How Do I Provide a Reference/Employment Verification?

Providing a reference on Zinc is easier than ever. When a candidate nominates you to provide a reference on Zinc, you’ll receive an email request from Zinc, letting you know what type of information is required from you. Using the link attached in the email, you’ll be able to submit the reference via our online form. You can also provide a reference in the email body of your email reply to us or as a PDF/DOC attachment by following the steps in our reference request email. ## What information do I need to provide? Depending on the type of reference, you will be asked to provide the following. ### Regulatory reference - Employment verification- job title, dates of employment, type of employment - Mandatory regulatory questions Please note that you’re obligated to complete the regulatory questions if your company is also in a regulated industry. The candidate’s future employer requires this information to determine the candidate’s suitability to join the new organisation. ### Professional / HR reference - Employment verification- job title, dates of employment, type of employment - Information about the candidate in the form of a questionnaire (optional) The candidate’s future employer will ask a set of questions that will give them useful insights into the candidate’s personality and working styles. ### Character reference - Detailed verification to verify how you know the candidate and for how long - Information about the candidate in the form of a questionnaire You will then answer a set of questions to give insights into the candidate’s character. ## Candidate-authorised reference requests Some referees require the candidate’s consent to provide a reference. With Zinc, all reference requests are made directly by the candidate. The reference form is digitally signed by the candidate, meaning all Zinc reference requests are candidate-authorised. ## Providing relevant details to locate candidates easily To help referees locate candidates in their system easily, the form will include relevant candidate details. ## What if I’m not the right person to provide a reference? If you’re not the right person to provide a reference, you can inform Zinc of this by declining the reference request. We’ll ask you for additional context, which we will share with the candidate and the employer. The candidate will be automatically prompted to nominate a new referee. ## I verified employment and now I only see a “Thank you” page If you complete the reference flow (including the **Verify candidate’s employment** section) and you’re redirected to a page that says **Thank you** (often followed by marketing content), this means you have completed and submitted the reference request. If you need to edit or change any details after submission, you’ll need to contact our support team so they can revert the submission for you to resubmit. ## Can I provide a reference by phone call? No — you can’t provide a reference via phone call on Zinc. To complete the request, use one of these options instead: - Click the link in the email to fill out the secure online referee form. - Provide your reference in the format requested in the email (for example, by replying with the reference in the email body or attaching a PDF/DOC). If you can’t provide a reference any other way besides a phone call, you should decline the reference request. You can do this by: 1. Open the reference request email and click **Provide reference**. 2. You will automatically be taken to Zinc. Inside of the reference request, click **Start** → **view candidate details**. 3. The next page will show the candidate's details and ask if you can confirm that the candidate worked at the company. 4. Select **No** if you cannot provide a reference. 5. You’ll be asked to provide context on why you are unable to provide a reference. You can add your phone number here if you’d like the candidate’s new employer to contact you directly. 6. Click **Submit**.