✔ The briefing call is critical. I’ve worked with great hiring managers and internal recruiters who say, “Here’s where the company is going. This is why the role is open. We’ve decided to hire externally, and here’s why. This is how we define success for this person. This is what their org looks like today, what it may look like in the future, and who they’ll interface with. This is who will be involved in the interview process. This is our target compensation. This is how we’re thinking about the candidate’s skill set and companies they’ve worked at before. What do you think?” This is a very different conversation than hiring managers who start with “This is what I need…”
✔ Stakeholder alignment. Great hiring managers and recruiters ensure that all interviewers are aligned with the company vision, mission, the role, why it’s open, what we need in a candidate, and how to sell it. They also know who this candidate has met with already and who they'll meet next. They know what they’re assessing against. This is very different than pulling up a resume ten minutes before an interview and saying, “Tell me about yourself.” Over the past couple years I realized that sometimes there’s a huge value in me stepping in and providing this preparation to all interviewers, not just my direct clients.
✔ Fast, detailed interview feedback. We get more than “thumbs up!” because people know what they're assessing. Great hiring managers and recruiters also proactively think about who will collect feedback and when. They know when interviews are happening. I’ve started stepping in to do this with clients, reaching out directly for interview feedback. What's equally important is what we do with this feedback, so we pivot quickly if needed.
✔ Honesty. Setting expectations and preventing surprises. Great recruiters and hiring managers bring up concerns, no matter how small. This can be it’s own post.
✔ Take ownership. Great recruiters and hiring managers come to meetings with solutions versus only problems. Rather than saying “These people don’t exist!” they say, “Here's what I've found, so here’s what I recommend we do, what do you think?”
✔ Candidate relationships based on trust, transparency, communication, and accessibility. Great recruiters build trust with candidates from day one. For example, they may say, “If this position is perfect for you, great, but if not, I’m happy to get to know you and keep you in mind for the right opportunity at the right time.” Saying and believing that sets the tone for the relationship. There’s no hard sell to “close” a candidate. Giving and hearing feedback is critical. This will be another post too, so much to say.
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