Informal Job Offer retracted due to poor referree reports

[SMess]

An informal job offer has been made to an applicant pending results of referee reports. 3 referees have been approached and based on negative responses (pointing to inflated job skills on resume, conflict with colleagues, poor time mgt), we do not wish to proceed with a formal offer.

What is best way to provide feedback to applicant.

Thanks
SMess

[Moz]

Oh dear, I don't envy you this task, but if an informal offer has been made then I believe you should let the candidate know ASAP that they haven't got the job.

It's really not wise, or fair to make in informal offer when the recruitment process has not been completed. It puts you in a much more difficult position than you would have been if an informal offer had not been made. Obviously a "sorry but you were unsuccessful" won't suffice

You're just going to have to tell the candidate (verbally) that the reference checks were unsatisfactory. But be prepared for them to ask for more details, which you may be obliged to provide.

Were the referees you contacted nominated by the candidate?

[SMess]

Yes we only spoke to the referees nominated by the applicant. We asked for written (due to overseas) and followed up with a phone to confirm.

[Tiger]

Totally second Moz on this one. You never ever make any kind of job offer until all parts of your recruitment process have been completed, assessed and informed decision made on the combined results and that includes completed reference checks. If just one part of your process looks iffy, you don't make the offer.

It can be incredibly embarrassing, in particular if the candidate thought he had the job and resigned from his current job!

Training your line managers in this critical aspect is essential as I have found they are usually the ones who make this error and when it goes belly up, expect HR to save the day.

It is a big concern that this candidate must have thought his referees would at least speak favourably about him. Another issue for him is that overseas referees are not subject to the same employment ethics as those in Australia. We now have to be incredibly careful what we say in a reference check. So you should consider yourself fortunate that the overseas contacts spoke quite openly and saved you from a bad hire.

But to your initial question, yes, you obviously have to be upfront about why he didn't get the job but be careful how you inform him as you don't want him claiming discrimination or the like. Stick to the facts ie focus on his skill levels against what you need in the job ie point out the gaps. I would also inform the candidate that in Australia, we take these checks seriously and he should ensure his CV is an accurate reflection of his skills ie you are trying to give him some free advice to assist in his future job hunt.
Good Luck
Tiger