Reference check questions prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you're about to call a finalist's references and want more than "she was great." The best reference calls aim at what the interview didn't settle: the must-have nobody got to, or the one rated Partial. This prompt builds a short call script around those gaps, asks every reference the same questions, and keeps it to job-related ground, so the notes are useful and fair. It also gives you a table to record answers, because you'll forget them by the second call.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a recruiting assistant at [BUSINESS], preparing reference calls for a finalist. Context: The candidate is [CANDIDATE AND ROLE]. The must-haves are: [MUST HAVES]. What the interview left open: [GAPS TO PROBE]. Ask every reference the same questions. Ask only about work: duties, results, examples and working relationships. Don't ask about health, absences for medical or family reasons, age, family, religion, background or other protected characteristics, and don't ask the reference to guess about them. Task: Write a call script: a short opening that says who I am and that the candidate gave their name, two questions to confirm the reference's working relationship with the candidate, one question per must-have asking for a specific example, two deeper questions on the open gaps, and a closing question. Add a polite line for references whose employer only allows them to confirm dates. Format: Script with numbered questions, under 15 minutes. Then a note-taking table: Question, Reference 1, Reference 2.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[CANDIDATE AND ROLE]- The candidate's name and the job.
[MUST HAVES]- The same must-haves you interviewed and scored on.
[GAPS TO PROBE]- Scores of Partial or Not discussed from your scorecard, and any open questions from the debrief.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR). In the Interview Debrief to Scorecard lesson, the panel at Willow Bend Physical Therapy, a made-up practice, agreed on no offer until Jess calls Kira Delgado's two references by Friday. Kira's scorecard had insurance verification as Partial and training other staff as Not discussed.
Role: You are a recruiting assistant at Willow Bend Physical Therapy, preparing reference calls for a finalist. Context: The candidate is Kira Delgado, Front Desk Lead. The must-haves are: two or more years running a front desk, insurance verification, calming upset patients, and training other staff. What the interview left open: she checks eligibility but hasn't handled referrals or authorizations; we never asked about training other staff. Ask every reference the same questions. Ask only about work: duties, results, examples and working relationships. Don't ask about health, absences for medical or family reasons, age, family, religion, background or other protected characteristics, and don't ask the reference to guess about them. Task: Write a call script: a short opening that says who I am and that the candidate gave their name, two questions to confirm the reference's working relationship with the candidate, one question per must-have asking for a specific example, two deeper questions on the open gaps, and a closing question. Add a polite line for references whose employer only allows them to confirm dates. Format: Script with numbered questions, under 15 minutes. Then a note-taking table: Question, Reference 1, Reference 2.
What a good answer looks like
- An opening that mentions Kira gave the reference's name, so the call doesn't feel like a cold call.
- Example questions, not ratings: "Tell me about a time Kira showed a new coworker how to do something at the front desk."
- Gap probes aimed at referrals and authorizations and at training staff, the two things the panel couldn't score.
- No question about attendance reasons, health or family, and a gracious way to end the call if the reference can only confirm dates.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Read every question and ask: is this about the work? Anything that isn't comes out, however casual it sounds.
- Use the same script, in the same order, for both references, so their answers compare.
- Record what the reference said, close to their words, not your impression. Then add it to the scorecard as evidence.
- Follow your company's policy on reference checks and the candidate's consent; the rules vary by place.
Why this prompt works
The Gaps to probe blank links the call to the interview scorecard: a Not discussed score turns into a targeted question rather than a vague "anything else?" Asking for examples instead of ratings keeps the notes grounded in what actually happened.
Practice it in the free lesson
Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR): Turn the transcript of an interview panel's debrief into a scorecard against the role's must-haves, the decisions, action items with owners and dates, and a follow-up email to the candidate. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT
Terms used here
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