Quick verdict: Ask every former manager the same 15 questions, in the same order, and score the answers. In a Robert Half survey of 2,800 US senior managers, 34% of candidates were removed from consideration after a reference check. OPM recommends structured phone checks of about 20 minutes with at least three contacts. Former employers can usually share truthful, job related facts, but rules differ by state, so treat the legal section below as general information, not legal advice.
What you get here: a 15 question bank in tables, what each answer tells you, a scoring form you can copy, a call opening script, and what a former employer can and cannot say.
Updated October 9, 2026. Every figure is checked against the sources linked below. This page is general information for recruiters and hiring managers, not legal advice.
Are reference checks still worth doing?
Yes, and the evidence is stronger than most hiring managers assume. The US Office of Personnel Management says reference checking predicts job performance better than years of education or job experience, though not as well as cognitive ability tests. OPM also says adding structure, meaning the same questions for every applicant and a standard way to rate answers, greatly improves how useful the checks are.
References also change decisions. In a Robert Half survey of 2,800 US senior managers, respondents reported removing 34% of job candidates from consideration after a reference check. A separate Accountemps survey of more than 600 Canadian senior managers put the figure at 32%.
Fraud has raised the stakes. Checkr surveyed 3,000 US managers in 2025: 60% had uncovered a candidate who misrepresented experience or qualifications, 31% had interviewed someone later revealed to be using a fake identity, and 35% said someone other than the listed applicant took part in a virtual interview. A call to a real former manager is one of the few checks that puts a human on the other end.
What are the best questions to ask a former employer?
Use these 15 in order. The first three confirm facts, the middle nine probe how the person actually worked, and the last three give the reference room to say what they really think. Rewrite the wording to fit the role, but keep the set identical for every finalist on the same job, which is what OPM means by structure.
Questions 1 to 5: facts and core performance
| # | Ask this | Good sign | Probe further if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can you confirm their title, dates and what they were responsible for? | Matches the resume without prompting | Title or dates differ, or the reference cannot recall the role |
| 2 | How did you work together, and for how long? | Direct supervision for a year or more | Only a peer, a friend, or a few weeks of overlap |
| 3 | What were their two biggest strengths in that job? | Specific examples tied to results | Generic praise like “great person” |
| 4 | What was their most significant accomplishment? | A result with numbers or a named project | Nothing concrete comes to mind |
| 5 | How did they handle pressure or a tight deadline? Give me an example. | A story with what they did and the outcome | Missed deadlines or blame on others |
Questions 6 to 10: how they work with people
| # | Ask this | Good sign | Probe further if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | How would you describe the way they collaborated with the team? | Concrete examples with named teams or projects | “Kept to themselves” for a team role |
| 7 | Tell me about a disagreement they had at work. How did it end? | Raised it directly and resolved it | The reference changes the subject |
| 8 | How did they respond to feedback or criticism? | Acted on it and improved | Defensive, or feedback had to be repeated |
| 9 | How reliable were they on commitments and follow through? | Delivered without chasing | Pauses, qualifiers, “mostly” |
| 10 | How would you rate their written and spoken communication? | Clear with clients and leadership | Needed a manager to rewrite their work |
Questions 11 to 15: growth, fit and the honest answer
| # | Ask this | Good sign | Probe further if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Where did they improve most while working for you? | A real weakness that got better | No development area at all |
| 12 | What kind of manager or environment brings out their best? | Matches how your team works | Describes the opposite of your setup |
| 13 | Why did they leave? | Matches what the candidate told you | A different story to the interview |
| 14 | If you had a suitable role, would you hire them again? Why or why not? | An immediate, specific yes | Any hesitation or “it depends” |
| 15 | Is there anything else I should know, or anyone else I should speak to? | Offers another name | Long silence, or steers you away from someone |
Question 14 deserves care. Many recruiters treat it as the strongest signal, but a SHRM article quotes HR consultant Joan Rennekamp advising employers not to ask or answer rehire questions, because the answer may only show how much the reference liked the person. Ask it, then weigh the reasons given more heavily than the yes or no.
What should you say when you open the call?
Keep the opening short, confirm consent, and set a time limit. People talk more freely when they know the call has an end and that the candidate agreed to it. Copy this and adjust the details.
