A management position comes with innumerable responsibilities: keeping up team morale, making sure the group works well together, and working with employees on their career goals. These tasks are also key considerations for managers as they look to hire new employees. In addition to looking at a worker’s technical, communication, and professional-etiquette skills, a good manager must also try to get a sense of a candidate’s personality and of whether they will work well with others. A bad fit for the team will lead to conflict and may slow down a project’s progress.
What follows is an overview of the basic hiring protocol and a summary of best practices for managers.
Job requirements
The best practice before posting a job requisition is to prioritize the requirements. What technical skills are you willing to compromise on? What is the ideal level of education for the position? Do you require previous, related work experience? Should the candidate have familiarity in working with multiple departments or huge teams? Does the position have room for growth? Once you note down all the requirements and responsibilities, write a clear and comprehensive job requisition. If the posting is unclear, you might spend a lot of time screening applications and interviewing candidates who are unsuitable.
Application screening
Once your company posts the job and you start getting applications, do a preliminary screening. Go over the résumés, CVs, and cover letters, and rank them in terms of suitability. I particularly enjoy reading cover letters as they provide a little insight into an applicant’s career choices and into what interests them most about the position. Pick the most suitable applications, and start setting up phone interviews.
Screening calls
Most hiring managers schedule one-on-one phone interviews with the candidates before setting up in-person/virtual interviews with the team. A screening call helps you connect with the applicant, make sure all the information they provided on their résumé is correct, and gives you a chance to judge their commitment to the position. It will also give the candidate a chance to understand the position requirements in detail and to clear up any doubts that they may have. Some common questions to ask in screening calls are:
- Can you tell me a bit about yourself? How do your background and skills align with our posting?
- What interests you in this position? What skills and expertise do you want to develop if you get the job?
- If applicable: Why did you leave your last job?
- How do you learn best, and do you like working with others? How do you manage conflict?
- What salary range are you expecting for this position?
- If applicable: Can you provide me with three references from recent supervisors?
Once you complete the screening calls, invite the short-listed candidates for an interview. Be as transparent as you can about the interview process so that they can prepare sufficiently.
Interviews
As a hiring manager, you act as a bridge between the candidate and the team. For the interview to go smoothly, always provide your team with all the information regarding the applicant: their résumé/CV, cover letter, and any notes from your screening call that might be relevant. This will help the team prepare for the interview.
In most science departments, the whole team is involved in the interview process. This can mean multiple one-on-one meetings or a single group interview with the whole team. Usually, the hiring manager conducts these interviews, which includes introducing the team and the applicant to each other and filling in silences with questions when needed.
Hiring
Immediately after each interview, ask your team to give feedback regarding the interviewee. This will help you to narrow down your options. Once the team reaches a consensus, you, as the hiring manager, should act as a liaison between the human resources department (HR) and the candidate. The most critical part of the post-interview process is negotiating the salary. You should always work with HR in understanding the market and in presenting the candidate with the most appropriate offer. Plan also to discuss the upper salary cap with the supervisor and HR prior to negotiations. After the offer guidelines are set, send an offer letter to the candidate.
During the interview process, plan to communicate the status of recruitment with all your potential candidates. Often, companies ignore candidates whom they don’t select and don’t send them a rejection email. As you shortlist your top candidate, be sure to let the other interviewees know that they are not your preferred choice for the position, and provide reasons if you can do so. This will help the candidates in their career as they try to find their perfect job role.
Interviews can be stressful both for the candidates and the team. As hiring manager, your job requires you to make sure everyone is comfortable and understands their roles and responsibilities. Remember, interviews are a two-way street: job candidates are also trying to judge if the role is suitable for them. Be respectful of their thought process, and allow them to ask questions regarding the team and their potential responsibilities.
Sushmitha Vallabh is a lab manager at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in San Diego. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati with an MS in immunology in 2017. After graduating, she worked in the university lab as a technician and eventually moved to San Diego to accept her current role. She loves reading, watching sunsets, and meeting fellow scientists!
This article was originally published in AWIS Magazine. Join AWIS to access the full issue of AWIS Magazine and more member benefits.