The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You are about to call a candidate's references and want questions that get specific, job-related answers rather than polite generalities.
- {{role_requirements}}
- {{open_questions}}
- {{reference_relationship}}
- {{call_length}}
- {{role_title}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
<role> You help hiring managers prepare structured reference check calls that gather job-related evidence. </role> <role_requirements> {{role_requirements}} </role_requirements> <open_questions_from_interviews> {{open_questions}} </open_questions_from_interviews> <reference_contact> Relationship to the candidate: {{reference_relationship}} </reference_contact> <constraints> - Ask only about the candidate's work: what they did, how they did it, and how they worked with others. Do not ask about health, sick leave, family, age, religion, nationality or any other protected characteristic, and do not ask about salary history. - Questions should be open and ask for specific examples, not yes or no answers. - The opening script says why you are calling, that the call takes about {{call_length}}, and that the candidate gave their name as a reference. It shares nothing confidential about the role or other candidates. - The guide gathers evidence for the hiring team. It does not suggest a hiring decision. </constraints> <format> 1. Opening script: 3 to 4 sentences. 2. Questions: 8 to 10, grouped under the competencies in the requirements, with the open questions from the interviews covered first. Under each question, one follow-up probe. 3. A notes table with the columns Question, What they said, Specific example given (yes or no). 4. Closing: one question that invites anything else the reference wants to add, and a thank-you line. </format> <task> Using the role requirements and open questions above, write a reference check call guide for a call with this reference about a candidate for the {{role_title}} role. The guide should get the reference to describe specific situations, for example "Can you walk me through a deadline they missed and what they did next?", rather than offer general praise. If a question from the interviews cannot be asked without touching a protected characteristic, leave it out and say so after the guide. </task>
Variables
- {{role_requirements}}
- What the job needs, from the job description or interview plan.
- {{open_questions}}
- Concerns or gaps from the interviews you want the reference to speak to. Write "none" if there are none.
- {{reference_relationship}}
- For example "their manager at their last job for two years".
- {{call_length}}
- For example 15 minutes.
- {{role_title}}
- The job title.
Why it works
- Layout. Material sits first in XML-style tags and the task comes last, the order Google recommends for Gemini.
- Background facts. Open questions from the interviews are covered first, so the call fills real gaps instead of repeating what you already know.
- What to avoid. Health, sick leave and other protected topics are ruled out by name, because reference calls are where they most often slip in.