Great Hiring Manager Screens and Teams

Jan 28, 2025

Hiring Manager Screens are the first time I meet face-to-face with the candidate. I believe my job is to evaluate if there is mutual excitement about how this person’s full self will contribute to my team.

The Hiring Manager Screen is the most important culture-building piece for my team. I believe it's my job to know the team culture best, and determine not just fit, but value add.

A great Hiring Manager Screen also shows the values of my company. What kind of bar do I hold on my team? My hope is the candidate picks up on the high bar, what I screen for, which further inspires them. I believe great people truly want to know that they're going to have to earn the opportunity, and that they work with others that also earned their role.

Here are a few things I consider looking for. I don't use this list as a checklist during the screen, but rather something to look back on after my conversation and pick out attributes that were especially memorable.

• Does this person care deeply about a winning team? I'm building a team, not a family.
  “Family” provides unconditional love and support. “Team” implies we're there to support each other, but ultimately there to win.

• What intangible value-add could this person bring to the team?
  Simply doing work on the team is not sufficient value-add. The most important signal I get from this interview is spikes from the “intangible” aspects, especially things that are unteachable. Some things I might care about include:

  • Determination. How many walls will they run through to succeed? Do they give up too easily?

  • Craft. Do they care deeply about details? Do they get frustrated when details are not correct?

  • Interest in the Business. Do they actually care about the business and success of the business?

  • Curiosity. Are they interested in learning? Do they take initiative — at work, and outside of work — to constantly learn and apply those learnings?

  • Communication. Can they express themselves in a reasonable way?

  • Creativity. How do they bring new ideas and creative energy to the team?

  • Initiative. At what scope do they just fix/ship things? Are they a high-agency individual?

  • Social. Are they a particularly social person, and do they care about going out of their way to build more than a cordial relationship with their coworkers?

  • Energy. Will they positively contribute to the happiness of the people on my team, and at the company?

  • Intrinsic Rewards. Do they find personal gratification in doing good work other than money and a promotion?

I don’t need to have someone that meets all of the above criteria, but I can generally get a sense of some of these things (~4-6) after a good Hiring Manager Screen; and, I can get a sense of detractors too. The remainder of the interviews will try to paint a clearer picture.

Of course, I always want to make sure the person can do the job. I try to work with my Recruiter to make sure the Recruiter Screen + Resume gives me as accurate of a picture as possible; this includes questions about the person's scope and complexity of their work, and questions about their skill fit. I minimize the time spent on pointed questions here, although I still do try to get a sense of it.

The way I do this screen is to hang out with them like I would a new friend, or a coffee chat with a new coworker. I just get to know them, their skills, some experiences, and what makes them tick. I also take a few minutes to clear my mind before the screen, so I can be restfully prepared to have a genuine interest in learning about them and their interests. (I find it difficult to jump from meeting to meeting with no breaks and still my maximum, authentic self.)

Some example questions I use to guide and stimulate conversation, but I use this more as a "icebreaker list" rather than a checklist of things to ask.

1. What do you really love doing? What are the things about work that get you up in the morning? [followup] Why <company/role>?

2. What are you really proud of building in your career? Why? Tell me more.

3. What were some of the toughest / lowest times in your career? How did you get through it?

4. What are you looking for in a team / company? Related: what attributes about your previous/team company do you want to keep, and which ones do you want to change?