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Comment by BrandoElFollito | Hacker News Reader

> References are contacted and feedback is confirmed positive

The references idea is really weird (we do not practically have this in France). Has there even been a refence who was not in awe about the demi-god-genius-philanthropist that they are asked about?

The only one time i was asked for references, I send the contacts to good friends asking them not to do too much theater. Surprise! they came back positive.

I got one true, unexpected reference, when my university was asked about my PhD (confirmation of title only) and they came back with really nice words (again, nobody was asking for a reference, just a confirmation of tilte - bt they added it anyway and it was genuine (and yes, I knew the person who spontaneously wrote it :))

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> Has there even been a refence who was not in awe about the demi-god-genius-philanthropist that they are asked about?

I’ve only checked maybe 50-100 developer references over the years, but I can think of at least 3 that sunk the candidate outright and many more that were lukewarm. Enthusiastic references were uncommon and stood out.

> Enthusiastic references were uncommon and stood out.

I that case I honestly do not understand how that system works. The applicant provided references they could expect not to be enthusiastic?

If you've only had 1 or 2 previous jobs it's not a given you can get an enthusiastic reference. Some workplaces are just miserable all around, and some previous bosses may say they'd be happy to give a reference when they're still bitter the employee left or they had some personal grudge.

Sure, this is why the one time I needed recommendations I just pointed to friends. They explained how wonderful I am.

This was a specific situation though: an American company doing business in France and not aware of the specificities here: you are not allowed to contact previous employers (except to confirm start and end date of a previous job), and plenty of other things you are not allowed to.

They had to check a mark so whatever they got they were happy with.

Normally, in my experience as an individual contributor, the references aren’t even contacted. I have had one place contact my references and it is the place I’m starting work in 2 weeks :)

My current employer had an interesting twist on this: they contacted my references, but not to get the actual references (they'd already decided to hire me), but to find out what sorts of things they could do to help me do my best work.

Previously, I'd agree it's pretty hit and miss, and mostly miss.

Yeah I think this is because for managers in particular a lot of it is reputation based. The higher you go, the further you are from the day to day work, and the more rock solid your faith has to be in your directs.

> The references idea is really weird (we do not practically have this in France). Has there even been a refence who was not in awe about the demi-god-genius-philanthropist that they are asked about?

It happens; I gave a negative reference to someone who had lied substantially about their role with the company.

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