Do jobs really call references? (job offer, employees, interviewed, employer)

[joe from dayton]

We do. An overall lack of response would not go in your favor.

[dnvrsoul]

My new job did...called all three and spoke to one for almost 30 minutes.

[yellowbelle]

Originally Posted by Reenale

Do prospective employers really call references? What if they can't get them on the phone would your offer be on hold until they do?

Yes and yes

[statisticsnerd]

It depends on the employer. My first professional job out of college didn't check references or even request my college transcripts.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Reenale

Do prospective employers really call references? What if they can't get them on the phone would your offer be on hold until they do?

Depends on the role and how much time they want to invest in candidates. It's a risk assessment: don't do the checks, odds of a bad apple hire "might" be higher. I say "might" because references can be gamed, too.

The big company I now work for did what I'd arbitrarily call a medium-deep reference / background check. They verified: all employment past five years, degrees and certifications, called my references (or emailed with questions). Credit and criminal check, too.

That did occur once an offer was made, however, which seems to be normal these days: start date/hire contingent on passing the background check. That would only make sense, to keep costs under control

I believe if you want progressively more-serious security clearances, they'll dig that much deeper. Never wanted or needed to do that, personally.

That process does cost money, per candidate, so again depends on how much risk and exposure they're willing to live with.

I've been hired a few times with zero checks, too. Professional roles.

[frightened turtle]

I've had a propensity towards less than lengthy employment records, so I've had my fair share of application filling. With the jobs/apartments I HAVE gotten, the reference has ALWAYS been called. However, with jobs I haven't gotten, my references haven't heard a peep. Most likely being the fact that the previous employer wasn't too keen on my exit, for one reason or another....which I might add, is increasingly difficult to find work anymore as I've "grown up". But I suppose that is another story.

[MPowering1]

We call all references for people we are planning on hiring. If we reach out to one of them and cannot get a return call, we ask for a replacement reference.

[rzzz]

None of the places I've worked ever checked anyone's references.

[Boosane]

I guess the ultimate answer is some do and some don't.

[texdav]

We did and we delayed until given referencse where able to be contacted. It could keep a applicant in limbo unless we asked for another in certain positions.