Over the last several blogs I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been promoting the notion that more information about a candidate for employment is always better than less. Checking only one lone reference is never good enough.
The idea behind careful reference checking is to look for consistency among the comments made by multiple references. It’s pretty tough to find consistency in the comments made by only one reference, not to mention the increased possibility that the comments from only one reference may be slanted in one direction or another.
The validity of reference checking can only come from talking to at least three references. That’s the basis upon which you compare and contrast comments made and explore inconsistencies (if there are any), and that‘s how a more informed hiring decision is made!