Reference call opening script
“Hi Sam, this is Jordan from Northwind. Alex Rivera listed you as a reference and has given us written permission to contact you. Alex is a finalist for our senior account manager role. Do you have about 15 to 20 minutes now, or is there a better time today?
I will ask the same set of questions I ask every reference, focused only on Alex’s work. Anything you share stays with the hiring team. If your company only allows you to confirm dates and title, just tell me and I will keep it to that.”
Email to book the call: “Subject: Reference for Alex Rivera. Hi Sam, Alex has applied for a role with us and named you as a reference. Could we speak for 20 minutes this week? Here are three times that work for me. Thank you, Jordan.”
How do you score a reference check?
Score each answer from 1 to 5 against what the job needs, then average across at least three references. Write the evidence next to the score, because a number alone will not survive a hiring manager’s questions. This form fits on one page and drops into most applicant tracking systems as a scorecard.
| Reference check form field | What to record | Score 1 to 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate, role, date, checker | Basic record for your file | None |
| Reference name, company, relationship, months worked together | Verified through the company main line or public profile | None |
| Consent on file | Yes or no, with date signed | None |
| Facts match resume (Q1, Q13) | Any differences in title, dates or reason for leaving | 1 to 5 |
| Results and strengths (Q3, Q4) | Specific examples quoted | 1 to 5 |
| Pressure and reliability (Q5, Q9) | Examples and any hesitation | 1 to 5 |
| Teamwork, conflict, feedback (Q6 to Q8) | How issues were handled | 1 to 5 |
| Communication (Q10) | Written and spoken | 1 to 5 |
| Growth and fit (Q11, Q12) | Match to your team and manager | 1 to 5 |
| Rehire answer and reasons (Q14) | Exact words used | 1 to 5 |
| Concerns to raise with the candidate | Anything that needs their side of the story | None |
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5 | Specific, unprompted evidence that the candidate is strong here |
| 4 | Positive with at least one concrete example |
| 3 | Positive but general, no example |
| 2 | Hesitation, qualifiers or a mixed example |
| 1 | Clear concern or a fact that contradicts the candidate |
What can a former employer legally say about you?
Usually more than people think, as long as it is true. A SHRM legal article explains that no federal law addresses what an employer can or cannot say about a worker. Many states give employers qualified immunity when they respond to a reference check in good faith. That protection is lost if the employer knowingly or recklessly gives false or misleading information, or acts with malice. This is general information, not legal advice; check the law in your state.
| Topic | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Federal law on reference content | No federal law addresses what an employer can or cannot say about a worker | SHRM |
| Good faith immunity | Many states protect employers who respond in good faith; lost for knowingly false or malicious statements | SHRM |
| States without an immunity statute | SHRM names New York and Massachusetts as examples where giving more than basic information is harder | SHRM |
| Arkansas | Written employee consent required; immunity covers listed items such as dates, wages, duties, last evaluation and reason for separation | SHRM |
| Missouri | Immunity applies only to a written response to a written request, with a copy to the employee | SHRM |
| Discrimination in references | Illegal to give a negative or false reference, or refuse one, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age 40 or older, disability or genetic information | EEOC |
| Third party background reports | If a company compiles a report for you, the FCRA requires stand alone written notice and written permission first, plus extra notices for investigative reports based on interviews | FTC |
Both sides have limits. The EEOC guidance says pre employment inquiries should be limited to what is essential for judging whether someone is qualified, and employers are explicitly prohibited from asking about disability before an offer. In practice, keep every reference question about the work: never ask about age, family plans, health, religion or national origin.
If you use an outside firm to run reference checks, the rules may change. The FTC explains that when a third party compiles a background report used for hiring, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies, and reports based on personal interviews about character or reputation carry extra disclosure duties. Ask your provider how they handle this and get your own counsel’s view.
Why do some employers only confirm dates and title?
Fear of being sued. In an older SHRM survey of 345 HR professionals, 54% of organizations had policies not to provide employee references because of liability concerns, and 75% of HR professionals said their organization would share more if laws clearly protected them. The same survey found 73% of organizations that check references rated it somewhat or very effective at identifying poor performers.
