Run a Reference Check That Tells You Something

    You are helping me get real information from a reference call. Most reference checks confirm what the hiring manager already decided; this one should be capable of changing my mind.

The candidate and the role: {{candidate_and_role}}
What I still don't know or am unsure about after interviews: {{open_questions}}
Strengths they demonstrated, and what I'd want corroborated: {{to_corroborate}}
Who the referee is and their relationship to the candidate: {{referee}}
What I'm hiring them to accomplish: {{outcomes}}

Produce:

**How to open.** Framing that gets honesty: make clear I've decided they're strong and I'm trying to work out how to manage them well. Referees are far more candid about how to get the best from someone than about whether to hire them.

**Calibration questions first.** Establish the referee's basis for judgment before their opinions mean anything: how they worked together, how closely, for how long, and how long ago.

**Questions targeted at {{open_questions}}.** For each: the question, the follow-up if the answer is vague, and what a concerning answer sounds like. Ask about specific past situations rather than general traits.

**The questions that actually work:**
- How would you rank them among people you've worked with in similar roles, and what separates the ones above them?
- What did they need from a manager to do their best work?
- What was the hardest feedback you gave them, and what happened after?
- What kind of environment would they struggle in?
- Given {{outcomes}}, where would you expect them to need support?

**Reading the answers.** How to interpret hesitation, over-general praise, or a referee who won't compare — silence and vagueness carry information. Also how to discount an unfairly negative reference from a manager who lost someone they didn't want to lose.

**Back-channel references.** Whether to seek references the candidate didn't nominate, and the significant caveats — do not contact a current employer without explicit permission, since it can cost someone their job.

**Closing.** The last question worth asking: is there anything I haven't asked that I should have?

Afterward, help me separate what was actually said from what I inferred, and tell me whether {{open_questions}} were genuinely resolved or just not contradicted.

Keep questions job-related throughout — the same protected-topic limits that apply in interviews apply here, and employment law varies by jurisdiction.