Far too many companies in crypto don’t include reference checking as part of their hiring process. They are important and you should always always collect references.

At the minimum references checks go towards verifying someone’s work history and that they are who they say they are.

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When can you get references?

Whenever you want! It’s not practical to ask every person applying to supply references before you interview them but you can ask for them as the process moves forward. You must ask the applicant for references and should never take “unofficial references” without consent.

….Why not?

A candidate’s job search is confidential. It might not be common knowledge that the person is looking for a job. Even if the person you ask isn’t working with them now they might tell someone. There are many documented cases of someone losing their job or being passed up for a promotion because someone heard they had an interview elsewhere.

If you were confidentially looking for a job you would not appreciate people doing this. Don't do it! If you know someone they used to work with or have a connection in common you would like to reach out to then ask for permission first.

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How should you ask for references?

You can ask for official references like this:

Hi {insert-first-name},

As part of our process we collect 2 formal references from people you have worked with. Ideally we would like one of these to be someone you reported in to. Please can you share details so we can reach out?

Note - you should check local laws to make sure you ask for references in a compliant way.

You can ask for specific references - for example maybe you want one from their previous manager or someone at a specific company. However you should keep in mind that the exact references you want might not be possible. References from their current job, for example, are hard to secure if they haven;t yet informed the company they are leaving.

When collecting references you should always try and get them sent from official company email addresses to make sure they are genuine.

For the most part, references are a formality and by the time you take them you have already decided you would quite like the person to join your team. Watching out for red flags at this stage is important but you should also avoid reading too much into “cold” references. People are busy and often confirmation of their position and tenure is all you will get.