Check a reference properly

Most hiring teams conflate two different things. Getting the difference right decides which rules apply to you.

A reference check

You call a former manager yourself and ask about someone's work. Done in-house, this is generally not a consumer report, so the FCRA's disclosure and adverse-action machinery usually does not attach.

A background check

You buy a report from a consumer reporting agency — criminal records, credit, verified employment. That is a consumer report, and the FCRA imposes specific duties before you order it and before you act on it.

The line matters. The moment a third party assembles the information for you and you use it for an employment decision, you are almost certainly in consumer-report territory — even if the vendor calls it something friendlier. If you are unsure which side you are on, assume the stricter one and read the FCRA basics.

Question sets by role

Open questions a former manager can answer from memory, with a note on what each one is actually testing. None of them fish for protected-class information.

Software engineering

7 questions for engineers and technical ICs.

Sales and account management

7 questions for quota-carrying and customer-facing roles.

People management

7 questions for team leads, managers and directors.

Healthcare and clinical support

7 questions for clinical and patient-facing staff.

Customer support

7 questions for support, success and service desk roles.

Finance and accounting

7 questions for accounting, FP&A and controller roles.