So someone reached out for a reference check call on a potential hire and asked, "Don't you think she is too emotional for a leadership role?"
My response:
1/ If you have had seen her nail some of those high value enterprise sales deals and seen her manage the territory the way she was.. all while handling her twin toddlers meltdown - you wouldn't be asking me this question
2/ Clearly, you don't know what to look for, hire for and when
Post that made a call to the candidate in question - Do not take the job. They already have made an opinion about you. If they question your emotional strength today, they'll question your decisiveness tomorrow and undermine your credibility the day after.
If for some reason you do take the job, know that you'll be working in an environment that undervalues emotional intelligence and resilience - qualities that make you uniquely you.
I am so damn tired with shitty reference check questions - so here’s a request - For any one doing reference check - Ask better questions please!
It was so simple - who does the reference check is equally important as who is the reference checker talking to, and what is being asked, when. But I guess we would rather ask 5 generic question and label the potential hire - a good, average or bad hire.
And don't even get me started on who should do the reference check - Recruiter, HR or Hiring Manager.