Ask the headhunter

E.K. asks:

As the managing director of an American high-tech company, I’ve been struggling for some time to find the right person for a sales management vacancy in the EMEA region. Recently, I thought I’d found the ideal candidate. He had twenty years of sales experience in our specialist industry and a large international network. He scored well in all respects: technical interest, social qualities and the ambition to build something beautiful at our company. After extensive interview sessions – in which he spoke to all key people within our organization – we offered him a contract. We quickly agreed on the terms. The only adjustment he demanded was that he got a permanent appointment instead of a one-year contract.

It’s our standard procedure to check references. We also did that in this case. Not that I have any doubts about his abilities, but more backgrounds about his personality from professional practice can help me get him up to speed better and faster. Strangely enough, he saw little point in a reference check. He pointed to his recommendations on Linkedin, stating that this should be enough. His colleagues from more than ten years ago might not remember enough of him and his current coworkers aren’t allowed to provide references due to company policy. I’m not comfortable with this, but I don’t want to lose him as a future sales director. What can I do to get more background information about him?