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)?
Hi Ruth,
Big companies can have big bureaucracies and a lot of formal “procedures” to go through before making an offer. I think that two months is longer than usual, but not exceptionally long.
I hope that you are continuing with your job search, just in case.
Good luck!
Susan
Thank you for advice.
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!
Hope this has turned out well for you Thomas!
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.
Hi Isabel,
It’s hard to know what the 2nd company will do. Being one of the “final candidates” and having your references checked are positive signs, but big companies usually have a longer process than smaller companies.
I would ask company #2 what are the next steps in their hiring process. You could share with them that you have an offer pending and must decide this week, so you are interested in knowing how long they think it will take before they are ready to make an offer. They might want to call the final candidates in for another round of interviews, or they might be ready to make an offer by the end of the week. You won’t know if you will be receiving the offer from company #2, but at least you would know how much time you have to wait to find out.
Big companies usually have a long hiring process, so it’s hard to tell if the timing will be good. But, you can ask and find out.
Good luck!
Susan
This is a Wonderful discussion. I googled this same question today and found these posts. I too, am waiting to hear back from a Very large company that I interviewed for on 1/3012. I interviewed with a total of 4 people 2 at a time and was there for almost two hours so I felt that the interview went very well. When I sent a thank you email, the hiring manger actually responded and told me that I should be hearing from someone within a week or so…. All positive signs right??? Then last Tuesday one of my references called me and gave me great news that they had been called. I was asked to give 3 references and they only checked one. So I am confused… Maybe some companies only call one reference if they feel they have gotten the information that the needed? I emailed the HR recruiter and she apologized for the process taking so long and that the hiring manager has yet to make a decision. It has been 2 weeks today since I interviewed for this position that I REALLY want…. Should I be worried???
Hi Toy,
The waiting can be a real killer, can’t it? You probably can’t help but be worried. At this point, you just don’t know where you stand. Maybe the company doesn’t know where you stand either.
Because the recruiter didn’t tell you outright that you were out of the running and, if it’s been more than a week or so since you spoke with her, why not call (or email) her again and ask about the progress.
Meantime, try not to fret too much over this. Any number of things could be happening internally — none of which may have anything to do with you.
If you haven’t already read it, take a look at this Work Coach Cafe post to get an idea of what may be going on, What the Heck Goes On Behind the Scenes After a Job Interview? — http://www.workcoachcafe.com/2009/05/06/what-the-heck-goes-on-after-a-job-interview/
I hope this gives you a little comfort.
And, whatever you do, don’t quit your current job until this one is a sure thing . . . in writing.
We’re hoping you get the job!
Meg Guiseppi
Member of the WorkCoachCafe Team
I had an interview last week with a government organization and think I did fairly well. It was a panel interview with 3 people and right after the interview I was told to go see the HR Manager. When I arrived to her office I walked in and she said surprisingly, “Oh they told you to come see me?” I said “yes” and she said, “O.k. well I need you to fill out this background check information and call me when you’re done”. I filled out the background when I got home and called her the next day. The HR manager asked if I could bring it to her along w/ my transcripts from college, brith cert., social security card, and license. After doing all this she said could she call me if she had any questions and before I left the office started to process my BG check. I find out today from a few of my references received letters in the mail asking about me etc. Now, I’m wondering if they are looking to hire me or not.?…? I assume they wouldn’t be doing all this work checking on me etc. unless I was in the running atleast. it’s just difficult not knowing if you are the final candidate they are looking at or amongst many??? What do you think?
Hi Tia,
It’s unlikely that they would go through this whole process if you weren’t under consideration. It’s hard to know how many others are under the same consideration, but you’ve made it over the first hurdle.
So, congratulations on getting this far! Hope it works out for you.
Good luck!
Susan
Normally for jobs how many references do they check? If one reference gives positive response do they check all the other references?
