How to check references: a step-by-step guide for employers
A complete reference check process for hiring managers and HR teams, from the candidate’s consent to the decision, with what to ask, what to write down and what to keep.
7 min read
Reference check guides, questions and templates
Practical reference check guides for HR teams, hiring managers and search committees: questions to ask, consent, templates, red flags and choosing software.
Start here
One complete guide for each kind of hiring. Each walks the process in order and links to the questions, templates and checks it relies on.
Search committee reference checks: a practical guide
How to run the reference stage of a search: when to check, the candidate’s consent, who to contact, what to ask and how to bring the answers to the committee in a form it can use.
6 min read
Questions and templates
What to ask references, by role, and the forms and emails to ask it with.
Reference check questions: what to ask, with examples
Reference check questions to ask any reference, by competency, with follow-up prompts, closing questions, what to leave out and question banks by role.
7 min read
Reference check form template you can copy
A free reference check form template: candidate consent and references, a reference questionnaire, a rating scale and a scoring sheet to copy and adapt.
6 min read
Faculty reference check questions, by competency
Faculty reference check questions grouped by teaching, research, service and leadership, with a rating scale, closing questions and what to leave out.
6 min read
Reference check email templates for campus hiring
Six reference request emails for search committees and campus HR: the candidate request, the first ask, two reminders, the thank-you and a status note.
6 min read
Reference check questions by role
Question sets written for 36 roles, each with who to ask, questions by competency, warning signs and the checks a reference does not replace. The general question bank covers any role.
Home care and support
Clinical and healthcare
Front-line and service
Professional, education and leadership
Running reference checks
Consent, timing, who to contact and how to keep references answering on schedule.
Caregiver reference checks for home care agencies
How home care agencies check caregiver references: who to ask, questions on reliability and client safety, state reference rules and how to move fast.
5 min read
How long does a reference check take?
How long a reference check takes, what slows it down, a realistic timeline from consent to answers, and what to do when a reference does not respond.
5 min read
How to speed up hiring in higher education
Where campus searches lose time and how to win it back without cutting corners: approvals, committee scheduling, references and the path to an offer.
4 min read
When to check references in a faculty search
Long list, before the campus visit or finalists only? The tradeoffs of each timing for a faculty search, with a sample timeline and what to tell candidates.
4 min read
Phone vs. online reference checks for campus hiring
Phone calls or online forms for reference checks? A practical comparison for campus HR and search committees, and how to use both in one search.
5 min read
Reading the answers
Scoring answers, weighing what references say and telling a warning sign from a policy.
Reference check red flags, and what is not one
The reference check red flags worth following up, the signals that only look like warnings, and how to check a concern fairly before it decides a hire.
5 min read
How to spot a fake reference before you hire
How to spot a fake reference: the warning signs, how to confirm a reference is who they say they are, and what to do if a reference turns out to be fake.
4 min read
Structured reference checks: a scoring guide
What makes a reference check structured, what the research says, and how to build competencies, rating scales and scores a committee can compare.
5 min read
Letters of recommendation vs. reference checks
What letters of recommendation tell a faculty search committee, what they miss, and what a structured reference check adds before the final decision.
4 min read
Consent, records and software
Where reference checks meet background checks and employment verification, and how to choose the tools.
Healthcare reference checks: what to verify and ask
How clinics, agencies and care providers check references for clinical staff: license verification, exclusion screening, who to ask and what to ask.
5 min read
Reference checks vs. employment verification
Employment verification confirms dates and titles; a reference check asks how someone worked. What each covers, who answers, and when you need both.
4 min read
Reference checks vs. background checks on campus
What reference checks and background checks each answer, who runs them, the consent each needs, and how campus HR can run both in one hiring process.
5 min read
Evaluating reference check software: a campus checklist
A checklist for campus HR evaluating reference check software: consent, questions, committee reports, security review, sign-on, accessibility and price.
6 min read
Written and kept up to date by Never Ending Solutions, the company that builds NES ReferenceCheck. Outside facts are cited with the date we checked them. Our editorial standardsFollow by RSS