If you own a business, you know very well that your company’s success depends on hiring the right employees. After all, your employees are responsible for keeping the business’ day-to-day operation running smoothly. But to attract, review, hire, and onboard promising candidates, you will need to work closely with two important parties – hiring managers and recruiters.

Here at CIBR Warriors, we can sometimes use terms without necessarily explaining them better for the broader audience. Because of this, some companies go into recruiting not fully understanding the terminology and the difference between these two parties. One of the typical misunderstandings is who is actually responsible for hiring employees – hiring managers or recruiters?

Each has an important role to play in helping a company find and keep top employees. This blog post will explain who is in charge of the hiring process, the difference between hiring managers and recruiters, and what a potential candidate can do to ensure they will be chosen for the desired job position. 

Ready to start? Contact CIBR Warriors for the fastest way to qualified employees!

What is a Recruiter?

The role of a recruiter is mainly focused on the foundation for hiring employees that are right for the organization. A recruiter uses their expertise to build a strong pool of candidates where hiring manager will look to find their next hire, train hiring managers on the techniques of interviewing, and keep them on track so they can get back to candidates in a timely manner, as well as recommend and put into practice effective assessment methods that help objectively evaluate promising candidates. Basically, a recruiter makes the job of a hiring manager much more effortless and lighter. This brings us to a conclusion that a recruiter is a person responsible for managing a recruitment process, but a hiring manager is the one who actually closes the deal.

What is a Hiring Manager?

They are an employee, typically a manager or supervisor, who has requested a new position in the company to be filled. A hiring manager is responsible for managing the job and a department into which a future employee will be integrated.

A hiring manager is also responsible for defining and scoping out the job position, identifying the skills and qualifications a new employee will need, assigning a mentor for a new employee, the new employee welcome and onboarding, their integration with the rest of the department’s staff, the overall direction of the new employee’s job, responsibilities, and objectives, and all other responsibilities that come with the hiring manager’s role.

As they instigate the need for an employee, the hiring manager is the head of the team responsible for employee selection. Typically, they will first contact the recruiter and let them know about the need for a new hire. They may write a job position themselves or ask the recruiter to create one. The recruiter will then source candidates, sending resumes to a hiring manager who will then interview the most promising candidates. Although other members of an employee selection team may be looped into the interview process, a hiring manager will have an ultimate say over whether a candidate will be hired or not.

Since the hiring manager is a decision-maker of a recruitment process, they are also responsible for the outcome of the recruiting process, and if there is a bad hire, a hiring manager is the one who should investigate what went wrong.

The Role of a Hiring Manager in Recruiting

A hiring manager has multiple duties throughout every stage of the recruiting process, and those duties can only be done by them. Even if the recruiter has done their job perfectly, providing a shortlist of up-and-coming candidates, a hiring manager will still have to dig into candidates’ abilities and decide who is the ‘perfect fit.’ Therefore, only a hiring manager is able to:

• Evaluate candidates, detect their potential, and reject those candidates who look good on paper but lack the necessary skills;
• Inform a recruiter that they need to continue looking for good candidates if there hasn’t been a suitable candidate identified yet, instead of settling with a wrong option; and
• Impact the candidate’s decision to accept the job offer.

What do Hiring Managers Look for in a Candidate?

Probably the most common thing a hiring manager will say is that they are looking for a ‘perfect fit.’ But, this is a vague term that lacks the vital information most job seekers are looking for. So what does a ‘perfect fit’ actually include? Mostly, it is a combination of a perspective, skills, enthusiasm for a prospective job position and company, and a personality alignment with the team. But there are more elements to this mix that can be difficult to determine. However, regardless of each company’s unique corporate culture, specific qualities such as professionalism, punctuality, etc., align with most organizations’ conception of a ‘perfect fit.’

If you want to communicate to hiring managers that you are a perfect fit they are looking for, here are some suggestions of things you can do:

Understand the company culture – What are the core values of your future employer? What does the work environment look like? Is it serious or more casual and laid back? Are they open to working remotely or not? Understanding a company culture is imperative, so you must do your research before your initial interview.

Find out who will do your interview – You may not know who you will interview with, but that shouldn’t stop you from asking. If you find out who will conduct your interview, make sure to research their background, experience, and role in the company. This will usually be a hiring manager, so proper research will give you a better sense of what they are looking for. The more prepared you are, the more you will seem like a ‘perfect fit.’

Talk to current employees – If you know someone who is currently working at your prospective company, make sure to talk to them about the company culture, workplace, and other aspects that might help you form a solid picture of what they are looking for in a hire. If you don’t know anyone at the organization, you may contact employees in peer positions via LinkedIn.

Be ready to demonstrate the relevance of your work experience – What better way to show that you are the candidate they are looking for than to clearly articulate how your skills and experience will enhance a company. Be specific and detailed while explaining how your past experiences will help you perform at your best in your new role.

Practice your interview skills – Make sure to contact your recruiter and ask him about the potential interview questions. From there, rehearse the questions, answering them out loud to work on any issues with your delivery.

Conclusion

The hiring manager plays a vital role in deciding on who is a perfect fit for their vacant position in the company. While the details of this job position can vary from organization to organization, the hiring manager is always essential in the hiring decision. In most companies, they may not be the only decision-makers, but since the new employee will commonly report to them, they get to have a power of veto.

The hiring manager will determine the new employee’s job responsibilities, start date, and plan for their orientation and onboarding. They will also decide who will be the new employee’s mentor and send out a welcome letter and make the new employee announcement.

Likewise, a good recruiter also plays an important role in hiring a new employee. They are dedicated to continually searching for the best of the best candidates. They will also speak their mind when they notice dealbreakers. This is how they can make the hiring manager’s job easier and support the hiring manager throughout the hiring process.

The most important thing is that both the hiring manager and a recruiter work together toward the same goal: finding the best talent as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. The hiring manager and the recruiter should have open communication with candidates, set clear expectations on the next steps, and provide prompt feedback as well as a positive interview experience.

Hundreds of new candidates are looking for job openings every day, and CIBR Warriors are there to help you find the right one for you. For more help on advancing your network administrator career, contact us. We’d be happy to answer your questions and provide you with the best advice for getting started.