Example Telephone Reference Questions

Never call without candidate’s permission.

Accept only from those with recent professional relationship to applicant.

Don’t rely on reference letters.

  1. Has Doctor Smith told you about the position he is applying for? (Briefly tell the reference about your organization and the open position.)
  2. How do you and Doctor Smith know each other? What is your relationship? For how long?
  3. Tell me about Doctor Smith’s overall performance.
  4. What were Doctor Smiths’s duties? Did he supervise anyone? What were their titles?
  5. What is Doctor Smith really like?
  6. What do you like about Doctor Smith? What did you like about working with him?
  7. How does Doctor Smith compare to other physicians in your organization who have the same job?
  8. Tell me about his communication skills.
  9. What motivates Doctor Smith?
  10. Doctor Smith told us (or CV says) that he was responsible for . . . ? Can you tell me about that?
  11. You said Doctor Smith is really good at . . . Can you give me an example of that?
  12. When did Doctor Smith start working for you? When did he leave and why? Why didn’t you keep him? Why didn’t you renew his contract?
  13. Tell me about Doctor Smiths’s performance? Any issues there? How were they resolved?
  14. What is Doctor Smith like under pressure?
  15. What is Doctor Smith like when he’s made a mistake and has to correct it?
  16. How does Doctor Smith act when someone senior to him is wrong and won’t give in? What is he like when politics don’t go his way?
  17. What kind of people did Doctor Smith have trouble with?
  18. What kinds of things get Doctor Smith upset?
  19. If we were to hire Doctor Smith, what areas of his will we have to work on to make sure he succeeds?
  20. In what areas does Doctor Smith need to improve or strengthen?
  21. Would you hire Doctor Smith again?
  22. If you were me, would you send your spouse/child/parent to Doctor Smith?
  23. Is there someone else you think I should talk to?
  24. I’ve met (or talked with) Doctor Smith and I think he’s a reasonable candidate for us. What else should the search committee know as we make our hiring decision?

Questions 1-4 are introductory. 5-9 deal with motivation, 10 & 11 tells you if the reference really knows the candidate, 12-18 address any disruptive behavior, and 19 & 20 with weaknesses.

Delve further into any responses of “generally . . . “, “usually . . . “, “most of the time . . . “, or “personally . . . “