Confessions of a Hiring Manager

Published on July 20, 2013 at 4:58 pm

In the course of my 30 year career in human resources and career consulting, I have had the privilege of interviewing thousands of applicants from Fortune 100 companies to Mom & Pop small businesses.

So I’m sharing some of my inner thoughts while interviewing candidates. It is my hope that this list will give you insight into the minds of hiring managers. This is the kind of insider information I share with my clients. It gives them a great foundation and a competitive edge.

  • Is there an immediate connection?
  • Are you friendly? Affable? Approachable? Are your instantly likable?
  • Are you comfortable and confident?
  • Do you belong on this team? Do your skills and strengths complement the team’s?
  • Do you have a professional demeanor?
  • Are you smart enough for this job?
  • Will you work your butt off and do whatever it takes?
  • Do you have energy and enthusiasm?
  • Do you have the critical skill sets or can you learn them quickly?
  • Are you going to face problems, adversities and difficulties?
  • Do you have the grit and determination to get though tough situations and difficult people
  • Are you high or low maintenance?
  • Are you positive and reasonable or a whiner and complainer?
  • Are you a realistic optimist or are you cynical and negative?
  • Are you a careful and critical thinker?
  • Do you think before you act? Or Do you act before you think?
  • Are you a self-starter?
  • Will you get things done?
  • Do you have what it takes to meet challenging deadlines?
  • Do you get right to it or wait until you’re told?
  • Will you win others over?
  • Are you easy for the others on my team to like?
  • Are you humble or full of yourself?
  • Do you take yourself too seriously?
  • Have you learned from your mistakes?
  • Will you add value to my team?
  • Will hiring you make me look good?
  • Will you make my job easier and add synergy to my team?

This post was written by Lisa Jacobson

Categorized in:

1 Comment

Leave a Reply to Sara Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *