Sample Executive Reference Reports

Sample Executive Reference Report #1 – Neutral Tone

Confidential Executive Reference Report

Reference Subject:	Jim Smith
Position Held:	V.P., Sales & Marketing
Dates of Employment:	3/6/97 – 5/1/98

Reference Checked

Mr. Cliff Jones
President & CEO
USA, Inc.

Allison & Taylor Internal Information

Date Completed:	7/24/98	Title Confirmed?	Yes
Consultant:	Tiffany	Dates of Employment Confirmed?	Yes
		Salary Confirmed?	See Below

Performance Evaluation Questionnaire

Oral Communications:	NC	Financial Skills:	NC
Written Communications:	NC	Technical Skills:	NC
Interpersonal Relations:	NC	Productivity:	NC
Employee Relations:	NC	Decision Making:	NC
Leadership:	NC	Crisis Management:	NC
Short Term Planning:	NC	Personal Integrity:	NC
Long Term Planning:	NC	Overall Performance:	NC
Managerial Skills:	NC

Key:

1=Inadequate
2=Poor
3=Satisfactory
4=Good
5=Outstanding
NC=No Comment
SB=See Below
NP=Not Applicable

Interview / Correspondence

Are you able to enthusiastically recommend this person?
“I’d rather not comment. It’s our company policy not to comment on performance or make recommendations on former employees.”

Is this person eligible for re-hire within your organization?
“I wouldn’t think so, no.”

Could you fully describe the circumstances and reason for the separation?
“Technically, it was a mutual agreement.”

Could you describe any strengths and / or weaknesses of this individual?
“Again, I’d really rather not comment. According to our agreement I can only confirm the basics.”

Would you describe this individual’s ability to attract, build, and mentor a team?
“He was responsible for hiring and managing his sales team.”

Could you suggest anyone else that I should speak to regarding this individual?
“I think you should call Brian Peterson. He’s our VP of HR. You can also talk to our Corporate Counsel.”

Additional Notes and Comments

After leaving several messages for Mr. Jones (7 in all), I was finally able to make contact with him after office hours. Please note that at no time did Mr. Jones return my calls. Upon explaining the reason for my call, Mr. Jones agreed to speak with me. His tone was professional although he sounded surprised that I was able to reach him. As Mr. Jones’ comments alluded to possible litigation or at least an agreement of some type, I asked Mr. Jones if that were the case. Mr. Jones responded: “I am not at liberty to comment. Please speak with our attorney, Fred Brown.”

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Sample Executive Reference Report #2 – Negative Tone

Confidential Executive Reference Report

Reference Subject:	Jim Smith
Position Held:	V.P., Sales & Marketing
Dates of Employment:	3/6/97 – 5/1/98

Reference Checked:

Mr. Cliff Jones
President & CEO
USA, Inc.

Allison & Taylor Internal Information

Date Completed:	7/24/98	Title Confirmed?	Yes
Consultant:	Tiffany	Dates of Emp. Confirmed?	Yes
		Salary Confirmed?	Yes

Performance Evaluation Questionnaire

Oral Communications:	4	Financial Skills:	3
Written Communications:	4	Technical Skills:	4
Interpersonal Relations:	3	Productivity:	3
Employee Relations:	3	Decision Making:	3
Leadership:	4	Crisis Management:	3
Short Term Planning:	3	Personal Integrity:	4
Long Term Planning:	NP	Overall Performance:	3
Managerial Skills:	3

Key:

1=Inadequate
2=Poor
3=Satisfactory
4=Good
5=Outstanding
NC=No Comment
SB=See Below
NP=Not Applicable

Interview / Correspondence

Are you able to enthusiastically recommend this person?
“It would depend on the position.” “I would not recommend him for a start-up situation or a turn-around, but for a stable company then yes.”

Is this person eligible for re-hire within your organization?
“No. I don’t think so.”

Could you fully describe the circumstances and reason for the separation?
“It was a mutual decision. It just wasn’t a good fit.”

Could you describe any strengths and / or weaknesses of this individual?
“He knows sales and marketing, but he just doesn’t have any experience in a start-up. It was too much for him. We should have brought in someone with more experience.”

Would you describe this individual’s ability to attract, build, and mentor a team?
“He built his team from scratch but they just didn’t get us on target. He needed to hire people with start-up experience. I think we all learned something from this experience.”

Could you suggest anyone else that I should speak to regarding this individual?
“In addition to reporting to me, he did work with Mike Roberts quite a bit. Jim is our COO.”

Additional Notes and Comments

After leaving three messages for Mr. Jones, he was finally able to take my next call. Upon explaining the reason for my call, Mr. Jones agreed to speak with me. His tone was very professional. In addition to the above noted statements, Mr. Jones said: “I should point out that Jim came to us highly recommended. He’s had an excellent track record. This was a start-up situation and we’ve had some problems. It’s not entirely Jim’s fault that sales have not met expectations. I still respect Jim’s abilities but he doesn’t have the experience to handle a start-up role.”

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Sample Executive Reference Report #3 – Positive Tone

Confidential Executive Reference Report

Reference Subject:	Jim Smith
Position Held:	V.P., Sales & Marketing
Dates of Employment:	3/6/97 – 5/1/98

Reference Checked:

Mr. Cliff Jones
President & CEO
USA, Inc.

Allison & Taylor Internal Information

Date Completed:	7/24/98	Title Confirmed?	Yes
Consultant:	Tiffany	Dates of Emp. Confirmed?	Yes
		Salary Confirmed?	See Below

Performance Evaluation Questionnaire

Oral Communications:	5	Financial Skills:	5
Written Communications:	5	Technical Skills:	5
Interpersonal Relations:	5	Productivity:	5+
Employee Relations:	5	Decision Making:	5+
Leadership:	5	Crisis Management:	5
Short Term Planning:	5	Personal Integrity:	5+
Long Term Planning:	5	Overall Performance:	5
Managerial Skills:	5

Key:

1=Inadequate
2=Poor
3=Satisfactory
4=Good
5=Outstanding
NC=No Comment
SB=See Below
NP=Not Applicable

Interview / Correspondence

Are you able to enthusiastically recommend this person?
“Yes, absolutely. Jim did an outstanding job for us and would be an asset to any organization.”

Is this person eligible for re-hire within your organization?
“If I could bring him back I would.”

Could you fully describe the circumstances and reason for the separation?
“He needs a new challenge. Jim came here when we were in trouble and saved us.”

Could you describe any strengths and / or weaknesses of this individual?
“He’s just a sales and marketing machine. He did a great job identifying new channels for us, building strategic alliances, and increasing sales. I can’t really think of any weaknesses. He is truly talented.”

Would you describe this individual’s ability to attract, build, and mentor a team?
“Jim is a team builder. He virtually created our sales team from scratch. I’m serious when I say that he turned this company around.”

Could you suggest anyone else that I should speak to regarding this individual?
“You can talk to anyone you want but they’ll all tell you what a great job he did.”

Additional Notes and Comments

After leaving just one message, Mr. Jones returned my call the same day. Upon explaining the reason for my call, Mr. Jones immediately starting commenting on Mr. Smith’s positive impact on the organization. Mr. Jones stated, “Jim is the consummate professional. His performance here was simply outstanding. We are really going to miss him.” When asked to confirm Mr. Smith’s salary, Mr. Jones did but then stated, “He is the kind of guy who is motivated by a performance-based situation. He earned every penny we gave him.”