References may seem to be a formality sometimes, but according to research by IRS Employment Review, people who think they have landed a plum job “subject to references” may be in for a nasty shock. Six out of ten employers have changed their minds at least once as a result of receiving a bad reference.

What do employers want to know?
– 89.3% of employers using references want to know about the applicant’s absence record, closely followed by the referee’s opinion of the candidate’s performance (83.9%). The referee’s opinion of the person’s suitability for the vacancy in question (63.2%) comes as the third area of interest.
– Public sector employers are relatively more interested in gaining information from references on candidate’s absence records (96.1%) compared with 89.3% overall.
– Work history, punctuality and disciplinary record are further down the list of preferences.

Other findings
– Seven in 10 employers (70.3%) wait until a decision has been made about a candidate and offered an appointment before asking for references.
– Half (50%) public sector employers obtain references before candidate selection. In fact, almost one in five (19.2%) public sector employers conduct their reference checks before any interviews are held – in contrast to fewer than 4% of private sector employers.
– References have led to the rejection of at least three candidates during the past 12 months compared with one in 10 organisations rejecting five or more people in a quarter (25%) of employers using references.
– Manufacturers are slightly less likely to reject applicants than their private sector services counterparts or public sector employers. For example, only 4.3% of manufacturers rejected three or more candidates last year because of their references, against 34.6% of private sector services firms and 25% of the public sector.
– When recruiting for “sensitive” posts – working with children or vulnerable adults or financial services – employers are proportionately more likely to reject applicants as a result of references, compared with employers as a whole. For example, three quarters of this group rejected one or more candidates in the past year because of unsatisfactory references compared with 50% of employers who are not recruiting for sensitive posts.