Reference Check Questions

A reference check is a structured conversation with someone who has managed or worked closely with a candidate, held after the interviews and before the offer is final. Done well, it confirms what the résumé claims, tests what the interviews suggested, and surfaces the one thing the candidate would not have said. Done as most are, it is a ten-minute call in which a former manager confirms dates and says the person was great, because that is what they were asked and because saying anything else feels risky.

The builder below assembles a script from twenty-five questions grouped by what they reveal, with the candidate's name and the role's key demand written in. The rest of the page explains the groups, the questions that must not be asked, why referees say so little and how to get more, and how to handle the calls that come to you about your own former employees.

Reference check script builder

The six groups and what each reveals

• Verification confirms the facts. Dates, title, reporting line, and the rehire question. "Eligible for rehire" is the question most likely to get an honest answer from a cautious referee, because it is a policy fact rather than an opinion, and "not eligible" is a signal worth pursuing.
• Performance asks for specifics. "Best work" and "work that did not go well" produce stories, and stories are checkable against the interview. A referee who cannot name a piece of work either did not manage the person closely or is choosing not to say.
• Working style asks how the person operates: feedback, deadlines, direction, difference. "What kind of manager gets the best out of them" is the question that produces the most useful answer of the call, because it invites the referee to be helpful rather than judgmental.
• Role fit tells the referee what the job is and asks whether they have seen the person do it. It is the group most often skipped and the one that converts a general reference into a specific prediction.
• Reliability and conduct asks directly about attendance, honesty and discipline. Referees will rarely volunteer these; asked plainly, most will answer plainly, if only with a pause.
• Closing gives the referee the last word and the option to call back. "Anything I should have asked" is where the unprompted disclosure happens, after the referee has decided you are fair.

Use the same script for every candidate for the role, in the same order. Consistency is what makes the answers comparable, and it is also what makes the process defensible if a rejected candidate asks why. Two references per finalist, at least one a direct manager, is the usual standard. References from peers and direct reports add a dimension the manager cannot, and for leadership roles are worth the extra calls.

Questions the law does not allow

The same rules that govern interviews govern reference calls, because information obtained from a referee is information the employer then possesses. Do not ask about, and stop the referee if they start on: age, race, religion, national origin, disability or health, pregnancy or family plans, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, workers' compensation claims, or union activity. A referee who says "she was off a lot with her health" has given you something you cannot use and cannot unknow; note that the referee raised it, note that you did not pursue it, and move on.

Salary history is banned in about twenty states, and the bans in several of them expressly cover asking a previous employer. Our pay transparency page lists them. The safe rule is not to ask anywhere. Criminal history questions are restricted by fair chance laws in many states and cities, which usually require the question to wait until after a conditional offer and to be followed by an individualised assessment; a reference call before the offer is the wrong place.

Two process rules also apply. If a third party runs the check, it is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, with the disclosure, authorisation and adverse action steps that entails. And the candidate should know the check is happening; asking for references and calling them is consent enough in most states, but calling a current employer without express permission is not, and can cost the candidate their job.

Why referees say so little, and how to get more

Most companies tell managers to confirm dates and title and nothing else, out of fear of a defamation claim from the former employee or a negligent referral claim from the new employer. The fear is out of proportion to the risk. Truthful, good-faith statements about job performance are protected by qualified privilege in every state and by specific immunity statutes in more than thirty (Maine's Maine Title 26, section 598 is typical: immunity unless bad faith is shown by clear and convincing evidence). Defamation claims over references are rare and mostly fail. The state reference laws summary sets out the state-by-state picture. Still, the policy exists, and the referee you are calling is probably under it.

• Ask the candidate to warm the referee up. A referee who has been told to expect the call and to speak freely usually will.
• Ask for specifics, not ratings. "Rate their reliability out of ten" gets a nine from everyone. "Tell me about a deadline they were going to miss" gets a story.
• Use the pause. A referee who hesitates before "yes, I would rehire them" has answered. Ask what they were thinking about.
• Ask about the job, not the person. Referees who will not judge the candidate will happily describe the work and how it went, which is the same information.
• Go beyond the list. With the candidate's knowledge, a former colleague found through a shared connection often speaks more freely than the two names the candidate supplied. Do not do it covertly and do not contact a current employer.
• Write it down during the call. Notes made afterwards are reconstructions. The script's note lines are there to be filled in as the referee speaks.

When the call comes to you

Every employer is also a referee. A written reference policy, applied to everyone, is what keeps the calls consistent. The common structure has three tiers: HR confirms dates, title and eligibility for rehire to anyone; managers may give a substantive reference with the former employee's consent and HR's knowledge; nobody gives a reference "off the record". The policy sits alongside the employment verification tiers, which cover the lender and landlord requests that arrive by the same route.

Where a manager does give a substantive reference, the rules are the ones above in reverse: truthful, job-related, specific, consistent with the personnel file, and silent on protected characteristics and protected activity. A glowing reference for someone dismissed for cause is a problem in both directions, and a negative reference for someone who complained of harassment before leaving is retaliation. Separation agreements sometimes fix the reference in advance; where one does, follow it. Our offboarding checklist puts the decision on who may respond at the point of departure, which is when it is easiest to make.

Key takeaways

• Structure the call in six groups: verification, performance, working style, role fit, reliability and conduct, closing. Use the same script for every candidate for the role.
• The rehire question and the 'work that did not go well' question get the most honest answers; 'what kind of manager gets the best out of them' gets the most useful.
• Never ask about protected characteristics, health, salary history in ban states, or criminal history before a conditional offer. If the referee raises them, note it and move on.
• Referees say little because of company policy, not because of legal risk. Specific questions about the work, and the candidate warming the referee up, get past it.
• Third-party checks are FCRA consumer reports. Never contact a current employer without the candidate's express permission.
• Have a written reference policy for your own former employees: what HR confirms, when managers may speak, and never off the record.