The dreaded hiring manager intake meeting

One of the biggest pain points for a Recruiter/Talent Advisor is submitting candidates to the Hiring Team only to have them rejected or disqualified. And you’re looking at these candidates saying “They checked off ALL the boxes that we covered in our meeting” Why are my candidates being rejected!?!?!?

I can't tell you all the reasons but I can give you the main one! This happens probably because hiring managers have a very high level view of what they are looking for. Meaning, they’re not deep off in the weeds like they used to be. So they have a tough time articulating and explaining what this person should have and what they would be doing on a daily basis. So the next best course of action would be to have a separate intake and discovery session with a top performer AND a regular staff member. This will help you get a broader more in depth picture of what this candidate would actually be doing on a day to day basis.

You will get a lot more information from the team rather than just speaking with the Hiring Manager. And I’m sure most of you do that so this message isn’t for you lol.

This message is for the TA’s and the Recruiters that don’t. So please, for the love of Pete, take some time to speak to as many team members as you possibly can. Because remember understanding a role is like an onion. There are so many layers to peel back and understand before you can get to the core. So peel back as many layers of that onion as you possibly can. Just don’t stop at that first layer (The Hiring Manager) go deeper!! Trust me, you are not leave that one meeting with the Hiring Manager and be able to recruit successfully!

I have found that it is really hard for a hiring manager to articulate what they’re looking for to a layperson. And when that happens I promise you, the hiring manager ends up being very dissatisfied and unhappy with the level of candidates being presented to them. Which will then send you back down a black hole and cause you to doubt yourself. So remember, insist on meeting with the whole team to get a clearer more vivid understanding of what the role entails.

Below is a shortlist of questions that I ask Hiring Teams in order for me to gain a better understanding of what the hiring manager is looking for: I’ve compiled a list of my favorites. Feel free to add or take away what works best for you:

I. What will the person be responsible for (projects, impact, etc.)?

II. What pain points will the hire solve?

III. What qualifications, skill sets, and tool proficiencies must they come with?

IV. Which skills and qualifications are nice-to-haves?

V. What will their day-to-day look like? What tasks does it entail?

VI. How will you measure their success?

VII. What’s the best person you know who has worked in this role and what qualities made them the best?

VIII. What challenges are typical—or what challenges do you foresee—in hiring for this role?

IX. Are there alternate job titles or skill sets that you would still consider for the position?

X. Are you willing to train a person who has 75% of what you’re looking for?

XI. What kind of soft skills are important for this role?

XII. What’s your targeted salary for this position?

HAPPY HEADHUNTING!