answer:Some do. Some don’t. I’ve been a reference, and I’ve been contacted. I’ve been told by some hiring managers that they contacted my references, and I’ve been told by some references that they were called. I’ve also been a hiring manager who sometimes called and sometimes didn’t. I would think it very strange if all hiring managers behaved alike and you could predict that behavior. They are individuals with personal histories, preferences, and priorities and in different circumstances. A hiring manager in a corporation of 30,000 might behave differently from a hiring manager in a six-person shop, just as one example.