Whether you are signing up a huge supplier, hiring an employee or thinking of making an investment, reference calls are absolutely crucial. Here's a script to get it right.

Do start a reference check call with a few minutes of small talk and make the conversation pleasant for them. No one likes to feel interrogated. Tell the reference you realize they care about the ...

Reference calls. We all have to make them. Whether you’re considering hiring a new employee. Or if you’re an investor, and you’re looking to do a background check on the founders of a company.

Learn to add sources or citations or references for books, journal, etc. in Google Docs using this step-by-step tutorial.

When Sarah Stamboulie worked in human resources at Morgan Stanley and then at Cantor Fitzgerald, she routinely checked job applicants' references. They were not always positive. "You know it's bad ...

Do set your references up for success. Give your references all the tools they need to advocate for you by sending them a ...

After you've dialed in on a shortlist of contractors—whose work you admire and budget you can live with—it's time to start checking their references.