Latest / Hiring & Firing with Fexingo: Recruitment, Performance, and Workforce Decisions / How a Reference Check Found Resume Fraud
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to walk through a hiring mistake that almost happened at a company called VantageMed — a mid-size health-tech firm in Boston. They had a candidate who looked perfect on paper: Ivy League MBA, five years at a major pharma company. Luna: Sounds like a dream hire. What tipped them off? Lucas: It was the reference check — but not the kind most companies do. They didn't just verify employment dates and job titles. They asked a specific behavioral question to each reference. Luna: What question? Lucas: They asked: 'Tell me about a time this candidate handled a situation where they were under intense pressure and made an ethical decision.' One of the references — a former colleague — hesitated, then admitted the candidate had been let go for falsifying a report. That opened the floodgates. Luna: Wow — so the reference didn't just confirm dates. They revealed a pattern. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the core of what we're talking about today: most companies do lazy reference checks. They call, tick the box, and move on. But a structured reference check — with behavior-based questions — can catch resume fabrication, exaggerations, and even cultural mismatches before you invest months of onboarding. Luna: I've definitely been on the receiving end of those lazy checks. 'Yes, they worked here. Yes, they left in good standing.' That tells you nothing. Lucas: Right. And in this case, VantageMed saved an estimated four hundred thousand dollars in potential litigation, severance, and wasted training costs. They would have hired someone with a fabricated MBA and a history of dishonesty. Lucas: If this kind of insight has been useful for your own hiring decisions, you know these conversations stay ad-free because of listeners who chip in. You can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Even a small contribution keeps the episodes coming without ads. Luna: Yeah, it's a great way to help us keep digging into stories like this one. And honestly, the reference check angle is something I think a lot of people overlook. Lucas: Absolutely. So back to VantageMed — they turned this near-miss into a policy change. They introduced a three-question reference protocol that all hiring managers had to follow. And in a six-month pilot, they saw a twenty percent reduction in first-year turnover. Luna: Twenty percent? That's huge. What were the other two questions? Lucas: The second was: 'What is one piece of feedback this candidate consistently received in performance reviews?' And the third: 'Would you work for this person? Why or why not?' Simple, but they force references to give qualitative data. Luna: The 'would you work for them' question is genius. It reveals leadership style and likability. Lucas: Exactly. And in the VantageMed case, if they had asked the first question about ethical behavior earlier, they might have caught the red flag before the final round. But they only added the behavioral question because a junior recruiter insisted on it after reading a study. Luna: That recruiter probably saved the company a fortune. So the lesson is: don't skip the reference check, and don't make it a formality. Lucas: Right. I'd add: design your questions around the competencies that matter most. For VantageMed, it was integrity and team collaboration. For a sales role, you might ask about handling rejection or closing deals under pressure. Luna: And make sure you speak to at least two references — ideally one former manager and one peer. That gives you a fuller picture. Lucas: Good point. In fact, the VantageMed pilot found that when they spoke to both a manager and a peer, the predictive validity of the reference check jumped by thirty percent. The peer reference was often more candid about daily behavior. Luna: That makes sense. Managers want to protect the company, peers are more likely to share honest feedback. Lucas: One more thing: after the near-miss, VantageMed also started asking candidates to provide a reference from a direct report if they had managed people. That turned out to be a gold mine for spotting toxic leadership patterns. Luna: I can imagine. Someone who micromanages or takes credit will show up in that reference. It's a great filter. Lucas: So the next time you're hiring, don't treat the reference check as a checkbox. It's a high-leverage tool for avoiding a costly mistake. And if you've ever had a bad hire that slipped past references, you know exactly what I mean. Luna: Any advice on how to handle a reference who clams up or just says 'meets expectations'? Lucas: Yes — ask open-ended follow-ups. 'What strengths did they bring? What areas did they develop?' Silence or vague answers can be a red flag. Also, if a reference is too glowing, press on weaknesses. Everyone has them. Luna: Great tips. I'm definitely going to revamp my reference check process after this. Lucas: That's the goal. Most companies spend hours on interviews and minutes on references. Flip that ratio and you'll make better hires.