Jump to section
You already know how the call goes. You confirm the dates, you confirm the title, the referee says a few warm and vague things, and you hang up knowing exactly as much as you did before you dialled. That is a wasted twenty minutes. A reference check is one of the last inexpensive chances you get to learn something true about a person before you hand them files and a client's trust. The key is asking questions that cannot be answered on autopilot.
This is a checklist. Work through it in order, adapt the wording to your voice, and pay as much attention to how a referee answers as to what they say.
Get Past the Human Resources Script First
Many referees, especially at larger firms, have been coached to say almost nothing. Dates of employment, title, eligible for rehire, done. You will not break through that with cleverness, but you can often route around it by calling a former direct supervisor rather than an official contact, and by being upfront about why you are calling.
Open with permission and purpose. Something like: "I am hiring for a role that involves a lot of client contact and independent file management, and I want to make sure I set this person up to succeed. Do you have ten minutes to help me get that right?" You are not asking them to grade a stranger. You are asking them to help a former colleague land well. That framing changes the temperature of the whole call.
Tip. Ask the candidate to make the introduction by email before you call. A referee who was told "expect a call from this firm, I would appreciate it if you spoke openly" is far more candid than a cold voice on the line.
The One Question That Tells You the Most
If you only get one real question in, make it this: "What did this person need from a manager to do their best work?" It sounds supportive rather than evaluative, so referees tend to answer it honestly. And the answer tells you everything.
"They needed clear deadlines and then you could leave them alone" is a different hire than "they needed a lot of reassurance" or "they needed structure or things slipped." None of those answers is disqualifying on its own. What matters is whether the thing they needed is a thing you can actually provide. A great legal assistant who thrives with autonomy will wilt under a micromanager, and the reverse is also true. You are checking fit, not just quality.
You are not asking whether the candidate is good. You are asking whether they will be good for you. The whole point of a reference call
Listen for the Pause, Not Just the Words
The most useful data in a reference call is often silence. Ask a direct question and then stop talking. "How did they handle it when a matter went sideways and a client was upset?" If the answer comes fast and specific, that is a strong signal the person has done exactly that and done it well. If there is a long pause, a throat clear, and then "you know, they were always very professional," you have learned something too.
Enthusiasm is legible over the phone. A referee who genuinely rated someone will volunteer stories you did not ask for. A referee who is being careful will stay on the safe, generic path. Neither is proof, but the difference between the two is real signal, and it is the kind of thing a resume can never show you. Pair this with what you saw in earlier stages, whether that was a screen or a paid working interview.
How to Ask About Weaknesses Without a Dead End
"What are their weaknesses?" gets you nothing. Every referee has a rehearsed non-answer ("a bit of a perfectionist," "cares too much"). Do not ask it. Instead, ask for a comparison or a context, because those are harder to dodge.
- "If you were hiring for this same role again, what would you look for that they did not have?"
- "What kind of work should I not put in front of them on day one?"
- "Where did they grow the most while they worked for you?" (Growth implies a starting point, and the starting point is the weakness.)
- "Was there any part of the job they found draining or frustrating?"
These questions give the referee room to be honest without feeling like they are trashing someone. You are asking about fit and about your own onboarding, not demanding a confession. The answers feed directly into your first ninety days and your first week expectations, so you are not just screening, you are already planning support.
Note. Keep your questions consistent across candidates for the same role. Ad hoc reference calls invite bias and are harder to defend if a hiring decision is ever questioned. Treat this as part of your due diligence, the same way you would treat any other file.
The Back Channel Reference You Did Not Ask For
The references a candidate hands you are, by definition, the ones they expect to say nice things. That is fine. Those calls still surface fit and working style. But the legal community in most Canadian cities is small, and the family or civil bar in a mid-size centre is smaller still. You almost certainly know someone who has crossed paths with this person, whether at the registry, across the table on a file, or at a law society event.
A quiet, discreet word with a trusted colleague is not sneaky. It is how the profession has always worked. Keep it professional and keep it fair: you are looking for consistency with what the official references told you, not gossip. If the story matches, your confidence goes up. If it clashes hard, you have a reason to ask another question before you commit.
| Source | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Named reference | Working style, fit, strengths | Curated to flatter |
| Former direct supervisor | Real performance, reliability | May be coached to say little |
| Back channel colleague | Reputation, consistency check | Second hand, keep it fair |
Red Flags Worth Ending the Process Over
Most reference calls turn up nothing alarming, and mild hesitation is not a reason to walk away from a strong candidate. But a few answers should stop you cold, no matter how much you like the person on paper.
- "I would rather not comment on that." A flat refusal to answer a specific, fair question is itself an answer.
- A story about trust, money, or client confidentiality. In a law firm these are not fixable with training. Take them seriously.
- Facts that contradict the candidate's own account. Not a title tidied up on a resume, but a real gap between the story you were told and the story you are hearing.
- "Eligible for rehire? No comment," from someone who was warm about everything else. That sudden chill is telling.
Warn. A red flag from a reference is a reason to slow down and dig, not to skip the rest of your process. Confirm it with a second source before you act, and document what you found and why it mattered.
A good reference check is a careful conversation with someone who wants to help, not an interrogation. Ask questions that cannot be answered by reflex, then listen to the whole answer, including the pauses. Do that consistently, keep good notes alongside the rest of your hiring file, and you turn a formality into one of the most reliable signals you will get. If you want the wider picture of how these calls fit into a fair, structured hiring process, our People and Hiring writing walks through the whole arc, from the job description onward, and you can find more from the A1 team there too.
