Six reasons why you, as a hiring manager, should take the driver’s seat in the recruitment process
Unless you’re Google, your company brand won’t impress tech pros, but you can.
Some things really don’t open up the door for change. Take for example the wheel or bread and butter; you really can’t top those things, can you? But sometimes you do need change. When it comes to hiring the tech pros you need for your business, your department, or for specific tasks and projects, we are guessing that you might be inclined to use a recruiter. Although recruiters are a valued asset when it comes to hiring, we would like to highlight a few reasons why a hiring manager taking the lead might have its advantages.
Of course, larger-scale businesses might have their own recruiting department or have a section of HR that is designated to talent acquisition. In this case, this approach might be counterintuitive. Still, that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t want to get involved in the hiring process from the bottom up. We are not just talking about overseeing the process or making the final decision; we are talking about taking the driver’s seat position.
“A great leader can attract great talent with their accomplishments, personality and experience”
The laws of attraction are just as strong in the business world as in the dating world. A great leader can attract great talent with their accomplishments, personality and experience. Your unique understanding of the job at hand and your work history make you a real asset for attracting the right people. So let’s get started with the six main reasons why you as the hiring manager are the best equipped for attracting the tech talents you need.
1. Under the surface
All companies have a semi BS sounding vision statement, mission statement or even nice-sounding values on their career or business websites. Let’s be real here. It’s just how they want to be seen and that’s ok, that’s part of the game. They will give you the illusion of a pristine, ideal world, where it’s all smiles and of course everyone gets along 100% of the time.
Even in the first round of a job interview, the recruiting team is trying to sell the job and is praising the company’s culture, the perks, the benefits and the fun that employees have. That’s great, and of course this is their prerogative. But as a hiring manager, your job is quite different. During the recruitment process, you get the chance to impress great candidates by providing real insights as well as presenting them with your own vision for the team. A hiring manager can explain what those stressful all-nighters are really like, the tough days that culminate into a job well done, and even the failures or shortcomings of a team.
This detailed reality of what someone’s job could be is an attractive gesture of honesty and reality. This goes a long way. You can see this as the difference between checking out the menu at a restaurant for a few minutes versus being friends with the head cook at a restaurant.
2. Technical Skills
When a leader needs to hire a tech pro for their team, it is imperative that the applicants line up with the project at hand. Who would know this information better than the hiring manager? Well… no one. The technology a company uses and what they expect from a new employee could sound as confusing to someone as speaking to them in a foreign language if you are not well versed in the tech lingo. Keeping that in mind, it’s safe to say that not all recruiters would be able to have an in-depth conversation with a potential candidate about their technical skills, the tech stack they use and so on.
That’s why instead of having a recruiter go back and forth relaying information between the candidate and the hiring manager, it would be much more effective to have the hiring manager be the first point of contact with the potential employee.
Okay, let’s take it one step further. Put yourself in the shoes of the eager candidate that wants to talk shop. For sure the candidate wouldn’t be happy to have their time wasted, and would most likely prefer and even be impressed if their first interview is with the hiring manager. And finally, let’s imagine a motivated job-seeker with a decent level of talent but who doesn’t have the exact software knowledge for the job, it’s the hiring manager who would be able to see the potential that lies under the surface. It is the hiring manager who can get a feel for the person and assess if this is actually the right person for the job.
It’s true they might need some extra training to learn an additional programming language, however the hiring manager can see some hidden potential that others wouldn’t. When it boils down to assessing the right candidate for skill level and potential, the hiring manager will definitely have an extra ability for scouting the right talent.
3. Chemistry
This one really doesn’t require a deep dive. It boils down to personality and chemistry within the department. It’s a no-brainer that if everyone is getting along, things will go smoother. People will be inclined to collaborate, and will be excited to work within a team setting. If you’re feeling positive, things will probably work out better than if you are feeling negative.
And hiring an asshole only because he or she has the right skill set is the worst decision you can make. Keep in mind that one bad apple in the team has the power to destroy your whole team within a short period of time. Chemistry shouldn’t be confused with the “similar to me” effect, which is hiring candidates that remind us of ourselves. But if you feel antipathy towards a candidate, you definitely shouldn’t hire this person. It’s your job to reduce unneeded conflicts that could occur when setting up a very incompatible team.
