Does it mean you got the job? Not necessarily.
Does it mean you are the only one they are considering? No. Although you might be.
Does it mean they are close to making an offer? Maybe.
So what exactly does it mean?
First let me explain where I got the idea for this post. I was checking my stats (don’t we all) and saw that someone got to my blog using a search engine and the words “What does it mean if a job is checking your references”. Basically, all you can know for sure is that it means they are interested in you.
Usually, when a company starts checking your references, if the references are good, you will get an offer. But there are times when they have more than one candidate and are using the references to decide…and you might not be their final choice. Or they may not like what they hear from the references. Or they may not get enough information to resolve any doubts they have and decide to continue advertising and/or interviewing without turning you down yet. Or they may even get glowing reviews and still wind up going with someone else for any of countless reasons.
But in general…if they are checking your references and your references are good, it probably means you will be getting an offer soon.
If you are in this situation whoever you are out there my fine Googler friend, I hope this answers your question. And I hope you get the job.
Good luck!
~ Ronnie Ann
following up: I called HR and informed them I was confused and bummed about the email. I was told the email was a mistake and I was being considered for the job, they just had to check my references. They called my references on Monday… I will keep you posted.
Ruth, Good news
Well, I am still waiting. After steadily following up with phone calls and emails, I am unsure of what to do. When I spoke with HR I asked if I could have a time frame of when they will have more info for me; it’s been two weeks after HR said they would get back to me within two days. I am reassured that I am still a strong candidate for the job, but they are working on the budget and figuring out a start date for the position. I don’t mind waiting for the job, but is this waiting time normal for large companies (more than two months since the second interview)?
Thank you for advice.
Great to see so many getting offers.
Great yo see do many getting offers.
Ok, so I googled too to find out. My son just graduated college and sent out 100′s of resumes. He had a phone interview a few weeks. A week or so after the interview, they had him do a written test online.
Yesterday, he found out that the company called his references. So what did the mom do, googled and found this site.
Today, he gets an email from the person that phone interviewed him.
She stated in her email that his references checked out ‘GREAT’. She is just waiting from some paperwork from corporate and she will be in touch. I guess she needs approval in order to make an offer. I am hoping this is the case.
Any thoughts on what the outcome might be? Do you think he is getting the job?
Thanks for your help.
Laura
It sounds very promising, Laura! I hope it comes through both of you.
If at all possible, encourage him to continue looking for a job, just in case…
Keep us posted!
Fingers crossed!
Susan
Thanks so much for the reply. Well, he received a phone call yesterday and they made him an offer.
He has until Tuesday to give an answer. He loves the opportunity and really wants the position. The only thing is they would need him there in 2 weeks. This is a big cross country move. He needs to find someone to take over his present lease. He needs to find a place to live…He needs to move his belongings.. This wills be way stressful. Do you think he should go back to them and reexplain this, ask for a possible extension or will it jeopardize his employment.
Thanks again,
Laura
Excellent Laura! Now he has some decisions to make and some work to do, fast!
So much depends on how badly they want him, what happened during the interview process, and how unyielding their schedule is. If they have training that starts in two weeks, he’s probably out of luck in his efforts to get more time. If they don’t, he may be lucky.
Are they expecting that he will be able to start in two weeks? Was that discussed during the interview? If he agreed then, he’s definitely stuck.
If they didn’t make the start date clear during the interview process, he probably has some room to negotiate – probably! Most organizations understand that they don’t always get what they want, when it comes to starting dates, and they expect that there will be some “start-up” details to figure out, particularly with a cross-country move. Assuming that they want him badly enough to be flexible. He’ll find out how badly they want him now.
My recommendation is that he takes the time between now and Tuesday to develop a plan for making this move happen as quickly as possible. How much can he get done in two weeks? Who else can help?
Not necessarily a show-stopper for either side of this equation, but it will be educational!
Good luck!
Susan
Well, I have been told that they would like to offer me a position!
This is fantastic news, because I thought I was being a bit ambitious going for this job in the first place.
I just need to wait for an ‘integrity screening’ to come back. They said it takes about a week, and here we are pushing two weeks and I haven’t heard anything. I need to try and not read too much into it, as their has been a public holiday and a weekend in those two weeks, and it is early in the new year so a few offices may not be running at full strength yet – and would they have offfered me the job if there was a significant chance that I would not pass the integrity screening! They have asked when I would like to start (pending on the integrity screening not uncovering any issues that would preclude me from doing the job) so that they can get payroll up and running, so there are a lot of things indicating that their is no expectation that their will be a problem. I just wish I knew 100% what the integrity screening parameters are. I’ve passed police checks, WWC checks (that’s ‘working with children’ checks, not ‘world wrestling championship’ checks!) and have my ochre card. I’ve been working as a minister of religion for the past 10 years, so I can’t reasonably conceive of any screening that would be harsher or more subjective than ones that I have already passed.
Maybe I’ll hear something today.
… if not today, maybe Monday.
… if not Monday, maybe Tuesday!
The hardest thing is not disengaging too early from the current position. I think it would be very hard to re-engage if for whatever reason I fail the integrity screening! That would be a hard thing to deal with indeed.
So very smart, Neil, to postpone the “disengaging” until you have a written offer (that you like) in your hand!
I remember my last job in the corporate world, when layoffs were happening all around me, and very stupid decisions were being made. Then, against all the recommendations from people “in the field” with the customers, one day senior management decided to raise prices on our top customers. Eh? Business is tanking, so let’s scare away our biggest revenue sources! AARGH! Something went “click” in my head that day – and I disengaged without noticing it had happened. In the 18 months until I finally left, I went from being a “1 performer” (top) to being a 3 (middle). Good thing I left before I hit 5 (bottom) because I think I was probably headed there…
Hope you hear good news soon!
Good luck!
Susan
“You are a very strong candidate and I request permission to contact your 1st Referee.”
I got this message on thursday. I know that one of my referees got a form through, so now I am just playing the waiting game
It is quite frustrating lol.
The awkward thing is that I would have to move. If I find out by Tuesday then I can give a month’s notice on my house, if I find out afterwards then I would have to commit to another month after that!
Hi, I was offered by a big company and the HR pushed me to say yes. I said that I had to think about it and will give them the answer next week. Meanwhile, another big company (my preferred working place) is currently checking my references. They claim that I am one of their final candidates. Do you think the latter one will offer me soon? I don’t want to turn the first one down if the second one is not promising.