A reference check is your chance to verify what a candidate told you and hear how they actually performed from people who worked with them. This template gives you a consistent structure for every check so you gather comparable, decision-useful input. Use it to confirm details, probe strengths and development areas, and record a clear recommendation. Consistent questions across references make your final call fairer and better grounded.
Reference & Candidate Details
Jordan Ellis
Enter the full name of the candidate being referenced.Senior Product Designer
Record the position the candidate is being considered for so the reference can speak to relevant skills.Priya Nair, Director of Design
Capture the reference's full name and job title at the time they worked with the candidate.Northwind Studio, priya.nair@example.com, +1 555 0134
Note the company where they worked together and how you reached the reference, for your record.2026-07-18, phone call
Record the date and whether the check was done by phone, video, or in writing.Relationship & Context
Direct manager for 2 years
Confirm how the reference knew the candidate, such as manager, peer, or direct report.March 2022 to April 2024
Verify the period they worked together and cross-check it against the candidate's stated history.Led design for the mobile app, managed two junior designers
Ask the reference to describe what the candidate actually did, in their own words.Left voluntarily to pursue a larger design leadership role
Confirm why the candidate left and whether it matches what the candidate told you.Reference Questions & Responses
Strong systems thinker, calm under deadline pressure, mentored juniors well
Ask what the candidate did best and capture the specific examples the reference gives.Could be more proactive presenting work to senior stakeholders
Ask where the candidate could grow, framed constructively, and note concrete examples.Consistently delivered on time; owned the redesign end to end
Ask about quality of work, dependability, and how the candidate handled responsibility.Collaborated well cross-functionally; gave and took feedback openly
Ask how the candidate worked with peers, managers, and reports, and how they handled conflict.Yes, without hesitation
Ask whether the reference would hire or work with the candidate again, and why or why not.Summary & Recommendation
Strongly positive; reference volunteered specific, credible examples
Summarize the tone and substance of the reference's feedback in a sentence or two.Matches the candidate's account of scope, tenure, and reason for leaving
Note whether the reference confirmed or contradicted what the candidate told you.None; optionally confirm team size with a second reference
Record any concerns to probe further or additional references worth contacting.Proceed to offer stage
Capture your own judgment based on this reference. The human recruiter makes the decision; the check informs it.How to Use This Template
- Prepare the template: open the reference check template in CraftNote and fill in the candidate and reference details before the call.
- Get consent and start recording: with the reference's agreement, record the call in CraftNote so you can stay present and capture an accurate, speaker-labeled transcript.
- Work through the questions: move through relationship, context, and reference questions in order, letting the reference give specific examples.
- Review the summary: after the call, use CraftNote's AI summary and transcript to fill in the response fields accurately instead of relying on memory.
- Document your recommendation: complete the summary section, then export or paste the finished record into your ATS or hiring file, since CraftNote does not sync to your ATS.
Customization Tips
- Add role-specific questions, such as asking a reference about code quality for engineers or client outcomes for account managers.
- Include a simple 1 to 5 rating field for consistency, reliability, and collaboration if your team prefers scannable comparisons across references.
- Add a compliance note field to record that the reference consented to the call and to any recording, in line with your local requirements.
- Create a shorter peer-reference variant that drops management questions when the reference was a colleague rather than a manager.