Bursts of Color - Check Those References
References are a critical ingredient in any hiring or investment process.
When I motivate myself to check references thoroughly, I tend to learn more from these third parties than from my own interviews.
By contrast, when I get lazy and wait until I'm already excited about a candidate, my reference checks are cursory and far less useful... because at that point, I’m no longer listening carefully.
Three Flavors of Reference Check
For big decisions like exec hiring or investments, I suggest using all three of these, and typically in this order:
Back Channel - Informal commentary from your friends and mutual connections
Front Channel - The candidate's close colleagues who have agreed to serve as formal references
Background Checks - Official checks of employment, education and/or criminal records
Back Channel
I like to start as early in the process as possible... particularly if I have a close connection who may know the person. Here’s an example of a recent text I sent:
Hey there. I’m looking at this deck from Jane Doe at NewCo. Looks like she overlapped with you at Company X. Any thoughts for me?
The goal of this approach is to be very open ended, so that my contact feels empowered to say as much or little here as they want. Even something passing like this is helpful: “Didn’t know her well but nice in the hallway and strong reputation. Can find others for you to talk to.”
Front Channel
These references are chosen by the candidate and usually quite positive... but I still often learn a ton. As with the back channel, I try to start with an open-ended approach and see where that leads. Here's a recent example email I sent:
John,
As you may have heard from Jane, I am a VC considering an investment in Jane's company NewCo. Since I only recently met NewCo, and am fortunate to be choosing between several exciting startups, I would highly value any other signal that's available.
If Jane is one of the most tenacious people you've worked with before, will you give me a call or send along any background color that might help us?
Thanks for your consideration,
Geoff
650.555.5555
By mentioning the competition, my goal is to make the referrer feel comfortable being honest (since they are not the last step in a yes/no process), while also creating a sense of urgency if they really do think the candidate is amazing.
Background Checks
These are simple, fast and inexpensive nowadays with services like Checkr. Bigger companies perform them to confirm that new employees are who they say they are, and to minimize any knowable bad surprises later. Many startups skip this step until something goes wrong. I'd suggest just adding this step now.
Note that there can be occasional bad data - e.g., wrong employment dates that will need to be double checked. So I do not consider these background checks binary yes/no kinds of things, but rather one more signal that helps you "trust but verify" who you are working with.
Just Do It… For Yourself
Since references are as important as interviews, I highly recommend that the decision maker handles these conversations personally, rather than handing them off to an assistant or recruiter. The nuances can help us get to yes or no. And more importantly, they help us build better insight into this person we're hoping to work closely with in the years ahead.
Related Reading
Hiring, Managing, Promoting, and Firing Executives (Marc Andreesen, 2007)
If You’re Never Done the Job Before, How Do You Hire Somebody Good (Ben Horowitz, 2010)
Interview Less, Smile More (Me, 2019)