4. Your Team
A manager or department head will always have their own way of structuring their business. They will have a unique vision of their team, what it will become and how exactly it will change and evolve over time. The key to success is to create a team that is larger than the sum of its parts. You as the hiring manager know your team’s skills, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. You also know how they work together. Therefore, you would know best who would fit in your team. Having a team that supports you, and thrives on its own is a long and arduous journey. There is no clear recipe for achieving this phase, but for sure there are some crucial elements that have to be considered.
First of all, your job is to communicate a common vision that everyone in your team will understand, one that underpins your goals and has transparent objectives. With such a model, everyone will know exactly how to contribute their expertise towards achieving these objectives. Rather than telling smart people how to do their job, you should create a psychologically safe space. The only way to innovate, create change or generate something new is by setting a framework where risk and failure are encouraged in the pursuit of creativity.
These are precisely the topics that should be discussed in every job interview in order to ensure that the candidate fits into your team’s philosophy of collaboration and getting the job done.
5. The daily business
As a department head, you are probably constantly juggling multiple projects. You are analyzing the time frame for the job, how many tech pros you will need and how its levels of completion will be structured. In one situation, you might need to bring on an additional backend engineer just for one project, or an expert with a high level of proficiency with one piece of software like Golang/Go. Setting goals and standards for the very fabric of the job at hand is not a series of decisions; it’s actually being simultaneously immersed in the world of technology and business that is specific to your company.
Success depends on hiring the right person for the right job, taking into account their skills, attitude, and motivation. But it always makes sense to look at the process from the candidate’s perspective. It would be safe to assume that what interests the candidates most will help them to decide whether or not to take the job. Information about the “daily business” is also relevant for the candidate.
We are not talking about the technical stuff; it is much more about the project structure, the timelines, the unwritten rules, and whether the project team works according to scrum or not. Providing useful insights about the project-onboarding, specific training opportunities, how the performance review is managed and more details about the term “flexible working hours”, etc. is key to attracting the right candidates.
So… who is the most suitable person to provide these details?
6. Candidate experience
It goes without saying that putting yourself in the candidates’ shoes would be the ideal way to understand their perspective. If the first point of contact on the company side is someone who is able to provide the most relevant insights about the job, the candidate's understanding will be amplified. There are a bunch of great recruiters out there that are capable of answering all significant questions, even the technical ones, but these kinds of professionals are in the minority.
Nevertheless, getting the chance from the beginning to have contact with the hiring manager, who eventually will become the direct supervisor at the end of the hiring process, will lead the candidate to feel a stronger level of appreciation. One additional advantage is quite obvious in terms of saving time. After having a conversation with your future boss both parties will unquestionably be able to decide if it is worthwhile to continue with the hiring process. This way there is less back and forth between all parties involved (recruiter, hiring manager and candidate).
These days some hiring managers already use their private social network accounts like Linkedin, AngelList or Xing to identify potential candidates. Instead of waiting for CV’s provided by HR or headhunting agencies, they contact the selected candidates directly with a personalized message. This approach will foster a better relationship from the begging.
If your company doesn’t have its own HR department, you as a founder or hiring manager are on your own anyway. If your company does have an HR department, then you should be asking yourself what role should the recruiting department play. There are various ways of designing the relationship between recruiters and hiring managers. The most important thing is to relate as partners rather than working in opposition. A great recruiting department that’s got your back has huge advantages. We don’t want to recommend avoiding HR or, worse, getting rid of HR. Still, as a hiring manager or founder, we suggest that you should definitely take the driver seat position and invest a hell of a lot of time attracting and hiring the right people for your team or company.
We do not like subliminal advertising. We prefer a straightforward approach. So, if you are a hiring manager or founder, we would be happy if you check out our early-stage project Carracta. We are building a job platform that bridges the gap between great leaders and tech pros without any middlemen. We put hiring managers on the front page of the recruiting process. If you leave us your email address, we will provide you with early access to our platform. Don’t worry, we will ABSOLUTELY not send you any spam. We look forward to hearing from you.
For more information, visit Carracta’s homepage.
By tgsp
