🎤 “Big reputation, big reputation
Ooh, you and me, we got big reputations”
Taylor Swift, End Game
15 years ago, I met one of the most successful Venture Capital investors in the valley. He was talking to me about a CEO opportunity. Of course, since I was a first-time CEO, it was a turnaround! As such, I asked him an incredibly naive question:
“Who can I call as a reference for you?”
🤦🏾 [Yes, I cringe as I type that now]
I’ll never forget his response:
📞 “Call anyone.”
I share this story because I hired a senior exec (announcing him next week!) and spent more time on references than interviewing. Indeed, I went “Nick Mehta Hyper Mode” and did 25 backchannels (with his consent). Yes, that’s nuts. But I wanted to get it right.
Some questions I use:
🙋🏼♀️ What is he/she world-class at?
🙋🏼♀️ If you rated him/her 1-10 on his time with you, with 10 being top 1%, where would he/she stand?
🙋🏼♀️ What would his/her detractors say about him/her?
🙋🏼♀️ If he/she failed at Gainsight, why would it be?
I look for consistency in the answers and between those and what the candidate told me. I also listen for pauses to infer where the reference giver is a bit less certain.
🩻 Everyone that’s worked long enough has skeletons in their closet. I sure do (in addition to too many pairs of shoes…)! The most important thing is to know the skeletons in advance.
And if you’re looking for a job, know that your potential employer is probably backchanneling folks about you.
When you are hiring, what reference check questions do you use?
Talent Manager @ Monday Talent
3moSo happy to have you❣️