I just had a great interview on Wednesday and they said they expect to let everyone know by today (Friday). They called 3 of my 4 references yesterday and I heard back from all 3 of them and they all said they gave me glowing reviews. I still didn’t get a job offer today nor did I get a “thanks, but no thanks” call either. I don’t get it. Would they call all 3 references if I wasn’t the one, but yet not call me today when they expected to have an answer? I’m really hoping it is all internal approval hold-ups going on right now before the offer is made, but yes, to answer your question, all of my references were extremely positive and they still called 3 different ones. I’m sure there are hiring managers out there that would be satisfied with one good reference and not bother calling the rest, but in my case they talked to 3.
Hi Lou,
Time to “chill” a bit. I think you are right to think that the cause of the delay is an internal hold up.
Employers often under-estimate how much time it will take to get the interviewing, reference checking, drug testing, etc. done. Perhaps someone’s references were not available when contacted. And, employees necessary to the hiring process can be out of the office because they are sick or can be occupied with a crisis of some sort that takes priority over hiring someone. Hard to tell what has happened.
So, if you contact them on Monday, be polite and business-like. Don’t blow your chances with a hostile attitude. If you can, wait until later in the week to contact them.
Good luck!
Susan
I just had an interview on wednesday for a new home decor store opening and it went by really great. The interviewer was laughing with and I just wasn’t trying to be funny at all. She told me they would give callbacks on wednesday the 14th to selected applicants. So they called my references a day after the interview which was the Thursday morning and all provided a good reference. Do you think that it’s a good sign that I might be getting an offer or a callback on Wednesday? Mind you there are other applicants being interviewed. What is your opinion on my scenario.
Thanks.
Kelvin, in my experience when an employer calls your references you have a pretty good chance of being hired unless they were to find out something they considered undesirable during those conversations. Despite the fact that many employers may have the urgency to hire vacant posts, the process is part of the regular ongoing business priorities so what seems like a “long time” for you may be a “race” for your prospective employer. There is no exact way to tell how much longer they will take to call you. Again, in my own case, both as an employer and an interviewee, calling references is often about validating what they already found out about you throughout the interviewing process. It is rare that an employer will have to make a final hiring decision solely based on who gets the best references out of the final candidates…best of success, keep focused and don’t loose any sleep over the things you can’t control. Don’t settle and don’t stop looking for a job until you have a written offer!
Thank you! Excellent comment!
Hi Kelvin,
Things are looking good, but no home run, yet. Asking for and calling your references is a sign that you’re a finalist. Now comes the comparison of qualifications, “fit” with the job requirements, and the all-important “chemistry” (how well you’d fit into the organization). Then, someone will make the decision.
Great comment from Hector! He absolutely nailed it regarding the process, the timing, and the importance of continuing your job search until you have a written offer in your hand.
Good luck!
Susan
Thanks for your opinions guys. Really gave me big insight on sight. I shall keep you posted
I have enjoyed reading your blog and I do have a question for you. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
Late on Friday (6:00), I received a verbal offer for a job – which I am thrilled about. I di accept the offer. A formal contract is being sent FedEx to me. Due to the late hour on Friday, the HR manager was not sure if the contract would arrive today (Monday) or Tuesday.
Hiring is based on successful completion of a background test and drug. I am not concerned about either one of these.
I have a very intense interview schedule on both Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Both are promising jobs with aggressive hiring deadlines. Do I complete the interviews or do I call the recruiters and tell them that I have verbally accepted a job and drop out of the process?
Thank you.
Hi Terry,
Well, I’m old school, and you did verbally accept an offer Friday. So, I would not feel like I could accept an offer from a different employer, although it is done all the time.
HOWEVER, you do not yet have a written job offer from this employer, so, technically, you don’t have a job offer right now. You are expecting to receive one, but you don’t have it yet. So, the employer hasn’t given you an offer. Yet.
Unless you receive that offer today – and it is exactly what you accepted Friday (or better!) – I would go ahead with the Tuesday interview schedule, just in case… And, I wouldn’t be half-hearted in my efforts on Tuesday. Forget about this pending offer, and do your best to wow them on Tuesday.
And if the offer you receive is not what you accepted Friday, I would consider myself still in the job market, and go ahead with the Thursday interviews, too.
Good luck!
