Monday's Opening Thought: June 13, 2022

This week’s opening thought, for recruiters and HR folx who handle in-house recruiting for an organization: Why are you still asking candidates for a list of references? Did you not get enough of a vibe of how a candidate can impact your workplace from the questions you asked during the interviews? Are you uncomfortable with trusting your intuition or unpacking and addressing your biases? Do you not trust what candidates share with you? Why are you still asking candidates if you can contact their current employer for a reference? Why are you insisting that candidates submit only manager/supervisor references? Why are you asking candidates for references if you’re going to do a background check?

Take a minute and mull over those questions. Then check yourself because you’re likely trying to justify your actions.

The truth is, reference checks are confirmation bias incarnate. You’re not getting anything from a candidate’s references that you wouldn’t get from the answers to well-crafted human-centered interview questions, conversations with candidates, and background checks. All you’re seeking is “confirmation” of your biases.

You’re wasting time and you’re doing harm.

You’re adding more hurdles for marginalized folx and people of color to overcome just to gain employment opportunities and career advancement.

Do you ever stop to think that a lot of folx, especially marginalized folx, Black and Brown folx, and people of color, could face retaliation or unemployment if their current employer finds out they’re looking for a new job? Or how many of us have worked for toxic employers that wouldn’t think twice about giving us a negative reference if you call them?

Of course, you don’t. You don’t wanna rock the boat of that white supremacist patriarchal workplace ideology, do you?

Recruiters gon’ recruit.