How to Move a Candidate to Reference Check

This guide explains how to use the Reference Check stage in Workday to collect and manage candidate reference information for both external and internal applicants. It covers moving candidates to Reference Check, managing reference responses, conducting checks within or outside Workday, recording results, and proceeding to the Offer stage once reference checks are complete.

Workday

The **Reference Check** stage in Workday allows candidates to provide their reference contact information. Because candidates cannot enter references during the initial application process, moving a candidate to **Reference Check** is how departments collect this information when needed. The Reference Check stage is unique because it can be initiated at any point in the candidate process. Unlike other stages, which follow a linear progression, Reference Check runs in parallel with the candidate’s current stage. For example, in the screenshot below, the candidate is in the **Screen** stage, the first stage after applying, but you still have the option to move them to **Reference Check** at the same time. Although this parallel stage allows departments to collect reference information early in the search process, Talent Acquisition recommends moving candidates to Reference Check only when references will actually be contacted. It is not considered best practice to collect references from every applicant, particularly when most candidates will not proceed to a reference check.

A more linear approach is to move your candidate to **Reference Check** after interviews are complete and you are ready to conduct reference checks. To do so, navigate to the candidate’s profile and click the **Move Forward** button.

In the pop-up menu, select Reference Check.

As soon as you move a candidate to **Reference Check**, Workday automatically emails the candidate and asks them to log in to their candidate home to provide reference contact information. **Note:** The Reference Check experience differs slightly for **external** and **internal** candidates. The steps below outline the external candidate experience. To view the internal candidate process, skip to step 26.

If your candidate is external, meaning they are not a current CSU employee, they will receive an email from Workday containing a link to their candidate home.

Once they log in to their candidate home on the CSU Careers website, they will see a new task in their **My Tasks** inbox. They should click **Start** to begin entering their reference contact information.

On the Add Reference page, they will click "Add".

The candidate will be required to provide reference contact information for three references.

**Note:** If you selected **Yes** to the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question on the Job Requisition Additional Details questionnaire when creating the job requisition, the **Relationship Type** selected by the candidate when entering reference contact information will determine which **Reference Questionnaire** their references are asked to complete.

As soon as the candidate provides their reference contact information, a new **Manage References** task will appear in the **Primary Recruiter’s** inbox. Click the task to proceed. **Note:** If a **Search Chair** and/or **Search Committee Assistant** was assigned, they will also receive this task in their inbox.

Click this icon to expand the Manage References task window.

Within the **Manage Reference** task, several available actions will appear along with a table displaying the reference contact information provided by the candidate. **Note about the Status column:** Even if you answered **No** to the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question on the Job Requisition Additional Details questionnaire, the **Status** column will still display **Request Sent**. In this case, Workday has not actually contacted the references. The status simply defaults to **Request Sent** even though no outreach occurred. If you answered **Yes** to the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question, the Status column will update as references complete and submit their questionnaires.

The actions you take in this task depend on whether Workday is being used to conduct reference checks. 1. **If you are not using Workday to conduct reference checks**, meaning you answered **No** to the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question on the Job Requisition Additional Details questionnaire, you may simply click **Submit** on this task. You will then need to conduct reference checks outside of Workday using the contact information provided by the candidate. 2. **If you are using Workday to conduct reference checks**, meaning you answered **Yes** to the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question, no action is required on the **Manage Reference** task until all references have responded. You will know the reference checks are complete when the **Status** column updates and the available actions are removed. - If needed, you can resend the reference request email by selecting **Resend**. - If a reference is unable to submit responses, you may submit responses on their behalf by selecting **Submit References**.

If you select **Submit References**, you will be prompted to complete the questionnaire on the reference’s behalf. The questionnaire presented is based on the **Relationship Type** selected by the candidate when entering their reference contact information. Complete the questionnaire using the reference’s responses, then click **Submit** when finished.

Once you submit the reference questionnaire, the available actions will disappear from that reference row, and the **Status** column will update to **Submitted on behalf of Referee**.

If you need to update a reference, for example if an email address was entered incorrectly, click the **Edit Referee Details** button.

Make the needed updates then click "OK".

Once you have updated the referee’s contact information, for example correcting a typo in the email address, you can click **Resend** if needed.

Workday will ask you confirm Resending the link, click "OK".

If you used Workday to conduct reference checks and all responses have been received or submitted on the referee’s behalf, click **Submit** on the **Manage Reference** task.

If you used Workday to conduct reference checks and want to review the responses to the reference check questionnaire, navigate to the candidate’s job application and select the **Screening** tab.

Click "References"

Click "Reference"

Clicking the **Reference** button displays the responses to the reference check questionnaire. For Faculty searches, this is also where you can view any uploaded reference letters provided by referees. Click **Done** to close the page.

If the reference check results are satisfactory and you wish to offer the candidate the position, click the **Offer** button from their job application.

The following section highlights the Reference Check experience for internal candidates. Similar to external candidates, to move an internal candidate to Reference Check, navigate to their job application, click **Move Forward**, and then select **Reference Check**.

The internal candidate will receive a notification from Workday prompting them to log in and provide their reference contact information.

The internal candidate will see a new task in their inbox titled **Internal Reference Check Contact Information**, asking them to provide the **name, email, phone number, and relationship** for three references.

Once the reference contact information has been provided, they will click "Submit"

The **Primary Recruiter** and/or **Search Chair** or **Search Committee Assistant**, if assigned to the requisition, will now receive a task in their inbox.

The **Primary Recruiter** and/or **Search Chair or Search Committee Assistant** will receive a **Reference Check Results** questionnaire task in their inbox for the internal candidate. This task can be ignored until reference checks have been completed and you are ready to enter the results. **Important:** If the search requires letters of recommendation or reference letters, they must be collected **outside of Workday**. Workday does not contact references for internal candidates, even if **Yes** was selected for the *Do you wish to use Workday to conduct reference checks?* question on the Job Requisition Additional Details questionnaire.

To view the internal candidate’s reference contact information, navigate back to their job application, select **Questionnaire Results**, and then click the **Reference Check** tab.

Use this information to contact the referees and conduct reference checks for the internal candidate.

Once you have completed reference checks for the internal candidate and are ready to provide the results or upload a reference letter, navigate back to the candidate’s job application and click the **Reference Check Results** button.

Complete the **Reference Check Results** questionnaire for the internal candidate by entering the results of each reference check in the open text fields provided. A separate field is available for each referee. If you need to upload a reference letter instead, you may do so in the **Drop Files** area. When finished, click **Submit**.

Once the **Reference Check Results** questionnaire is submitted, the option to move the internal candidate to the **Offer** stage will appear. If you are moving forward with the candidate and wish to extend an offer, click **Offer**. If you are not moving forward, you may decline the candidate’s application.