The Key to Receiving Honest Feedback From An Applicant’s Referees

No matter how well-designed, an application is almost always based on a series of artificial or simulated milestones.  Reference conversations provide insights into real-world scenarios.  Hiring managers should dispel the myth that it's not possible to find out areas of growth or concern from a referee.  One of the keys to eliciting constructive feedback is to contextualize this question based on the relationship between the referee and the applicant.  If the referee is a boss, you have to almost remind the referee that it’s the job of a boss to identify growth points and help mitigate them.  If the referee is a subordinate, you have to conversely allow the referee the space to critique their manager, perhaps by creating a temporary and hypothetical role reversal.  And if the referee is a peer, you have to allow that person to critique a friend, perhaps by imagining themselves in a casual but focused lunch setting in which the applicant came to them for honest advice.  Everyone has areas of growth, and it's your job as a hiring manager to do your due diligence, well before an offer is made.