Questions Hiring Managers Ask Themselves When Assessing Candidates

Readers often ask me for insight into the mysterious and confusing “how employers hire.” While the recruitment process—keep in mind there’s no universal recruitment process, as every employer assesses candidates differently—may seem shrouded in secrecy, there are common questions that hiring managers consider when evaluating job candidates.

Your interviewer won’t ask these common questions directly; they’re in their mind. Hence, never take your interviewer’s questions at face value; try to discern the underlying question.

INTERVIEWER: “Do you live nearby?”

QUESTION ACTUALLY BEING ASKED: Will this candidate be reliable?

INTERVIEWER: “Tell me about a time you were in a conflict with a colleague and how you handled it. What was the outcome?”

QUESTION ACTUALLY BEING ASKED: Will this candidate be easy to work with?

Understanding, and therefore speaking to, the following four questions on every hiring manager’s mind is a sure way to endear yourself to your interviewer.

Will this person be a fit with the current team and company?

The primary concern for a hiring manager is whether a candidate will seamlessly fit into the company’s culture and existing team. Demonstrating how well you’ll ‘fit in,’ you’ll significantly increase your odds of getting hired. Employers are looking for more than just someone who can do the job. They’re looking for candidates who’ll be a natural fit and complement their current employees’ work styles and personalities.

A candidate who doesn’t mesh well with the team will disrupt productivity, create interpersonal tensions, and drain morale. Therefore, understandably, hiring managers pay close attention to a candidate’s communication style, emotional intelligence, and teamwork skills.

Your interviewer is likely asking themselves:

• How well is this [candidate’s name] listening and responding to me?
• Does [candidate’s name] seem like someone who’d be comfortable working in a team?
• Will [candidate’s name] clash with [names of employees the candidate would be working closely with]?

Ultimately, you want your interviewer to envision how you’ll function in the existing workplace culture, that who’ll be a natural fit, will hit the ground running and not be a square peg in a round hole. Contrary to entitlement-fueled belief, employers aren’t responsible for you fitting into their workplace; that responsibility is entirely yours.

Will they be easy to work with? (read: Will they be easy to manage?)

With so much anti-employer rhetoric nowadays, hiring managers assess more than ever whether a candidate will be pleasant to work with and easy to manage. They want to avoid candidates who’ll require handholding, are overly sensitive to feedback, or are simply difficult to work with.

Skilled hiring managers recognize red flags such as:

• Defensiveness or antagonism in response to questions
• Rigid or inflexible thinking
• Failure to take accountability for mistakes
• Tendency to make excuses or blame others

You want to come across as a candidate who’s mature, resilient, and a proactive problem-solver with a growth mindset, not someone who’ll be a high-maintenance employee.

Will they be a liability?

Employees are liabilities.

Employers want to minimize their liabilities.

A critical aspect of hiring is vetting candidates to ensure nothing in their background could adversely affect the company. (e.g., offensive online behaviour, having been let go for cause, exaggerating or lying about their experience and qualifications)

Ultimately, hiring managers must be confident that a new hire won’t bring any legal, ethical, or behavioural baggage that could expose the company to liability. The company must trust that the chosen candidate will be responsible, hardworking, ethical, and professional and that their outside activities, especially online, will not harm its brand and reputation.

Will they stick around?

I’ve yet to meet a hiring manager who doesn’t gravitate toward a candidate they feel will be a loyal, engaged, committed long-term employee. After not deeming a candidate a fit, having a feeling or getting the impression that the candidate is only looking for a stepping stone is the second most likely reason I reject a candidate. Onboarding and recruiting are time-consuming and expensive; therefore, employers aim to avoid disruptions and costs associated with turnover.

Your interviewer will look for signs that you’re genuinely interested in the role and the company as opposed to just a paycheck. Hence, you’ll be asked about your long-term career goals and, if you’re currently employed, why you’re looking for a new job. (Rare is the candidate who answers this convincingly.)

Your work ethic, reliability, and ability to handle the role’s demands are all qualities you want your interviewer to get a sense of. Provide evidence that you have stamina, the ability to adapt, and the commitment to succeed. Keep in mind employers want to reduce costly turnover as much as possible. Your interviewer will pass on your application if they feel you will be around only briefly. Finding the right candidate isn’t about skills and experience; these are secondary. Someone who’ll foremost be a loyal and engaged employee and has the right skills and experience is the right candidate.

If you feel you’re acing interviews (“I aced the interview! I answered every question on point.”) but not getting offers, it’s likely because you didn’t answer the four aforementioned questions every hiring manager asks themselves when interviewing.

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Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.