History
Reference check
Structured, role-specific conversations with managers and peers, scored consistently so answers can be compared rather than just filed.
- 2–6 daystypical turnaround
- 4referee types covered
- 4signals the engine watches for
Four referee types, at a glance
We verify career history through structured interviews with managers, peers and clients. Hover a card for what it covers.
Hover, focus or tap a source to see what it covers
Not an API call — a scheduled conversation, scored the same way every time
Outreach, a callback window the referee picks, a fixed question set, and a score that can be compared across referees. Pick a referee type to watch that sequence run.
Five fields, scored against a fixed question set
Every referee answers the same structured questions. Open a field to see what the candidate declared beside what the referee actually said.
Reporting-relationship confirmation
Whether the named referee actually managed or worked alongside the candidate.
Who actually gets interviewed
Open a card to see what each referee type is asked to corroborate.
Reporting managers
The candidate's direct manager for each declared role, interviewed on tenure, designation, conduct and rehire eligibility.
Peer references
Colleagues at the same level, interviewed to corroborate day-to-day working detail a manager might not observe directly.
Client references
For client-facing or consulting roles, a named client contact interviewed on delivery quality and professionalism.
Structured questionnaires
A fixed question set and scoring scale used for every call, so answers can be compared across referees rather than just filed as notes.
From nomination to a reconciled answer set
Referees are interviewed independently, then reconciled against each other and against the candidate's own declaration.
- Minimum two referees per role that matters to the decision
- Reporting relationship declared upfront by the candidate
- Referee contact details validated before outreach begins
- Reporting relationship and tenure confirmed unprompted
- Designation, conduct and rehire eligibility asked on a fixed scale
- Non-response is followed up with a reminder before it's recorded as such
- Contact details cross-checked to rule out a candidate-controlled referee
- Contradictions between independent referees surfaced, not averaged away
- Non-response after two reminders recorded as unable to confirm, not as a pass
Touring all 3 — pick a step to hold it
A flag, and a clean pass, side by side
Not just a happy path — switch between a referee who isn't who they say they are and a referee who corroborates everything, with the evidence attached exactly as an adjudicator would see it.
A referee whose number traces back to the candidate
- Referee
- Priya Nair, Reporting Manager, mobile ending 7742
- Number registered to a SIM held by the candidate, not to Priya Nair
- Call outcome
- —
- Call answered by the candidate, using the referee's name
- Employer on record
- Confirmed via LinkedIn profile
- No independent corroboration obtained
Read the adjudicator's note
This does not by itself mean the employment history is false — it means this referee cannot be trusted as independent. The check is marked unable to confirm via this referee, and the case asks the candidate for an alternate contact rather than closing the reference as passed.
- Method
- Reverse lookup against telecom subscriber registration data, run before the reference call is placed, cross-checked against every phone number the candidate has submitted across the case.
- Source
- Telecom subscriber registration cross-check
- Captured
- 20 Mar 2026, 16:08 IST
- Retention
- Retained with the case file for 3 years, or the employer's own retention policy, whichever is longer.
A referee who confirms everything unprompted
- Referee
- Ananya Rao, Reporting Manager, mobile ending 5521
- Number registered to Ananya Rao; reporting relationship confirmed
- Tenure
- Jan 2022 – Jul 2025
- Jan 2022 – Jul 2025, confirmed independently
- Rehire eligibility
- —
- Eligible for rehire, no conditions raised
Read the adjudicator's note
The referee's account matched the candidate's declaration on every point, including details the candidate hadn't been shown in advance. The case closes as a standard pass.
- Method
- Reverse lookup against telecom subscriber registration data, followed by a structured interview covering reporting relationship, tenure and rehire eligibility.
- Source
- Reporting managers · Structured questionnaires
- Captured
- 14 Mar 2026, 11:35 IST
- Retention
- Retained with the case file for 3 years, or the employer's own retention policy, whichever is longer.
TAT by scenario
A reachable manager closes fast. What extends it is an unreachable referee, an international contact, or a senior role needing more referees.
Manager reachable, 2 referees
Manager unreachable, alternate referee needed
Referee based outside India
Leadership role, 4 referees required
Expedited, referees pre-confirmed
- Employment verificationTenure, designation and rehire eligibility, reconciled with payroll.
- Education verificationDegrees and certifications confirmed with the issuing institution.
- Identity verificationGovernment identifiers matched against documents and a selfie.
- All checksEvery verification Papertrail runs, browsable by category.
- PricingPer-check rates, volume tiers and the savings calculator.
Questions HR and TA teams actually ask
Two follow-up reminders go out over the standard window. If there's still no response, the reference is recorded as unable to confirm — not as a pass — and the candidate can be asked to nominate an alternate referee for that role.
The interview itself is designed to surface this — a genuine manager or peer can describe the working relationship, projects and reporting line unprompted, while a coached referee typically cannot. Contact details are also cross-checked against numbers the candidate has submitted elsewhere in the case.
Some employers have a policy of confirming only tenure and designation. That's recorded as a limited reference, not a discrepancy — it's common enough that the report distinguishes it from an actual refusal to comment on conduct.
A minimum of two for most roles — typically the direct manager and a peer. Senior or client-facing roles usually require four, adding a second manager or a client reference.
Each referee is interviewed independently, without seeing what the other said, so a genuine conflict is preserved rather than smoothed into an average. Conflicting accounts are surfaced to the adjudicator as-is, with both referees' answers attached.
Get started
Get references that can be compared, not just filed
The same structured question set, every referee, independently interviewed and reconciled against the candidate's own declaration.