A reference check tests what the CV and the interviews have suggested, and for a senior hire it usually covers scale, results, decisions and leadership. This note uses Singapore's rules on personal data and fair employment; other countries have their own data laws, which are not covered here.
Who to ask for a reference on a senior hire
The most useful referees are people who saw the candidate work from different angles, not only the former boss, and four groups tend to fit.
Superiors show how the candidate handled targets, budgets and accountability, and for a senior hire that may include the chief executive or a board member. Board members can speak to governance, judgement and how the candidate dealt with the board.
Peers show how the candidate worked across functions and handled competing priorities, while people who reported to the candidate show how they led, delegated, set standards and treated people. Their view often differs from the one above, and the gap is usually informative.
Three referees is a common minimum, with at least one from each direction where possible. People who worked with the candidate in the last five years carry the most weight, particularly from the most recent role.
On-list and off-list references
On-list references are people the candidate names, and off-list references are people found independently whom the candidate did not name.
On-list references are easier to arrange and the candidate has prepared them, so they tend to be favourable. Off-list references give a wider picture but carry more risk, because the candidate may not have told their employer that they are looking, and a call to a current colleague can break that confidence.
A sensible order is to take on-list references first, with names across all four groups. Anyone at the current employer is best approached only once the candidate has agreed, and off-list references usually follow the same agreement and come from past employers or past colleagues.
Do you need the candidate's consent in Singapore?
Not under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), where the collection is for an evaluative purpose, though telling the candidate and asking is still usual. The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) says organisations may collect, use and disclose personal data without consent where this is necessary for evaluative purposes.
The PDPA defines an evaluative purpose in section 2(1). It includes determining a person's suitability, eligibility or qualifications for employment, and the PDPC's guidelines give an example: obtaining a reference from a prospective employee's former employer to decide suitability.
Three limits apply. First, the exception covers what is necessary for the evaluation, so only what bears on the role is collected. Second, the PDPC notes that an exception under the PDPA does not affect duties under other laws or contracts, such as a referee's duty of confidence to their employer. Third, the PDPC says opinion data kept solely for an evaluative purpose need not be given to the person on an access request.
Even so, asking is common practice. A candidate who has agreed will tell referees to expect the call, and referees often speak more freely. Consent is usually taken in writing, along with a record of which referees may be contacted and when. Outside Singapore, it is the local data law that governs.
Ten questions for a referee
Open questions about facts and behaviour, with requests for examples, tend to work best, and these ten suit senior roles.
1. How did you work with the candidate, for how long, and in what roles? This sets the referee's basis for knowing.
2. What was the size of the team, budget and operation the candidate was responsible for? Numbers such as headcount, sites and revenue are worth having.
3. Which results did the candidate own, and how were they measured? The target and what was delivered both matter.
4. What part of that result was the candidate's own work, and what came from the team or the market?
5. Describe a difficult decision the candidate made with incomplete information. What happened?
6. Describe a decision that went wrong. How did the candidate respond?
7. How did people who reported to the candidate describe working for them? Whom did they develop, and where are those people now?
8. How did the candidate behave under pressure, for example in a safety incident, a dispute or a missed target?
9. What conditions help this person do their best work, and what do they need from a boss or a board?
10. Would you work with them again, and in what role? Is there anything I should have asked and did not?
How do you verify qualifications and employment dates?
Against documents and the source, not against the CV, since a reference call is not a substitute.
For employment, checks usually rest on appointment letters, relieving or service letters and recent payslips or tax records, or on confirmation from the former employer's human resources team. That covers job title, start and end dates and the reason for leaving, along with any gaps and overlaps.
For qualifications, the usual route is the certificates plus confirmation from the institution or an accredited verification service, including that the institution is recognised and the degree and dates match. Professional licences can be checked in the registry of the licensing body.
The candidate's written agreement is normally obtained for these checks. The PDPA's evaluative purpose covers determining qualifications, but telling the candidate keeps the process open and avoids surprises.
Questions that fall outside the job
Anything that is not about the candidate's ability to do the job sits outside what fair employment practice supports. Singapore's Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices ask employers to select on merit, such as skills, experience and ability to perform the job.
TAFEP, the body that administers the guidelines, lists information employers should not ask applicants to give. It includes age, gender, race, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, such as whether a person is pregnant or has children, and disability. It also lists photographs, national service liability and mental health condition.
The same rule applies to referees. Whether the candidate plans to marry or have children, how old the person is, what their religion is, whether they have a health condition or how the family would cope with a move are all out of bounds. If a referee volunteers such information, it is not recorded or used, and the conversation goes back to the work.
Where a job truly needs health or age information, for example because of a legal requirement for the role, the reason is stated and the question goes to the candidate directly. This note describes the guidelines as published by TAFEP, and their current legal status is worth confirming with MOM or TAFEP.
How should you record and weigh what references say?
Notes are best written on the same day, in the referee's words where possible, with facts kept apart from opinions.
Useful records include who the referee is, their relationship to the candidate, the dates they worked together and whether the candidate named them. Using the same questions for each candidate in the search makes the answers comparable.
A reference carries weight according to how close the referee was to the work, how recent it was and how relevant to the role. A referee who saw the candidate lead a similar operation counts for more than a friendly senior who did not.
Patterns across referees matter more than any single remark. One negative comment is a reason for a follow-up question or a second source, not a verdict, and a reference that is warm but gives no examples tells you little. A refusal or a very short reply is best treated as neutral, since many employers limit references by policy.
Findings are normally shared only with those who decide the hire, kept only as long as the decision needs and stored securely. Where a referee's view conflicts with what the candidate said in interview, it is fair to put it to the candidate and let them answer.
Questions clients and candidates ask
Can I contact a candidate's current employer without telling them?
Not in practice without the candidate's agreement. The PDPA may allow it for an evaluative purpose, but a call can expose a confidential job move, so it usually waits until the candidate agrees, often after an offer in principle.
How many references do I need for a senior hire?
Three is a common minimum, with at least one superior, one peer and one person who reported to the candidate. A board member is often added where the role reports to a board.
Do I need written consent for reference checks in Singapore?
The PDPA does not require consent for an evaluative purpose such as this. Written consent is still common practice, and it tends to make referees more willing to speak.
What if a referee gives a negative view?
It usually calls for specific examples and dates, and a check with another referee. The point is then put to the candidate, and their reply is weighed before a decision.
Sources
To discuss a search, write to teamsg@maxima.com.sg.
We assess every candidate on experience and ability alone. We follow Singapore’s Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Consideration Framework, and we already work to the standard of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025. We never charge candidates a fee. How we hire fairly