Hiring Manager

A sales team needs another account manager, and a recruiter can find and coordinate candidates, but someone must explain what the new person will do and how success will be judged. That person is usually the hiring manager.

For owners, a hiring manager connects a real work need to a fair selection and a useful first day, so the role is active judgment and timely decisions, not simply signing the offer. Start with the need by asking whether the team is replacing someone, adding capacity or changing skills, since a clear business case can prevent hiring for an outdated role.

Define the work by listing key duties, outcomes, location and realistic qualifications, because a wish list of every attractive skill can shrink the candidate pool without improving fit. Confirm budget as well, with pay range, headcount authorisation and start date approved by the right owners, so the manager does not promise terms that finance or HR cannot support.

SHRM recruiting guidance covers collaboration around role definition, assessment and candidate experience, and it informs process design but does not assign the same approval authority in every organisation. The SHRM interviewing toolkit discusses structured selection, so a hiring manager should agree job-related criteria before seeing favourite candidates.

Partner with recruiting too, since the recruiter can source, schedule and guide the process while the manager provides role context and timely feedback, and handing over a vague brief slows both. Choose an assessment method relevant to the role and lawful in the jurisdiction, because interviews, work samples or references can test different requirements.

Use consistent questions so comparable candidates have a fair chance to show the same capabilities, as an unstructured conversation can favour familiarity over evidence. Record evidence of skills and gaps against criteria rather than personal impressions such as a good vibe, since a decision record helps when interviewers disagree.

Keep the process moving by agreeing a reasonable timeline before opening the role and telling people when it changes, because delayed feedback can lose candidates. An illustrative time to decision is the date of approved choice minus the date a role opened, so if approval takes 42 days it is a six-week interval, though it does not by itself measure hiring quality.

Check candidate communication as well: the recruiter may handle updates, but the manager should know what has been promised, since silence after a final interview harms reputation. Avoid overloading the manager, because several interviews and work samples require real time, and invite relevant colleagues without enlarging the panel beyond what adds evidence.

State who decides before an offer, since a manager may recommend while a founder approves, or may have full authority inside a pay band, and listen to contrary evidence from specialists rather than dismiss it because a candidate made a strong personal impression. Review internal candidates fairly with clear criteria, keep protected information out of scoring, do not oversell the role, plan onboarding before acceptance, and respect confidentiality, since one hire is not proof that a particular interview question worked and candidate notes should be seen only by authorised people under applicable retention rules.