Recruiters act as matchmakers, bridging the gap between hiring managers and candidates to ensure the best fit for both. However, rookie recruiters often shy away from asking the critical questions essential for creating an optimal match. Fear of probing too deeply can result in poor placements leading to costly bad hires. To succeed, recruiters must go beyond surface-level qualifications, asking the right questions to understand the role’s real needs and the candidate’s ideal working environment. This ensures a match that benefits everyone over the long term.
The Hiring Manager
Effective recruiting begins with asking the right questions to the hiring manager. Relying solely on job descriptions can leave recruiters with an incomplete picture of the role.
Understanding the Needs of the Role
Experience. A rookie recruiter filled a software engineer position based solely on the job description, overlooking the team’s collaborative nature. The technically skilled candidate struggled to adjust and left within six months, feeling isolated.
Many rookie recruiters rely solely on hiring managers’ job descriptions. However, it’s important to ask questions to align the recruiter’s efforts with the department’s actual needs to ensure that candidates who are sourced and presented are more likely to fit both the role and the team. Questions to ask include:
- Why is the position open? Is it a new role? Did someone resign or get promoted?
- What are the daily responsibilities that go beyond what’s listed in the job posting?
- What are your key performance indicators (KPIs)? What does success look like in this role?
- What are the must-have hard skills versus soft skills for candidate success at your company?
Key takeaway: Understanding the role’s needs is crucial to ensuring the recruiter identifies candidates who possess the necessary skills and align with the team dynamics and organizational culture. This will ultimately reduce turnover and enhance overall productivity.
Probing Into Company Culture
Experience. A recruiter presented a high-performing sales candidate from a competitive environment without assessing cultural fit. The candidate clashed with the team-oriented culture, leading to tension and low morale.
Understanding company culture helps recruiters present candidates who will thrive and fit into the company’s long-term vision—improving employee retention. A rookie mistake is not exploring the company culture enough. Knowing the organizational culture can prevent mismatches later in the hiring process. Recruiters should ask:
- What drives the company—innovation, teamwork, results, or customer service?
- How is diversity and inclusion reflected in team structure and policies?
- Is overtime expected? How flexible are the work hours?
Key takeaway. Probing into company culture is essential because it allows recruiters to identify candidates who will excel in their roles and align with the organization’s values and dynamics, enhancing employee satisfaction and retention.
Assessing Team Dynamics
Experience. A project manager was placed in a collaborative team but preferred independent work. This mismatch caused project delays and interpersonal conflicts, resulting in their resignation after a year.
A candidate’s ability to fit in with the team’s way of working can be a deciding factor in long-term success. In fact, 51 percent of bad hires are the result of the employee not working well with others. Beyond understanding the company culture, recruiters need to gauge how the specific team operates:
- Is this candidate going to lead a team, or will they be an individual contributor?
- Is the team collaborative, or does it operate in a more siloed manner?
- How hands-on or hands-off is the hiring manager?
Key takeaway. Assessing team dynamics is crucial because it ensures that candidates possess the necessary skills and also work effectively within the team structure, minimizing the risk of conflict and enhancing overall project success.
Related: Adapting to Demographic Shifts: Building a Cohesive Multigenerational Workforce
Determining Long-Term Goals and Growth Opportunities
Experience. A graphic artist was hired without discussing growth opportunities. Disillusioned after a year, they left for a competitor offering clear advancement paths.
To target candidates looking for roles that align with their career aspirations, it’s important to know the long-term goals and growth opportunities available. It also provides talking points during interviews, making the opportunity more attractive. Recruiters should ask:
- Is this position expected to evolve?
- Will there be opportunities for promotions?
- Is the company growing, pivoting, or scaling back? What does this mean for the department?
Key takeaway. Understanding long-term goals and growth opportunities is vital to help attract candidates whose career aspirations align with the company’s trajectory, ultimately enhancing retention and job satisfaction.
The Candidate
After gaining insights from the hiring manager, it’s time to shift focus to the candidates. While meeting the hiring manager’s expectations is important, assessing the cultural fit and team dynamics is equally crucial. Engaging candidates on their motivations, work preferences, and alignment with company values, assists in making informed decisions that promote long-term success for the employee and the organization.
Related: Bridging the Communication Gap to Offer an Exceptional Candidate Experience in 2024
Focusing on Skills and Not Fit
Experience. A candidate with strong technical skills applied for a data analyst role. They emphasized their ability to work independently, but the team thrived on collaboration. After struggling to adapt for months, the candidate left, feeling misaligned despite their qualifications.
Many new recruiters zero in on whether the candidate has the necessary skills for the job and overlook how well the candidate fits into the company’s culture and team dynamics. It’s crucial to ask deeper questions:
- What work environment do you thrive in?
- Do you prefer a collaborative or independent setting?
- How do you handle change and challenges in a company?
Key takeaway. Focusing on cultural fit alongside skills is crucial to ensure candidates possess the required qualifications and align with the team’s dynamics, reducing turnover and enhancing workplace harmony.
Related: The Shift from College Degrees to Skills: Enrollment Decline is Boosting Skills-Based Hiring
Not Probing Deeply Enough About Compensation
Experience. A recruiter avoided detailed salary discussions, leading to an HR business partner candidate rejecting the company’s offer due to mismatched expectations.
Salary discussions can feel uncomfortable for rookie recruiters, but failing to ask detailed questions about compensation expectations can lead to mismatches later. Make sure to ask:
- What are your salary expectations?
- Are you open to negotiation or flexible compensation structures (bonuses, stock options, etc.)?
- What benefits or perks are most important to you?
Key takeaway. Probing deeply enough about compensation is important to prevent mismatched expectations, ensuring both the candidate and the company are aligned from the outset—reducing the likelihood of rejected offers.
Failing to Explore Company Culture
Experience. A proposal writer candidate accustomed to hands-off management was placed with a hands-on hiring manager. Ongoing conflicts during performance reviews led to the candidate’s exit after a year.
Seventy-four percent of employees feel demotivated by a poor culture fit. Yet, rookie recruiters often forget to ask candidates about the culture they thrive in, which can result in poor placements. Qualifying candidates by asking about their preferred working environment, management style, and team structure preferences is crucial. Ask:
- What type of company culture motivates you?
- How do you handle feedback or performance reviews?
- What level of structure or autonomy do you prefer?
Key takeaway. Diving deep into company culture is important to ensure a candidate’s working style aligns with the organization’s management approach which significantly reduces the risk of conflicts and turnover.
Conclusion
To be successful, rookie recruiters must ask the right questions for successful placements. By understanding hiring managers’ needs, exploring company culture, assessing team dynamics, and engaging candidates on their work preferences and compensation expectations, recruiters can avoid costly hiring mistakes. This holistic approach fosters strong connections benefiting both parties and increasing employee satisfaction and retention. By embracing their role as matchmakers, recruiters create a more productive and harmonious workplace where candidates and organizations thrive together.