Susan
So I went for that interviews last wednesday and they said they would be doing callbacks on the 14th. It is now Monday the 12th. They called my phone around 11:12 am but was asleep so I left a voicemail at around 11:50. Called back 10 mins later and they offered me a position as a store associate for the home decor store. Will be meeting with them tomorrow to bring my SIN, direct deposit and emergency contact info. Same feeling as before when they asked me to come in for an interview except now this feeling is for sure
EXCELLENT news, Kelvin! Congratulations!
Hope you love your new job!
Cheers!
Susan
Dear Sir,
An organization sent me an e-mail asking me for a telephone interview. I attended the telephone interview and then they told me that if I am successful they would call me for a second interview. They actually called me for a second interview and I went for it. At the end of the interview they asked me to give them my references and so I did. they promised me to come back to me after a week, we almost at the end of that week and they have not even called my references. Do you think I can still count with that job? The surprising thing is that the interview went so well and they shared with me information that they usually do not share in an interview, about salary scale, benefits that they offer for that position etc.
Please help analyse.
Hi Agostinho,
This sounds opportunity sounds promising for you, so I would not give up on it right now. They may well call your references next week or next month – when they can move forward on making this hire. Stay in touch with the people who are your references, and stay in touch with the employer. Check in with the employer every couple of weeks to see what is going on with this job.
ALWAYS remind them of who you are – the job your interviewed for, who interviewed you, and when those interviews happened. Then ask for the current status of the job, and what the next steps are.
The process can take SO long because, on the employer side, many other things have a higher priority than spending the time it takes to hire someone – interviews, reference checking, etc. All take time, usually extra time in addition to the regular job, and if the wrong person is hired, it can negatively impact a career or the daily job becomes more difficult or both. So, not fun and can be high risk!
Other things happen. Employers reorganize and kill all the open jobs, key employees leave, die, or get sick. Many other kinds of business crises happen, the vast majority of them having absolutely nothing to do with people under consideration for a job.
So, ALWAYS keep looking for anther opportunity. NEVER “count” on a job offer coming through for you until you hold the signed offer in your hand.
Good luck!
Susan
I HAVE A 15YRS OLD, HE GOT HIS FIRST INTERVIEW YESTERDAY, THEY ASKED THE REGULAR QUESTION IN AN INTERVIEW, THEY EXPLAINED WORKERS PERMIT, UNIFORMS AND HOURS WORKED IF HE GETS HIRED. THEY ASKED ABOUT ONE OF THE REFERENCES (WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS PERSON WILL SAY ABOUT YOU?) THEY GAVE HIM A TEST FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND AFTER THE HIRING MANAGER TOLD HIM TO GIVE HER WEEK . THAT THEY WILL CALL IF SHE GETS THE JOB AND IF THEY DON’T THEY WON’T CALL. DO YOU THINK HE HAS A CHANCE , THAT HE MIGHT BE CALLED?
Hi Mary,
It’s hard to tell if he has a chance since you don’t know how he did on the test or how much competition he has.
I would encourage your son to call next Thursday (that would be a week, right?) to ask the manager about the job.
Good luck!
Susan
My husband had a telephone interview about a month ago, after just two days he was called and arrangements were made for a second interview in person which he attended and all went well. He was asked for his references which gave, the references called to say they received calls from the company and that they gave very good references. But it’s going to be three weeks and we have not heard anything we are getting very worried because the company is a place he will really love to work. We don’t know what to expect!! I forgot to add that he called HR last week to ask if a decision has been made and they said they have not made a decision yet, but it’s another week now and no response what could be wrong?
Hi Angel,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on or IF anything is wrong. It could just be how the process works for this employer, or the job could be filled or cancelled. The fact that HR said, last week, that a decision hadn’t been made yet could indicate that the process is not a fast one for this job at this employer, right now.
On the employer side, the hiring process is a distraction for most of the people involved, except the recruiters and HR. The usual work needs to be completed plus everything associated with the hiring process – scheduling interviews, having interviews, discussing candidates, sometimes even writing reports on who was interviewed, etc. And, people get sick, go on vacation, travel on business, need to handle other more urgent (to the employer) crises, etc.
I would wait until next week to reach out to the employer again. Meanwhile, I hope your husband is continuing his job search in case this opportunity does not happen for him.
