Reference checks: All that you need to know

A RECENT court case has cast a spotlight on the mysterious reference check that people are aware of but don't know much about.

In a fight reminiscent of David and Goliath, an insurance agent took his former employer, corporate giant AXA, to court after a bad reference dashed his hopes of joining a new company - and won.

Despite evidence that Ramesh Krishnan was one of AXA's best-compensated financial services advisers and earlier persuaded not to resign, the company wrote a questionable reference on his performance that led to Prudential's decision not to hire him. It also slammed shut many doors in the industry to him.

In the end, the court ruled that AXA had breached its d…