When you hit a dates and title only policy, do not treat it as a red flag on its own. Robert Half notes it may simply be company policy and suggests switching to more direct questions, such as whether they would rehire. If that still gets nothing, ask the candidate for another former manager who has since moved companies and can speak freely.
How are employers verifying candidates now?
Reference checks sit inside a wider set of fraud controls. In Checkr’s 2025 survey, 46% of managers said their organization uses reference verifications, behind ID checks, real time video interviews and background checks.
Verify the reference as well as the candidate. Find the person’s company through its public website, call the main line, and ask to be put through rather than using a mobile number from the candidate. If the references sound coached or use identical phrases, ask each one for a specific story only they would know. Our guide to AI reference checks covers automated tools that flag fake referees.
When in the process should you check references?
Near the end, with your last two or three finalists. OPM says reference checking is usually done after the field has been narrowed to a few competitors, mostly by phone, because calls allow follow up questions and more candid answers than written requests. Telling candidates early that you check references also encourages honest interview answers, which Robert Half recommends.
Budget the time. At about 20 minutes per call and at least three contacts, OPM’s guidance works out to roughly one hour of calls per finalist before scheduling time (Work Insiders arithmetic). Build that into your time to hire plan so references do not become the reason you lose a candidate to a faster offer.
What should you do when references disagree?
Look for patterns, not single comments. One lukewarm reference among three strong ones may reflect a personality clash. Two references raising the same issue is a pattern. Robert Half advises running more checks with different contacts when you suspect a bad reference is undeserved, and giving the candidate a chance to explain any inconsistency before you decide.
Document what you heard and why you decided. SHRM’s legal sources recommend basing reference information on documented evidence and handling every request the same way, and the same discipline protects you when you are the one asking.
How we built this page
We replaced the earlier version of this article, which cited a bad hire cost figure we could not trace, with figures from OPM, SHRM, the EEOC, the FTC, Robert Half, Accountemps and Checkr, each fetched and checked on October 9, 2026. The question bank, script and scoring form are Work Insiders templates built on OPM’s structured approach. The hour per finalist estimate is our arithmetic on OPM’s numbers. For why the popular cost figures are shaky, see our cost of a bad hire analysis. Nothing here is legal advice.
Quick answers
How many references should I check?
OPM recommends a minimum of three contacts, drawn from supervisors, peers or direct reports. Each structured phone check takes about 20 minutes.
How often do references change a hiring decision?
Senior managers in a Robert Half survey said they removed 34% of candidates after a reference check. An Accountemps survey in Canada found 32%.
Can a former employer say I was fired?
Generally yes if it is true. SHRM notes there is no federal law on reference content and many states protect good faith references, but rules vary by state. This is general information, not legal advice.
What questions are off limits?
Anything about race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information. The EEOC says pre employment inquiries should stick to what shows whether someone is qualified, and disability questions before an offer are prohibited.
Do I need the candidate’s permission?
Get written consent every time. Some states, such as Arkansas, tie employer immunity to it, and if a third party compiles a report for you, the FCRA requires written notice and permission.
Should I ask if they would rehire the candidate?
Ask it, but weigh the reasons more than the yes or no. A SHRM article quotes advice that the answer may only reflect how much the reference liked the person.
Is there software for reference checks?
Yes. Our reference check software category compares tools by price and features.
The bottom line
Reference checks earn their place when they are structured. Ask the same 15 questions of at least three people who supervised the candidate, score every answer with evidence, and verify that each reference is who they say they are. About a third of candidates fail at this stage in employer surveys, so it is worth the hour.
Keep every question about the work, get written consent, and check your state’s rules before you give or use a reference. When in doubt, ask employment counsel. Terms like these are explained in our recruiting glossary.
Sources: OPM reference checking, Robert Half, Accountemps Canada survey, Checkr Hiring Hoax, SHRM on bad references, SHRM survey report, EEOC prohibited practices, FTC on FCRA
Free newsletter
Get the Work Insiders weekly
One email a week: the recruiting and HR tech news that mattered, the tools we just added to the directory, and one practical guide. No spam, and you can unsubscribe in one click.