Good luck!
Susan
Just an update on my previous post, my DH just got a letter yesterday from the company saying there was no suitable candidate for the role , after all the process they took him thru. Two interview, reference checks, and the referees all said they gave him good references. My DH is devastated, this interview process took 3 months and now this. But I guess we have to be positive, his next job might just be around the corner!!
Hi Angel,
If nothing else, he has more experience in interviewing and going through the hiring process. That is good! Hopefully, some useful “learnings” resulted from the experience, so he will be more polished and confident next time. It all helps.
Yes, the next job is just “around the corner.”
Good luck!
Susan
I had my second interview for a government position last week, went very well I thought, and they requested references and I willingly provided three. They then requested one from my current manager which I then gave them, making four referees, but felt awkward given that it was not certain I was going to get the job. I’ve now found out Ive not got it and am awaiting the opportunity to receive feedback. Is it normal practice to request a reference from your current manager and then not to give the job to that person? This is going to make resuming my current job even less pleasant, and asking for future reference checks from my referees awkward. How does one come out of this situation positively? And if they were not going to give me the job, why did they contact four referees?
Good question, JLine. I’m going to ask an expert on federal job search, and share what she advises.
Very awkward position to put you in!
Good luck!
Susan
Hi,
I like to read your blog and it gave me a lot of infomation and encourgement.
Recently, I applied for a job and went to 2nd interivew last week. I did sent back the Thank You Notes to all the interviewers and a Follow up email to HR yesteraday (still haven’t receive any update yet).
The interviewer told me they will let me know this week but I still haven’t receive any call yet, should I still hold hope on this job?
Today, I saw they posted the job ad again, is that mean I failed on the interview? Please kindly advise and give some comments.
Thanks alot!
hlee
Hi hlee,
Hmmm… The job being posted could be a bad sign or it could mean nothing at all. It depends on the size of the employer and the job.
It could mean nothing in a large organization with many employees doing this job. Large organizations, if that is what this employer is, frequently have many people doing the same kind of thing, in different departments, divisions, or locations, and even different times of the day and days of the week. It all depends on how this employer is organized. Some large organizations keep postings for the same jobs up all the time because they always need new people doing those jobs.
Or, it could be a bad sign if this is a very small organization with only one person doing this specific job.
Next week, I’d get back in touch with them. Tell them your name, the job you interviewed for, and who and when you interviewed. Then, ask for the status of the job and the next steps.
Good luck!
Susan
I had an interview with an HR Director on March 7. The interview seemed to go well and it apparently did because a second interview was scheduled for March 16 with the person who seemed to have hiring authority. This is a non-profit organization. The words “When you…” were used many times. Though a tough interviewer, I thought that went well and I surprisingly received a response to my thank you e mail. When asked a time frame everyone’s answer was “yesterday”. I called the HR Director about 10 days later and she indicated that the person authorized to make decisions had been “out sick”. She indicated she would get back to me by the end of the week. That was two weeks ago. Additionally, they both said, I would hear back one way or another. Do I follow up? Do I assume they have hired someone else? They have not contacted official references though they did contact”unofficial” references.I was working when I interviewed. I am not now. I was “vaguely honest” about why I was leaving my present position which didn’t seem to bother them. I know people are quite careful when speaking about employees past or present and my former employer was not a reference. My qualifications were a match. I am a bit baffled. Any advice as to what to do next? Do I just put it aside? Write an e mail? It was pretty frustrating.
Hi Deborah,
Yes, you definitely follow up! Sometimes, believe it or not, they are waiting to see if you will contact them to determine how interested you are in the job.
You aren’t bugging them on a daily – or even a weekly – basis, so reach out again. Perhaps they have filled the job, but it is just as likely that something else is going on that has nothing to do with you.
I would call the HR director to receive an update on what is going on. After you tell her your name, give her the job title and the details on the interviews (dates and names). Then, ask her the current status of the job, and what the next steps are.
Try not to let your (justifiable) frustration show, and don’t be too humble, either.
Good luck!
Susan
Just to add-I just found this site and it has been exceedingly helpful. Thank you!
Thank you! That’s what we’re hoping for!