Tailored to the shape of product manager work. Universal questions plus the 3 role-specific ones that surface the most useful signal for this hire.
Universal
How do you know [Candidate] — what was your working relationship?
What you're learning:Establishes context. Their boss has a different read than a peer; a direct report has yet another.
What stood out about [Candidate]'s work?
What you're learning:Lets them lead with strengths. Listen for specifics vs generics — vague answers are a flag.
Where did [Candidate] struggle? Where did they need support?
What you're learning:Every strong candidate has growth edges. A reference who says 'nothing' is a flag of its own.
How did [Candidate] respond when they got hard feedback?
What you're learning:Single best predictor of how they'll perform under stress and how they'll grow in the next role.
Would you hire [Candidate] again, knowing what you know now? For what kind of role?
What you're learning:The crown jewel of any reference check. The 'for what kind of role' qualifier is the truth-tell.
What's the working environment where [Candidate] thrives best?
What you're learning:Cross-check against your team's actual environment. If they need a structured boss and yours is hands-off, big risk.
Is there anything I should be worried about going into this hire?
What you're learning:The open-ended catch-all. Often produces the most useful single fact in the whole call.
Product Manager specific
How did [Candidate] handle disagreements with engineering on scope or approach?
What you're learning:Bad PMs either capitulate or overrule. Good PMs surface the trade-off and let the team make it explicit.
Did [Candidate] kill anything? What and why?
What you're learning:PMs who never kill projects accumulate sprawl. Reference can confirm whether [Candidate] had the discipline to cut.
How did [Candidate] use customer input — voice of customer, qual, quant?
What you're learning:Listen for honest reflection on what worked and what didn't. Discovery practice varies hugely across PMs.
Raffi calls every product manager applicant and ranks them. You only reference-check the top 3 — the ones you're actually about to hire. $25 starter credit.