Hiring Managers are one of the modern workplace's great paradoxes. They ascend to their role through hard work, reliability, leadership skills, considerable 
proficiency in their craft, and a bevy of other professional feathers in their cap. What's missing? The hiring, of course! After years of displaying their skill for their role and management of others, suddenly, these professionals find themselves performing a task for which they have very little background. I'm certain I don't need to reiterate the importance of making those great hires, so how do hiring managers bridge the gap and focus on hiring in a meaningful and effective way? Thus arises an opportunity for recruiters and hiring managers to work together to define the open roles and set one another up for success.
Pre-Sourcing Pow-Wow
Before we begin sourcing for a role at Entelo, all the interviewers, the hiring manager, and our recruiters will have a quick meeting to discuss the open role. The meeting is in service of describing the ideal candidate, defining their responsibilities, and coming up with a list of must-haves as well as nice-to-haves. The more information with which the team and Hiring Manager can arm the Recruiter, the higher quality candidates they can deliver. Then, when the Hiring Manager and Recruiter can sync up one on one, discuss a ballpark range for compensation, as there's nothing more frustrating than getting all the way to the offer before learning that salary expectations between an organization and a candidate are misaligned.
Defining the Role
The most valuable thing a Hiring Manager can do early in the hiring cycle is paint the most comprehensive picture of the candidate possible. In addition to the must-haves and nice-to-haves, take a look at your current or former team members to nail down what it is you value in a new hire. What are the qualities of your best performers? What was it about previous employees that didn't work out? Clone what's working and axe what didn't.
Next, think about some medium and long term goals for the role. What does success look like in this role 6 months in to the job? A year in? If there's a specific target in mind, recruiters can look for candidates with background on that particular sort of task and even work it into initial phone screens.
Give Them A Reason to Love You
Often, interviewers forget that the evaluation taking place in that interview room is a two way street. You're trying to decide if a candidate would be a great addition, and the candidate is trying to decide if your office would be a great place to work. Don't assume that you have all the power and people are clamoring to land your job. Take some time to tailor an explanation of why exactly this role represents a great opportunity for your interviewee. There are a million places to work and earn a paycheck, so if you're going to land a top performer you're going to need to give them a reason to sign up other than money.
