There is this game that I like to play called “Who am I?”
A name of a famous person will be written on a piece of paper & taped to my back. Then I will get to ask 10 ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions only to the audience to gather information in order to guess who is the famous person’s name stuck to my back.
The trick to win is we need to ask the right question so we can gather the right information. Is the person alive? Is the person a male? Is the person famous for his acting?
Now, there was this time I received a call from a recruiter who was conducting a ref check for a senior leader they have just hired to lead their sales & operations team. That is quite a big role especially the company listed in Fortune 500.
But I was quite taken aback with the recruiter’s questions. She asked, “Can you verify his last position in his company? “Did he get along with this colleagues well? Was he punctual at work?”
What is this?!?!?! Was he punctual at work?! That is important to know for a senior leader role? Heh. (Though he is one punctual person)
The more appropriate questions for me should have been, “Do you think he was a good leader to his team? What do you think about his business acumen? How would you describe his relationship with his customers?”
For the trick to a winning ref check is to ask the right questions so we can gather the critical information to decide on the hiring.
Bimbo
