Mihai Arsene
Founder, HireLikeaPro & Valuable Recruitment
Mihai is the founder of Valuable Recruitment and HireLikeaPro. The reference check process in this post is what Valuable Recruitment uses on active searches today.
Connect on LinkedIn →Use these questions to collect specific, job-related examples from candidate-approved referees before a hiring decision.
Here is how most reference calls go. The founder calls, asks if the candidate was reliable and a good communicator, gets two or three warm "yes, absolutely" responses, and hangs up feeling confirmed. They already wanted to hire this person. Now they feel like they did their due diligence.
They did not. They got three coached positive reviews from people the candidate personally selected.
The problem is not that references lie. It is that they are primed. The candidate told them the call was coming, probably told them what role it is for, and chose the three people most likely to describe them warmly. You are not getting a neutral assessment. You are getting a curated one.
The solution is not to stop checking references. It is to ask different questions. Questions that require specific evidence, not impressions. Questions that make it easier for a referee to be honest without feeling disloyal. Questions that would surface something important even when the reference likes the candidate.
The most useful frame for a reference call is this: you are conducting a structured interview with someone who worked closely with your candidate. That means going in with a list of competencies you care about and a set of questions that will produce evidence, not impressions.
If you built a scorecard before you started interviewing (which you should have), pull it out before your reference calls. Your three to four competencies become the organizing categories for your questions. Any evidence you get from a reference should map directly onto the same scoring framework your interviewers used. That makes the reference call useful data, not anecdote.
How to Structure Your 20-Minute Reference Call
One practical step before you call: tell the candidate you will be checking references, obtain any required permission, and ask them to brief their approved referees that you will be in touch. This sets expectations for a substantive conversation rather than a quick confirmation.
These are the questions I use across Valuable Recruitment searches when the reference call is the final gate before an offer. They are organized into four categories: performance, working style, development areas, and rehire intent. Use three questions per category and you will fill 20 minutes with evidence that actually informs a decision.
12 Reference Check Questions by Category
| Category | Question | What you're learning |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | In what specific areas did [candidate] consistently exceed your expectations? | Where they are genuinely strong, not just adequate |
| Performance | What was their single most significant contribution while working with you? | Whether they can point to real, specific output |
| Performance | How would you describe the quality and consistency of their work? Were there patterns in where it was strongest or where it fell short? | Whether their output is reliable or highly variable |
| Working style | How did they handle situations where the direction was unclear or the answer was not obvious? | Comfort with ambiguity, a core startup requirement |
| Working style | Tell me about a time they had a disagreement with a colleague or pushback on their work. How did they handle it? | Conflict style, ego, coachability |
| Working style | What kind of manager and work environment brought out their best? And what kind of environment was a poor match for them? | Whether your company structure fits them |
| Development areas | What is the area where you think they have the most room to grow? | Honest weakness without framing it as a fatal flaw |
| Development areas | Were there any situations where their performance or approach concerned you? | Specific incidents that were out of pattern |
| Development areas | If you could give them one piece of feedback they have not fully acted on yet, what would it be? | Recurring development need that feedback hasn't shifted |
| Rehire intent | Would you hire this person again if you had a role that fits their skills? | A useful closing question that invites role-specific context |
| Rehire intent | Is there anything about this role (describe it briefly) that you think might be a stretch for them right now? | A structured way to invite honest concern |
| Rehire intent | Is there anything I have not asked about that you think I should know? | Gives the referee an opening to share something important |
The difference between a useful reference call and a pointless one usually comes down to specificity. Generic questions get generic answers. Specific questions require the referee to produce evidence, and evidence is what you are after.
Weak (gets you nothing)
"Was [candidate] a good communicator?"Strong (gets you evidence)
"Tell me about a time they had to present a difficult finding to a senior stakeholder. How did they handle it and what was the response?"Weak (gets you nothing)
"Did they take initiative?"Strong (gets you evidence)
"What is an example of something they identified and fixed that was not part of their job description?"Weak (gets you nothing)
"How were they to work with?"Strong (gets you evidence)
"Describe a time they had a real disagreement with someone on the team. What happened and how did they handle it?"Any time you get a vague answer, follow up with: "Can you give me a specific example of that?" If the referee cannot, that is data too.
Listen for specific, job-related examples. Treat ambiguous answers as prompts for a follow-up question, not as conclusions about the candidate.
Prompts for a useful follow-up
If you only have five minutes and can ask one question, ask this:
"Would you hire this person again?"
Then, no matter what they say, follow with: "What would make you hesitate?"
The follow-up matters more than treating the answer as a verdict. Ask for a concrete, job-related example and compare it with the evidence you collected in interviews.
The hesitation question gives referees a practical way to describe relevant development areas. Keep the discussion focused on the role and the evidence you need for the decision.
Reference checks work best when they map to the same competencies your interviewers scored. HireLikeaPro generates a custom scorecard with competencies and scoring guidance in 2 minutes.
A few practical things that make a real difference:
Before you call
This is a practical hiring framework, not legal advice. Before using it, confirm the permission, privacy, discrimination, and sector-specific rules that apply to your hiring location. See GOV.UK pre-employment guidance and EEOC background-check guidance.
HireLikeaPro generates your job description, interview scorecard, and structured interview questions in under 2 minutes.
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