Reference check questions: what to ask, with examples

The questions you ask a reference decide what you learn. "What are their strengths?" invites a kind paragraph that could describe anyone. A question about a specific situation, with a request for an example, gives you something you can compare across references and across candidates.

This question bank works for most jobs. Pick the groups that fit the position, keep the set short enough that a busy reference finishes it, and ask every reference the same questions. For questions written for a particular job, such as nursing, home care or a dean’s search, use the question sets by role at the end.

How to use these questions

• Choose six to ten questions. More than that and answers thin out toward the end. Two or three per competency is plenty.
• Write them from the job. Start with the three to five things the position needs most, and pick questions for those.
• Ask for the example behind every rating. The number lets you compare references; the example tells you whether to believe it.
• Ask everyone the same set. Different questions for different candidates make the comparison unfair and harder to defend later.
• Offer a way to say "I did not see that". A reference who never saw the candidate handle money should not guess about it.

Start with the relationship

Before you weigh any answer, find out what the reference actually saw. A supervisor of three years and a colleague from one project are both useful, for different things, and you can only tell which is which by asking.

• How do you know the candidate, and what was your role relative to theirs?
• When did you work together, and for how long?
• Which parts of their work did you see firsthand, and which do you know about only from others?

Questions about the work itself

• What were the candidate’s main responsibilities, and how well did they carry them out?
• Describe a piece of their work you would show a new hire as an example. What made it good?
• Where did their work most often need correcting or redoing, if anywhere?
• What did they do when they could see they were going to miss a deadline?
• Compared with others you have seen in a similar role, how would you rate the quality of their work? (rating)

Questions about reliability

• How dependable was the candidate about schedules, shifts and commitments? Can you give an example?
• When something went wrong on their watch, how did you find out: from them, or from someone else?
• How much supervision did they need to do the job well, and did that change over time?

Questions about working with others

• Tell me about a disagreement the candidate had with a colleague. How did they handle it, and how did it end?
• How did they treat people with less authority than them, such as new staff, assistants or customers?
• How did they respond to feedback they did not agree with?

Questions about judgment under pressure

• Describe a time the candidate had to decide without the information they wanted. What did they decide, and why?
• When did you see them under the most pressure, and how did they handle it?
• Have you seen them work around a rule or a procedure? What were the circumstances?

Extra questions for supervisors and managers

For anyone who will lead people, ask at least one reference who reported to the candidate as well as one the candidate reported to. They see different sides of the same person.

• How did the candidate set expectations for their team, and how did they follow up on them?
• Tell me about a time they dealt with someone on their team who was not performing. What did they do?
• Did people want to stay on their team? What makes you say so?
• When their team disagreed with a decision from above, how did the candidate handle it?

Follow-up prompts that turn adjectives into evidence

Most first answers are general: "reliable", "a team player", "great with people". These prompts get to the specifics, on a call or as a second question in writing.

• "Can you give me an example?"
• "What happened next?"
• "How did that compare with others in the same role?"
• "What would you have wanted them to do differently?"
• "You said they were good with customers. What did that look like on a busy day?"

Three closing questions

1. If you had the chance, would you hire the candidate again, or work with them again? What makes you say so?
2. What would help the candidate do their best work in a new role?
3. Is there anything else about their work or conduct that we should know before we decide?

The first of these is the one to listen to most closely. A reference who answers it at once, with a reason, is telling you something. So is a pause, a qualification or a change of subject. If a written answer to it is vague, it is worth a short call.

A rating scale every reference reads the same way

Describe each point in words, so every reference uses the scale the same way, and keep it identical for every candidate. Structured reference checks shows how to score answers across references.

Questions to leave out

A reference check is part of hiring, so the rules for interview questions apply to it. The EEOC advises employers to avoid pre-employment questions that could reveal protected characteristics such as race, sex, national origin, disability, age or religion. Its guidance on disability-related questions adds that, before an offer, an employer may not ask a third party such as a former employer any question it could not ask the applicant directly.

• Health, disability, medical leave or workers’ compensation history
• Age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin or genetic information
• Pregnancy, marital status, children or plans for a family
• Anything a reference could answer only by guessing or repeating rumor
• Leading questions, such as "You would agree they are excellent with customers?"

Question sets by role

The questions above work for most jobs. For the questions that matter in a particular role, such as medication safety for a nurse or a client’s trust for a caregiver, use the set written for it. Each one covers who to ask, questions by competency, warning signs and the checks a reference does not replace.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your organization, and in your state, with your counsel or HR policy office.