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Language Foundation

Reference check

A reference check is a late-stage hiring check in which an employer contacts a job candidate’s previous employers or other named referees to verify information about the candidate’s work history, performance, and suitability for the job.

In plain English

Near the end of hiring, the employer reaches out to the candidate’s previous employers or other named referees. The purpose is to confirm information about the candidate’s work history, performance, and suitability for the job.

In context

Here, "reference check" names the hiring stage where the employer contacts the candidate’s previous employers or other named referees to verify information about the candidate.

Situation
Applying for jobs, reading vacancy labels, and following recruitment status
What it communicates
names the step where the employer checks references.

Meaning limits

The term by itself does not say what the employer will conclude from those contacts or what the outcome will be.

Examples

“After the final interview, the company began a reference check by calling her former supervisor and two listed referees.”

Core meaning

“The offer remained on hold while the reference check was under way with his previous employers.”

In context

  • pre-employment screening Broader Term

    A reference check is one kind of pre-employment screening in hiring.

  • background check Broader Term

    A reference check can be treated as a type of background check focused on information from referees.