Purpose of references

References are an important tool to aid the recruitment process and can help in the following ways:

1) to verify the factual information provided by the candidate such as:

• Current job
• Salary level
• Qualifications
• Experience
• Reasons for leaving a job
• Attendance

2) to provide information on the candidate’s performance in their current position.

3) to provide peer review of candidates (in the case of references for academic staff)

Problems with references

Research has shown that references are a poor predictor of future performance of candidates.  Information provided should only be used in conjunction with the application form, the interview and ability tests to measure a candidate’s overall ability to meet the requirements of the vacant post.

References can be subjective, so to ensure that the information received is as relevant as possible, the questions asked of the referee are related directly to the criteria outlined in the job description and person specification.  Referees will be asked to direct their comments on the individual’s ability to meet these criteria.  All information provided needs to be considered with care.

The University recommends that references are taken up for the successful candidate in order to support the final selection decision. Jobs will only be offered by the Human Resources Department subject to the receipt of satisfactory references.  If the references obtained prove to be unsatisfactory, the offer of employment may be withdrawn.  However, it is very likely that reasons will have to be provided to the applicant, which might then compromise the referee.

KEY POINTS

Requesting references

• All offers of appointment are made subject to the receipt of satisfactory references. Should an unsatisfactory reference be received an offer may be withdrawn.
• Reference requests will detail the essential recruitment criteria, ie those outlined in the job description and person specification.
• A reference will always be sought from the current or most recent employer.  Personal references are rarely of any significant value but if a candidate has no previous employment, a referee from a school teacher or University tutor may be useful.

Types of reference

• Two types of reference pro forma are available ( General Reference Request Pro Forma  and Employment Reference Request Pro Forma ). They both ask for the referee for their opinion on the candidate’s suitability for the appointment in relation to the job description and person specification that will be attached. 
• The Employment Reference Request Pro Forma  will be requested from a candidate’s current or previous employer to verify salary, dates of employment, performance etc.

Non-Academic Posts

• The Human Resources Department will request references when the selection process has been completed.

Academic Posts

• The department will request references for all short listed candidates (where the candidate has given their consent for them to be requested) when they write inviting candidates to interview.
• Every effort should be made to ensure that references for all candidates are received in time to circulate to the interview panel on the day of the interview in order that all candidates are treated equally.