​Recruiter Questions to Ask a Hiring Manager

Questions when taking a job order

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• How long has this position been open?
• Is there a high degree of urgency associated with this position?
• What are the consequence of this position not being filled?
• What have you done so far to try to fill this position?
• What channels have you used to source talent?
• What is the salary scope?
• How flexible is the salary?
• What about this position would compel top candidates to consider it?​
• What career path is available for a person in this position?​

Questions about the company

• ​How large is your team currently?
• What is your hiring plan over the next 12 months?
• How do you currently measure the quality of your hires?
• How would you describe the company culture?
• How have you found the current top performers at your company?
• How long do your hires stay on average?
• What has your turnover been like during the past year?
• Why did your last employee leave the organization?
• Why do people stay with our organization?
• What perks or benefits does your organization offer to its employees?

Questions about the candidate

• If you’ve rejected candidates for the role so far, what were the reasons?
• What projects will the successful candidate be working on?
• What adjectives describe a person who would be successful within this role?
• How important are interpersonal skills?
• What are the “must-have” candidate qualities?
• What are the “like to have” candidate qualities?
• Which personality traits have worked out for your company in the past?
• Which personality traits have NOT worked out for your company?
• How would you measure the success of a person in this position?
• If I found the perfect candidate, how quickly could you move on them?

Questions about the process

• How far into the recruiting process are you?
• How many people have you interviewed for this role?
• Are we the only firm working on this position or has it been released to everyone?
• If you’re not responsible for recruiting for your team or company, who is?
• Who is involved in your hiring process?
• Are the key decision makers cooperative?
• Are the key decision makers on the same page in terms of the job order specifications?
• Do I have direct contact with the hiring authority?
• If so, will they respond to my requests within 24-48 hours?
• What’s the hiring manager’s availability for interviews?
• What talent assessment tools do you include in your recruitment process?
• In your absence, who else can I ask about the role or candidate requirements?
• How many stages are in your organization’s interview process?
• On average, how long does your hiring process take?
• Will the candidate need to do any formal presentations?

​Unusual Questions to ask ONLY if You Want

You could stop right here, if you wanted to. After that, that is a TON of questions. However, if you really want to make sure that you’ve “kicked over every rock,” there are even more questions that you can ask. These aren’t unusual questions, per se, but they do fall into the category of questions that the hiring manager might not expect you to ask.

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• What has changed at the company since you’ve been hired?
• If you could change one thing about the organization, what would it be?
• What are the reasons that you have personally for staying with the organization?
• How would you describe the “perfect candidate” for this position?
• What annoys you the most about candidate behavior during the interview and hiring process?
• How confident are you in your ability to “sell” this position?
• How confident are you in your ability to “sell” this organization?

After Your Meeting/Call.. Questions to Ask Yourself

• Will it be reasonably easy to find candidates for this position?
• How much work does the hiring manager seem prepared to do?
• How well will the hiring manager “sell” the position and the company?
• How confident am I that the hiring manager will communicate effectively during the hiring process?
• Are there similar positions that my firm is currently working on?
• Will this be a “cold search” or do we have a candidate pool from which we can draw?
• What is my “gut feeling” about this job order?
• What is my “gut feeling” about this client?
• Can I market this position effectively?
• Can I market this company effectively?
• Is the position salary high enough to be worth my time?
• Is the fee percentage associated with the placement high enough to be worth my time?
• Can I do consistent business with this client in the future?

Regardless if you ask hiring managers questions over the phone or ask them in person, asking these questions is crucial. Without the answers to these questions, you increase the risk associated with the search. Specifically, you increase the risk of it ending badly—for you, that is. And you increase the chances that you’ll find yourself asking another question, anyway: “What the heck happened?”