What Does a Hiring Manager Do? The Quick 2024 Guide!

Have you ever wondered what a hiring manager does, or are you looking to transition into the fiekd?

Along with critical recruitment and talent acquisition roles, hiring managers play a pivotal role in shaping a company's workforce, identifying top talent that aligns with the company culture while building and promoting your employer brand.

If you're interested in learning more about hiring managers, this article is for you.

So, let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

• Hiring managers shape the workforce by identifying top talent that aligns with the company's goals and culture.
• Hiring managers plan, source, screen, interview, choose, and work with HR and department leaders to ensure a seamless onboarding process.
• Hiring managers make final judgments and focus on identifying people who suit the company's goals, while recruiters source and screen prospects.
• Hiring managers love Vouch, a simple video tool that can be used at all stages of the hiring journey.
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What do hiring managers do?

In essence, hiring managers are in charge of finding the right person to fill open positions in a business. The hiring manager usually works with the HR team, which oversees the hiring and interview processes. 

The hiring manager is responsible for various tasks throughout the employment process. Let's explore these in greater depth.

1) Recruitment Planning

Hiring managers are at the forefront of recruitment planning, working closely with HR to determine staffing needs and create job descriptions. When a job opens, the hiring manager must formally ask the company to create a new role. This is done in the form of a job requisition.

2) Candidate Sourcing

A study by Glassdoor found that 76% of hiring managers in the US said it was hard to find suitable candidates. Hiring managers have to strategically use a variety of channels to find qualified prospects in what is called "candidate sourcing."

One strategy hiring managers use is Video tools like Vouch to attract top talent on social media channels like LinkedIn, which are also designed to help build an employer brand that appeals to the right candidates, those looking for work, and also those who are already employed.

3) Screening and Interviewing

Screening and interviews are essential steps in every hiring process, and hiring managers are charged with carefully reviewing resumes and applications to find people who meet the core job criteria - this is called screening. This means looking at education, experience, skills, and other relevant background information to see whether a candidate fits the job.

Once a short list of candidates has been made, often by recruiters, hiring managers meet them to understand how well they will suit the team and the challenges of the specific job at hand. There are different types of interviews, such as in-person, phone, two-way, and one-way video interviews, to name a few.

4) Selection and Onboarding

After the final interviews, hiring managers work with department heads and other stakeholders to choose the best applicant. This is also where video tools like Vouch are extremely powerful, as it's easy to share a video with your wider HR team.

5) Onboarding

After recruiting, hiring managers often oversee onboarding to ensure the new hire integrates well into the team. This includes working with HR to complete paperwork, giving the recruit the resources they need to succeed, and introducing them to their team members.
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Who Do Hiring Managers Work With? 1) The Wider HR Team

During the entire hiring process, hiring managers work closely with the recruiter if used, and HR work together to ensure that job descriptions are correct, that individuals are appropriately screened, and that hiring new employees goes smoothly.

2) Department Heads

Hiring managers also work with your department heads. Since the department heads are the ones directly handling future employees, hiring managers ensure that their talent requirements and priorities are met.

3) The Candidates

Most importantly, your hiring managers are the first point of contact for your candidates, so they ned to be great at managing time and also communications, where tools like Vouch can help significantly!
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What do hiring managers look for?

Hiring managers have a lot to do! Beyond accessing the vital skills and experience required for the role - the ability to find people who match your company's work culture and values is a major part of the role. 

It's also why your employer brand matters so much, so you are attracting the ideal candidates in the first place.

Here is a further breakdown: 

1. Relevant Skills and Experience

Hiring managers look for applicants with the training and work history needed to succeed. For a data scientist role, for instance, a hiring manager at Google would prefer applicants with machine learning algorithm experience.

2. Cultural Match 

Hiring people who match your company's culture and ideals is vital. Consider, Patagonia, known for being environmentally friendly, might give more weight to applicants who show they care about the environment and like to do things outside.

3. Adaptability and Flexibility 

Candidates who adapt to a dynamic work environment are also prioritized. For instance, an Amazon hire manager might be looking for people who have worked in high-pressure, fast-paced environments similar to Amazon's and other larger companies' work environments.

4. Strong Communication Skills 

Effective communication is another crucial factor hiring managers consider when hiring job seekers.

5. Professionalism and Work Ethic 

These characteristics are equally important in an employee, and they must look for values in job seekers. Companies value professionalism and work ethic because they demonstrate dedication and skill. They improve the workplace, increase trust between coworkers and clients, and boost productivity.

6. Continuous Learning and Development 

Hiring managers appreciate candidates committed to constant learning. People need to keep learning and growing to stay relevant and competitive in a changing job market.

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Hiring Managers vs. Recruiters

Recruiters and hiring managers are typically part of the human resources department - but their job responsibilities are often mixed up. They differ in terms of their role during interviews, creating a hiring plan, including employment contract negotiations.

Here are some comparisons of the 2 roles, diving into different areas of tasks and responsibilities:

NOTE: Recruiters can work for an agency or in-house. For the sake of comparison, we will assume an in-house recruiter role.

1) Roles and Responsibilities

Hiring Managers: Hiring managers are typically employees who identify hiring needs, write job descriptions, and make hiring decisions. They lead the hiring team in job search postings or job advertisements.

Recruiters: External or internal recruiters find, screen, and choose qualified candidates for job openings. Recruiters ensure the hiring manager's talent needs are met with the right candidate.

2) Work Focus and Expertise

Hiring Managers: Hiring managers are specialists who know the job's requirements. They're the final say for applicants who satisfy job requirements and fit the team and organization.

Recruiters: Recruiters find and do initial screening, gather incoming resumes, and conduct screening interviews, such as phone interviews and other sorts of initial job interviews. 

3) Decision-Making

Hiring Managers: The last word in hiring decisions belongs to the hiring managers. They make the final hiring choice after evaluating applicants according to their credentials, background, and team fit.

Recruiters: Although they are essential to the hiring process, recruiters cannot make the ultimate hiring decisions. They give the hiring manager a shortlist of suitable applicants and offer advice based on their evaluations.
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Conclusion

Hiring managers are crucial to shaping the company by hiring the perfect candidates for your company culture and employer brand. Their expertise, leadership, and commitment to finding the right talent make them invaluable assets in today's competitive job market.

Hiring managers also love tools like Vouch, as they help build your employer brand and streamline the recruitment process, saving significant time and costs per hire.
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Like to try Vouch?

Loved by companies like Canva, Nike, Cisco, Stryker, HubSpot, Amazon and more, tools like Vouch make leveraging video in your business remarkably easy.

Be sure to book a Vouch demo today to chat with one of our video content marketing experts.