Q&A for How to Answer Reference Check Questions

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What questions can I not ask a reference?

Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM
Life & Career Coach
Shannon O'Brien is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Whole U. (a career and life strategy consultancy based in Boston, MA). Through advising, workshops and e-learning Whole U. empowers people to pursue their life's work and live a balanced, purposeful life. Shannon has been ranked as the #1 Career Coach and #1 Life Coach in Boston, MA by Yelp reviewers. She has been featured on Boston.com, Boldfacers, and the UR Business Network. She received a Master's of Technology, Innovation, & Education from Harvard University.

Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM

Life & Career Coach

Expert Answer

Avoid asking questions about the candidate's personal life since the reference cannot give you that information.

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How does an applicant confront problems?

CageyCat

Top Answerer

Be honest, but try to be positive. Even when a candidate is deficient in work skills, there is *always* some skill or task they do very well. "Danny prefers to sort out problems on his own. He displays initiative and problem-solving skills. However, this reduces communication with his peers and supervisors, a step he's being coached on currently. Danny listens and seeks to improve his work."

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How to address: Working relationship to candidate?

Mzm555

Top Answerer

State this clearly and unambiguously. E.g. "I was John's Supervisor in the Warehousing area of Company XYZ".

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What is your professional relationship with the candidate? How long have you known this person? Have you supervised this candidate in the past?

Mzm555

Top Answerer

An example of this would be "I was Supervisor at Company XYZ, where John worked at for 3 years. I oversaw his work and gave him further training and feedback as his roles and responsibilities were increased with his growing experience in the company."

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What's the best advice on how to manage a colleague?

Indhu

Community Answer

Collaborate with your colleagues, and come up with more solutions than problems. Be supportive rather than competitive.

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