Reference check template: call script, 14 questions and a client write-up
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A reference check template gives you three things: a short call script, the same set of questions asked the same way for every reference, and a write-up format for the client. The point of the call is to verify what the candidate told you and to learn how to manage them well, not to collect praise. Get the candidate's authorization first, speak to at least one former direct manager, and keep every question tied to the job.
Below: an authorization note, the call script, 14 questions with what to listen for, how to read hesitant answers, and a write-up template with a filled example.
Before you call
Get the candidate's authorization in writing
Ask the candidate to name the references, confirm you may contact them, and warn them you will call. A short email reply is enough for most agency desks. It also stops the most awkward call in recruiting: the one where the "reference" did not know they had been named.
Subject: References for [Role] at [Client]
Hi [Candidate],
As we discussed, [Client] would like references before moving to an offer.
Please reply to confirm:
1. Names, job titles, and phone or email for two or three references,
including at least one person who managed you directly.
2. How each person knows you (company, your role, their role, years).
3. That I have your permission to contact them about your work for this
role, and that you have let them know to expect my call.
I will not contact your current employer unless you tell me to.
Thanks,
[Recruiter name]Not legal advice. If a background screening company runs reference interviews for you or your client, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act's disclosure and written authorization rules can apply; the FTC explains them in Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know. State rules also vary. Confirm your agency's process with counsel.
Choose references who saw the work
- A former direct manager for every check. They set goals and saw results.
- A peer or internal client for roles where collaboration is a must-have.
- Someone they managed for people-leader roles. It is the only view of how they lead from below.
- No backchannel references without consent. Calling someone the candidate did not name can expose that they are looking. If the client wants one, ask the candidate first.
Decide what you will not ask
The same limits apply as in an interview. Do not ask about health, disability, medical or family leave, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, marital status or family plans. If a reference volunteers something in those areas, do not follow up and do not write it down. The EEOC's page on prohibited practices sets out the principle: pre-employment questions should be limited to what is needed to decide whether someone is qualified for the job. For what belongs in your notes, see what not to write in interview notes.
The reference call script
Copy this. It keeps the call to about 15 minutes and asks every reference the same way.
OPEN
"Hi [Reference], this is [Name] from [Agency]. [Candidate] gave me your
name as a reference for a [Role] position and said you'd expect a call.
Is now still a good time? It should take about 15 minutes."
SET EXPECTATIONS
"I'll summarize what you tell me for the hiring company, sticking to what
matters for the job. If there's anything you'd rather I not attribute to
you directly, tell me and I'll say so."
VERIFY THE RELATIONSHIP
- How do you know [Candidate]? When did you work together, and for how long?
- What was your role, and what was theirs?
QUESTIONS 4–14 (below)
CLOSE
"Is there anything I haven't asked that you think the hiring manager
should know?"
"Thanks. May I come back to you with one follow-up question if the client
has one?"Note what the script does not promise: confidentiality. You cannot promise that what a reference says will never reach the candidate, so do not. Offering to leave a comment unattributed is as far as you can honestly go.
14 reference check questions and what to listen for
Relationship and context
| # | Question | Listen for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How do you know them, and for how long did you work together? | Dates and reporting line that match what the candidate told you | Dates or titles that differ from the resume |
| 2 | What was their role when you worked together, and what were they responsible for? | Scope that matches the candidate's description | A smaller scope: "they supported the project" vs "they led it" |
| 3 | How often did you see their work directly? | Weekly or daily contact | "Mostly by reputation", which weakens everything after it |
Work and results
| # | Question | Listen for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | [Candidate] told me they [specific achievement from your screen]. What do you remember about that? | The same story with details added: numbers, obstacles, who else was involved | Surprise, or credit going to someone else |
| 5 | What were they best at, specifically? Can you give me an example? | A concrete example that lines up with the client's must-haves | Only adjectives after two prompts |
| 6 | What did you have to coach them on, or where did they need the most support? | A real development area and what the candidate did about it | "Nothing, they were perfect", which usually means the reference is not engaging |
| 7 | How did they handle a deadline or target they were going to miss? | Flagged early, proposed options | Found out late, or blamed others |
Working with others
| # | Question | Listen for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Tell me about a disagreement they had with a colleague or manager. How did it end? | Disagreed openly, accepted the decision, moved on | Escalations that became personal, or a long pause |
| 9 | Who did they work best with, and who did they find hard to work with? | Patterns you can map to the client's team | Friction with everyone in one role type the client has lots of |
| 10 | How did they take feedback? | An example where behavior changed afterwards | "They're very confident", said with hesitation |
Management, growth and fit for this role
| # | Question | Listen for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | The role is [two-line description]. Where do you think they'd be strongest, and where would they need support? | A considered answer that names at least one risk | No risk named even after the description |
| 12 | What kind of manager gets the best out of them? | Something the client's hiring manager can act on in the first 90 days | "Someone who leaves them alone" for a role with close oversight |
Rehire and close
| # | Question | Listen for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | If you were hiring for a similar role, would you hire them again? Why? | A fast yes with a reason | "Depends on the role", "I'd have to think about it", or a policy answer to this question only |
| 14 | Is there anything I haven't asked that the hiring manager should know? | Extra context, sometimes the most useful line of the call | A warning that contradicts earlier praise: ask them to say more |
Reading hesitant answers
References rarely say anything negative outright. The signal is usually in how they answer, and the fix is almost always a specific follow-up rather than a harder question.
