Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
Introduction | p. 1 |
A Major Problem | p. 2 |
Why a Special Book on Reference Checking? | p. 3 |
Frequent Questions | p. 3 |
Part I Dishonesty--A Major Business and Social Problem |
1 An Overall Look | p. 9 |
The Problem | p. 9 |
Job Market Distortion | p. 11 |
The Bottom Line | p. 12 |
2 Initial Steps | p. 14 |
Identify Problem Candidates | p. 15 |
Check Their Education History | p. 17 |
Watch for Gaps in Their Career History | p. 22 |
The "X" Factor | p. 22 |
The Honesty/Competency Matrix | p. 24 |
Management's View of Employment | p. 26 |
Don't Be Fooled | p. 27 |
3 Screening Options | p. 30 |
Additional Screening Methods | p. 31 |
Avoiding the Problem Altogether | p. 33 |
4 The Candidate's Advantage | p. 35 |
Career Counseling and Outplacement | p. 35 |
Resume-Preparation Services | p. 36 |
Job-Hunting Books, Tapes, and Computer Programs | p. 37 |
Search Firms and Employment Agencies | p. 38 |
Appearances May Be Misleading | p. 39 |
Inflated Salaries | p. 42 |
Part I Summary | p. 43 |
Part II The Legalities and Confusion Surrounding Employment |
5 The Real Problem in Employment | p. 47 |
The Lawyers' Perspective | p. 48 |
Let's Correct the Problem | p. 49 |
Why Check an Applicant's Background? | p. 50 |
Does It Really Happen? | p. 51 |
Authorization and Release | p. 52 |
The Cost of Running Scared | p. 53 |
6 Who Is Actually Running Human Resources? | p. 56 |
The Law and Good Business | p. 56 |
A New Direction | p. 57 |
Getting and Giving References | p. 58 |
Negligent Hiring | p. 60 |
Negligent References | p. 62 |
Simplified Guidelines | p. 63 |
7 Legal and Illegal Questions | p. 69 |
Preventing Employment Discrimination | p. 70 |
Interview Small Talk | p. 72 |
The Interview | p. 73 |
Areas Always to Avoid | p. 73 |
Part II Summary | p. 76 |
Part III Honesty--The Best Policy |
8 The Application and Interview | p. 81 |
The Interview Itself | p. 93 |
Identifying References | p. 94 |
Two Principles to Ponder | p. 95 |
The Interview in Perspective | p. 99 |
Interviewing Questions | p. 102 |
9 Spotting Liars | p. 111 |
Aggressive Listening | p. 112 |
Keeping the Applicant Honest | p. 115 |
How Honest Are You? | p. 116 |
10 Speeding Up Reference Checking | p. 119 |
Collaboration with Mutual Gain | p. 120 |
It Really Works | p. 121 |
The Overall Advantages | p. 123 |
Advice for the Job Candidate | p. 124 |
Part III Summary | p. 127 |
Part IV Searching Public Records |
11 Why Public Records Searches Are Necessary | p. 131 |
Criminal Records Checks | p. 132 |
Workers Compensation Records | p. 134 |
Credit Reports | p. 135 |
Educational Attainment | p. 135 |
Driving Records | p. 136 |
Licensing Boards | p. 138 |
Screening Directory | p. 138 |
Understanding the Fair Credit Reporting Act | p. 141 |
12 Spotting Criminals and Troublemakers | p. 144 |
How the System Fails Us | p. 145 |
The Identity Problem | p. 147 |
Employment Eligibility Verification | p. 147 |
Illegal Immigrants | p. 148 |
Social Security Numbers | p. 149 |
Contacting Police Authorities | p. 150 |
Part IV Summary | p. 152 |
Part V Techniques That Work |
13 Effective Reference Checking | p. 155 |
Types of Checking | p. 155 |
The Benefits of Reference Checking | p. 157 |
Exchanging Information | p. 159 |
The Real World | p. 162 |
Why Give References? | p. 164 |
14 Reference-Checking Techniques | p. 166 |
Initial Contact | p. 166 |
Uncooperative References | p. 171 |
The Voice's Body Language | p. 173 |
Make It Enjoyable | p. 174 |
Returning Your Calls | p. 175 |
Nobody's Talking | p. 177 |
Letters of Recommendation | p. 179 |
When You Discover Something Bad | p. 180 |
Networking References | p. 181 |
"Don't Call My Employer" | p. 182 |
A Personal View | p. 184 |
Personal References | p. 185 |
Telephone Tips | p. 186 |
References by Mail, by Telephone, or in Person | p. 187 |
15 Reference Checklists and Questions | p. 189 |
Conducting the Reference Check | p. 190 |
Peeling the Onion | p. 200 |
Some Good Tips | p. 208 |
16 Handling the Rejected Applicant | p. 209 |
Before the Decision | p. 209 |
After the Decision | p. 210 |
Notification Methods | p. 212 |
Part V Summary | p. 214 |
Part VI Creativity--The Key to Success |
17 Improving Performance in Your Organization | p. 217 |
Reference Checking Pays Off! | p. 218 |
Applied Creativity | p. 221 |
Networking | p. 222 |
Outsource Screening Tasks | p. 224 |
18 Companywide Hiring Standards | p. 226 |
Advice to Human Resources Professionals | p. 227 |
In Conclusion | p. 227 |
Appendix A Process Summary and Sample Telephone Script | p. 233 |
Appendix B National Credit-Reporting Agencies | p. 243 |
Index | p. 245 |
About the Authors | p. 255 |