Please don’t tell me reference checking is a waste of time and that no one will give you any useful information on your candidates. That’s a cop-out. I know managers who learn all kinds of helpful things about potential hires by calling the right people and asking the right questions. And I personally give candid feedback on a regular basis to managers who are thinking about bringing someone on board I’ve worked with in the past.

If you’re not getting useful responses from reference checking, my guess is you might not be doing it right.

So here are five questions to try next time you’re considering hiring someone and really want some objective input. They’re best used if you’re talking to someone your candidate has worked for in the past. Managers who use them tell me they often generate interesting, insightful answers from references that help them learn something they didn’t know and might not have found out otherwise.

Question 1: If you could create the ideal job for Cheryl, what are the primary things you’d have her doing?

Question 2: If you could have done one thing differently with Cheryl while she was working for you, what would it have been?

Question 3: How did Cheryl’s job performance differ from what you thought you’d be getting when you hired her?

Question 4: What management style did you find got the best results from Cheryl?

Question 5: What one piece of advice would you give me if I do end up working with Cheryl?

What I think works about these questions is that they give references the opportunity to provide either positive or negative feedback in a diplomatic way without asking for the standard “strengths and weaknesses.” Even better, they sound less like you’re reading from a page out of “Reference Checking 101” and more like you’re having a conversation with someone who’s professional opinion you really want to hear.

Before you write off reference checking, think about how asking better questions might yield better results.

Now, what questions do you typically ask references? Please share them in the comments section.

Janna Mansker is vice president of client services for Berke, a human resources consulting firm, where she leads the company’s education initiatives and advocates for clients. She can be reached at janna@berkegroup.com.