Are referees still important?

Good references were once a game-changer when hiring applicants, but has social media and online recommendations rendered them irrelevant?

BY Cameron Edmond 02 Sep 2013

LinkedIn endorsements, online recommendations and more fleshed-out social media profiles have become important elements of understanding a candidate and evaluating them for a position in today’s world – and all of these exist outside of the traditional resume.

Due to these developments, some employers believe referees and references are no longer relevant to recruitment. “Different social media profiles and other information that is kept up to date will provide a much richer experience than a [traditional] resume can,” Bryce Dunn, senior vice president at PageUp People, told HC.

Dunn elaborated on the activity of a candidate – such as their posts on message boards relating to the profession – being more telling of them and their skills than a resume.

However, Nick Deligiannis, managing director of Hays in Australian and New Zealand, stated that online recommendations are not a substitute for traditional references.

Recruiters and employers should still be looking at referees as the most complete and important sources of information on candidates, as they will be able to demonstrate how a candidate used their skills and experience to help benefit their previous employers.

Deligiannis believes former managers can speak with a voice and authority to recruiters about a candidate that isn’t possible through online references, due to being able to make a first-hand account of the candidate in regards to their personal attributes such as relationship building, collaboration abilities and reliability.

However, he does acknowledge the decay of a referee over time. Deligiannis said candidates may need to jog the memory of referees if a long time has passed since the candidate has searched for work. By comparison, online recommendations and references are often written close to when achievements have occurred, meaning the information is less likely to be influenced by the referee’s own memory.