Reference check questions & call notes template

Run a fair, structured reference call. Choose a role, ask job-related questions and record what the referee actually said, in notes you can copy and download.

Prepare your reference call

Choose the role and the referee's relationship to the candidate, then adapt the questions to the vacancy.

Software engineer · Direct manager

Reference questions for software engineers: what they owned, the quality of their work, how they collaborated and how they responded to feedback. Adapt the set to the vacancy before you call.

Managers can speak to scope, autonomy and growth. Ask for first-hand examples with dates; be careful with overall judgements of character.

6 core questions · 2 alternatives · 4 evidence themes

Work through the sections in order: verify the basics, ask the questions, then summarise the themes.

Before the first question

Explain who you are, which role and company the candidate applied to, and what you will do with the notes. Record only job-related information.

Tell the referee who you are, the role applied for and how the notes will be used. Ask only job-related questions and follow the rules that apply where you operate.

Employment details to verify

Confirm the facts first: the referee's relationship to the candidate, the role and the dates. Ask about the work itself afterwards.

Which dates did the candidate work there, and does that match the CV?

What was their title, and which team or function were they part of?

What were they responsible for in practice?

How did you work together, how closely, and during which period?

Export the complete call notes with verification items and questions, or the summary alone with themes and your recommendation. Both include blank candidate, referee and date fields.

Notes are kept only while this page is open. Copy or download them before leaving or reloading. Changing role or relationship keeps a separate draft.

Help candidates prepare, too. A role.so candidate pack brings the role, company and hiring process together before the interview stage.

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Reference check questions by role

Good reference questions ask the referee for facts about the actual work. These examples show how the focus changes by role. Open the tool above for the full question set, follow-ups and points to explore.

Software engineer

What did the candidate own while they were with you, and how did it turn out?

A specific piece of work, their personal contribution and an outcome the referee observed directly.

Product manager

How did they decide what the team worked on next?

Trade-offs with an explicit rationale, not personal preference.

Recruiter

What roles did they recruit for, and what happened with those hires?

Volumes, role types and what became of the hires, as far as the referee knows.

Sales

Where did their opportunities actually come from?

Self-sourced versus inbound or marketing-generated, with habits you can picture.

General role

What were their main responsibilities, and which did they own outright?

Their real scope, not the job title — what they decided versus what they executed.

How to run a reference check call

A reference check collects facts about past work from someone who observed it. Its value depends on asking job-related questions and recording answers accurately.

  1. Agree with the candidate who to call and what may be shared with referees.
  2. Verify the facts first: relationship, role, team and dates.
  3. Ask the same core questions for every candidate for the same vacancy.
  4. Record answers as facts, with dates and examples, in the referee's words.
  5. Compare evidence against the vacancy, then make a documented next-step recommendation.

Reference call note example

Illustrative note for an experienced software engineer.

Theme
Delivery
Recorded note
“She owned the migration of our reporting API. It shipped in April, two sprints late; she flagged the delay early and reprioritised with the team lead.”
Follow up in the interview
In the interview, ask how she planned the migration and what she would change.

Reference check questions

What is a reference check?

A reference check is a conversation with someone who observed a candidate's work — usually a former manager or colleague. Its purpose is to verify facts about past work and collect evidence that helps you decide what to explore next. It is one input among several, not a verdict on its own.

What questions should I ask when checking references?

Start with the facts: how the referee knows the candidate, their role, team and dates. Then ask job-related questions about the work itself — what the candidate owned, how the work turned out, how they collaborated and how they responded to feedback. Record answers as facts, with dates and examples, rather than overall impressions.

Who should I call as a referee?

A former manager can speak to scope, autonomy and growth; a peer sees day-to-day collaboration; a direct report can describe leadership. One manager and one colleague is a common starting point. Agree with the candidate who to contact, and confirm how closely each referee actually worked with them.

Are there questions I should not ask in a reference check?

Keep every question about the work. Questions about health, family, beliefs or personal circumstances are off-topic in most contexts, and the rules that apply vary by location. Ask only what you would need to know for this vacancy, and check the rules where you operate before calling.

What does a good reference answer sound like?

It is specific and checkable: a piece of work, the candidate's part in it, a date and an outcome — including honest limitations. For example: “She owned the reporting API migration. It shipped in April, two sprints late; she flagged the delay early and reprioritised with the team lead.” Vague praise without examples tells you little.

Can I copy or download the reference call notes?

Yes. Copy notes and Download notes include the verification items, the questions with your notes, the summary themes and your recommendation. The download is an editable text file you can paste into your own document. It is not an Excel or PDF download.

Do I need the candidate's permission to call references?

Agree with the candidate who to contact and what may be shared before you call. Practice and legal requirements differ by location, so check the rules that apply where you hire. Telling referees who you are and how the notes will be used is good practice everywhere.

About the method

These role.so reference templates follow fair-hiring practice: questions about the work, consistent core sets and answers recorded in the referee's own words. They are starting points to adapt to a vacancy, not validated assessments. Check the rules that apply in your location before contacting referees.