex-crime

Did you read the article? If anything, it supports the point that references don’t matter as the school did do reference and background checks that didn’t reveal anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I have worked at 5 independent schools. None of them called any of my references, ever.

This is appalling. And it’s how things like this happen.

http://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-private-school-teacher-arrested-accused-of-sex-crime

I am at an independent school and they called five references, so that’s not an across-the-board thing. In fact, these are such small ecosystems they’re often really careful not to bring in someone toxic to the culture.

Agree. Our independent school does not hire without reference checks and schools tend to be more forthcoming than companies that just confirm employment dates. We don’t like to pass on problems.

My company does background checks but doesn’t check references (other than maybe verifying current salary?).

Small company I work for now doesn’t do checks. Owner doesn’t care what past peo0le have to say and wants to see how you work out on his own. We don’t have a high turnover rate at all. I can only think of two people in the last 6 years who were let go before or at their 90 day mark. Both were fresh grads who couldn’t hack it yet and weren’t really ready for their first jobs.

Anonymous wrote:I talked about this with my boss, he isn't a huge believer in reference checking. It can be time intensive and speaking for myself, I've got rock solid references, but that's not indicative that I really don't get along with a number of my coworkers at the present time.

If people are smart, and they have solid references, it's not always the best measuring stick.

Or they have friends that pose at their reference. My HR compares your resume to your LinkedIn, then asks our digital marketing specialist to check social sites if things look off.

Is it an entry level job?
Such as retail - folding clothes from the changing room, assisting customers, etc (no money handling, no access to computers, no need for security badge, etc.)?

I talked about this with my boss, he isn't a huge believer in reference checking. It can be time intensive and speaking for myself, I've got rock solid references, but that's not indicative that I really don't get along with a number of my coworkers at the present time.

If people are smart, and they have solid references, it's not always the best measuring stick.

It's happened to me before. They may have checked my background but definitely did not call any references. Marketing position at a big 4.

The only time the no references thing ever happened to me, it's because I'd been referred to the job by someone I knew well and who was very respected at the company hiring me. Basically, they had already heard good things about me from someone whose word was gold at that company and that was good enough for them.

I've never not gone through a background check but it's always been after the offer was agreed to.