- Faint praise. "They were reliable" for a role you described as high-impact. Ask: "What's one thing they did that you'd point to as above what the role required?"
- A long pause before the rehire question. Say: "Take your time. What would make it a yes, and what would make it a no?"
- Praise only for effort. "They worked really hard." Ask what the result was.
- Answers that match the resume word for word. Ask for a detail not on it: who else was on the project, what went wrong.
- A reference who cannot give examples at all. Question 3 probably explains it. Ask the candidate for someone closer to the work.
Verify the reference is who they say they are. If you were given a mobile number, find the person on LinkedIn or through the company's main line first. It takes two minutes and it is how fabricated references get caught.
The write-up template
Send the client one page per reference, in the same format every time, so they can compare. Mark what you verified separately from what the reference observed.
REFERENCE CHECK — [Candidate] for [Role] at [Client]
Checked by: [Recruiter] Date: [ ] Candidate authorization: [date]
Reference: [Name], [title] at [company]
Relationship: [managed / peer / managed by candidate], [from–to]
Identity checked: [how]
VERIFIED
- Dates and title: [match / differ: detail]
- Achievement from screen: [confirmed / partly / not confirmed]
OBSERVED STRENGTHS (with example)
- [Strength]: [example, short quote if useful]
- [Strength]: [example]
DEVELOPMENT AREAS (with example)
- [Area]: [what the reference saw, what the candidate did about it]
MANAGING THEM
- [What gets the best from them]
WOULD REHIRE: [yes / yes with conditions / no / would not say]
- Reason given: [ ]
ANYTHING NOT CONFIRMED OR FOR THE CLIENT TO PROBE
- [ ]A filled example
An invented candidate and reference, written up the way the client should receive it:
Reference check — Elena Park for Operations Manager at Brightwater Logistics
Reference: Tom Ruiz, Regional Director, Coastline Freight. Managed Elena directly 2022–2025. Identity checked via company switchboard.
Verified: dates and title match. Her account of cutting dock-to-stock time at the Fresno site was confirmed, with one detail added: she ran it with a second supervisor, and Tom credits the two of them jointly.
Observed strengths: planning under pressure ("she had the peak-season staffing plan done in August, not October"); straight with bad news, flagged a missed carrier target two weeks early with options.
Development area: delegation in her first year; she kept doing shift schedules herself until Tom pushed, then trained a lead to own them.
Managing her: clear targets, then space. Weekly check-ins worked better than daily.
Would rehire: yes, "for any site role, tomorrow."
For the client to probe: the Fresno result was a shared effort; ask what she owned personally.
The shared credit is exactly the kind of detail a client values. It does not sink the candidate; it gives the hiring manager one precise question and shows the check was real. When you pass the results on as part of moving to offer, how to present candidates to clients covers the conversation around it.
Mistakes that make reference checks worthless
- Leading questions. "They're great with clients, right?" gets a yes from almost anyone. Ask for an example instead.
- Only calling the references the candidate ranked first. Ask for the former manager even if the candidate offered three peers.
- Writing it up days later. The hedges and pauses are the signal, and they are gone from memory by the next morning.
- Promising confidentiality. You cannot guarantee it, and a reference who later finds their words quoted will not take your call again.
- Recording protected information the reference volunteered. Leave it out of the notes and the write-up.
- Using the check to rescue a weak interview. References confirm and add detail. They should not overturn what the client saw firsthand without a second conversation.
Questions people ask
How many references should I check?
Two is the usual minimum and three is better for senior or client-facing roles. At least one should be a former direct manager. Three peers who all sat next to the candidate tell you less than one manager who set their goals.
What if the reference says company policy only allows dates and title?
Confirm the dates and title, thank them, and ask the candidate for another manager-level reference. A policy answer is common and is not a negative signal by itself; many employers limit what their managers can say.
Should references be checked before or after the final interview?
Usually after the client has said they want to move to offer and before the offer is made, so you are not asking references to spend time on a candidate who may not progress. For executive and regulated roles, clients often want them earlier; agree the timing at intake.
Do I send the client my notes or a summary?
A summary in a fixed format, with short quotes where they add something. Keep your full notes in the ATS. The summary should separate what you verified, what the reference observed directly, and anything you could not confirm.