Hiring Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a hiring manager. Feel free to use our hiring manager job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a hiring manager.
Who is a Hiring Manager?
Finding and retaining qualified employees is a top priority for most firms and businesses. Recruitment and hiring of staff is an important cog of business and work; it helps to refresh the workforce and/or replace lost staff or employees. Hiring or recruitment of the right type of staff or employee can arguably make or mar an organization, business, or enterprise. Hence, the need for an experienced expert or professional to coordinate the process. Although most hiring processes in an organization involves teams or groups of people, the hiring manager leads and coordinates the hiring team. Overall, it can be adduced that the recruitment process is a company’s pathway to success or otherwise. Hiring and recruitment are practiced in all sectors and industries; also, individuals, businesses, and corporations recruit employees to fill vital positions and roles. To ensure decorum in the hiring process, some businesses train and orientate an internal member of staff with the right credentials to become the hiring manager. To successfully understand who a hiring manager is, lets us look at the definition of a hiring manager.
A hiring manager can be defined as a professional involved in the hiring process of an organization to fill an open or vacant position. A hiring manager can be a member of the human resource team or the candidate’s future manager or supervisor. Typically, most hiring managers work in an office; hiring tasks might be a hiring manager’s sole duty during an employee search or make up part of their daily responsibilities depending on the organization. A hiring manager initiates the job requisition and owns the vacant position. In small and medium enterprises or a start-up, the hiring manager is often the company or enterprise’s chief executive officer since there aren’t different teams yet. In contrast, a hiring manager can be an employee who runs or coordinates a team of people tasked with finding a new member of staff. Besides initiating the hiring process when they need candidates or employees to fill positions, hiring managers to finalize the process as well and decide which candidate gets hired. In-between the start and end of the hiring process, the hiring manager is in close contact with a recruiter or human resource depending on the company.
Depending on the size of a company and the availability or not of an in-house recruitment team, the hiring manager can be a freelancer or someone from a specialized headhunting agency or firm. When a vacancy arises, the hiring manager makes a formal request to create a new position in the company via a job requisition. Importantly, a hiring manager does not recruit applicants; instead, they interview candidates and applicants who have applied for an open job to hire the most qualified. Whatever their daily duties, they are an essential member of an employee recruitment team. They manage the job and department into which a new employee is integrated. Undoubtedly, the position of a hiring manager is a senior-level position that requires experience, guile, and professionalism. They assign mentors, organize new employee welcome, and direct onboarding. They ensure the new employee is integrated with other departmental staff, oversee the direction of the employee’s job and objectives, and carry out other related functions. Normally, the hiring manager organizes or participates in the recruitment planning meeting, reviews incoming resumes and applications, and conducts a phone interview to determine whether the applicants are qualified enough to merit an onsite interview. The hiring manager participates in all interviews and attends any lunch meeting that is organized to interact with the potential job candidate in a more informal setting. This enables the hiring manager to strike a relationship with the candidate and represents the first step in long-term employee retention.
Furthermore, a hiring manager works with the human resources staff to determine the appropriate compensation for the position. They negotiate the timeline and details of the new employee accepting and starting the job. He or she develops and maintains a relationship with new hires from the onset. Although the details of the role may vary from organization to organization, the hiring manager is always important in the hiring decision. In some organizations, they do have veto power since the new employee will mostly report to them. Relatively, the hiring manager sets up a debriefing session to receive feedback from the employees who interviewed the potential employees in the team approach to hiring which is strongly recommended. Ultimately, the hiring manager decides which candidate is fit for the open position and subsequently hires them. For example, an engineering manager can fulfill the role of a hiring manager when their team is looking to hire more members but on a day-to-day basis, they are leading the engineering team. Usually, the hiring manager knows the exact skill set and expertise they are looking for in a candidate and interviews applicants that have the specific requirements needed.
Hiring Manager Job Description
Below are the hiring manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a hiring manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a hiring manager include the following:
- Identify vacant or open positions: Primarily, a hiring manager identifies current or future vacancies to advertise for potential applicants. He or she sources through the departments to discover roles that are or will potentially be open.
- Create job postings: After identifying a vacant or open position in the company, a hiring manager drafts and writes the job description and job posting for use in finding qualified candidates. Such posting contains all the relevant information attached to the position.
- Collaborate with others: Based on the organization, the hiring manager might need to work with other people during the hiring process. Most times, they collaborate with human resources employees or recruiters to find suitable candidates and applicants.
- Review resumes: This is one of the herculean tasks of a hiring manager. Once job postings have been created and sent out, several qualified applicants tend to submit their resumes and applications for the vacant roles Thus, the hiring manager reviews the resumes and applications as they come from the applicants or recruiters to find the qualified candidates for interview.
- Interview applicants: An interview is one of the most important processes in hiring new staff. One of the main or core duties of a hiring manager is to perform interviews and vet potential employees for an open position.
- Negotiate contracts: After selecting a candidate, some hiring managers assist with the contract or salary negotiation step.
- Assist with onboarding: Most hiring managers will schedule an orientation, onboard, and plan training for the new hire especially if they are joining the hiring manager’s specific team.
- Meet with management and executive staff to determine what is needed from any potential new hire.
- Identify the job’s skill set.
- Obtain requisite approvals from the department and corporate heads before opening a job requisition.
- Serve as the point person during the entire hiring process.
- Notify the recruiter if the position is withdrawn.
Qualifications
As challenges continue to arise for companies looking to find and retain high-potential, high-quality, and highly productive employees in a diminishing talent pool, the work of a hiring manager is deemed more valuable than ever. As a key member of the employment team, a hiring manager works with benefits specialists, human resources managers, and compensation units amongst others to oversee the selection and hiring of new talent. Therefore, the following are the qualifications of hiring managers;
- Degree and education programs: As a senior level position in the human resources department of an organization, the hiring managers are involved in many areas of the human resources process such as recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development, and talent management. It comes as no surprise that many hiring managers possess advanced degrees in human resource management and other related areas. Because of the wide breadth of knowledge, these professionals must possess a typical Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management. This MBA allows the students to become key players in developing, managing, leading, and recruiting staff. Through a comprehensive course of study in both business and human resources, students can examine and understand the current issues that impact HR and understand the broader business issues including economics, finance, and marketing.
- Professional certification: Although not mandated, certifications can help bolster your qualifications for a hiring manager position. In addition to industry-specific certifications to demonstrate knowledge of your company’s field, certifications in human resources and recruitment offer a strong boost to your resume. The top certification options include the society of human resource management, human resource certification institute, Professionals in human resources, senior Professionals in human resources, and the society for human resource management senior certified Professionals.
- Prior experience as a hiring manager or a recruiter can suffice.
- Commitment to the sustained expansion of your team.
Essential skills
Whether or not a hiring manager engages in the interview process, he or she is responsible for assigning interview topics and questions in most organizations. This and other duties require proficiency in certain skills and abilities such as;
Judgment skills: A hiring manager is tasked with making important decisions throughout the hiring process. If the position is competitive, the hiring manager must narrow down the list of applicants based on their resumes and cover letters. Then, after each round of interviews, the hiring manager must further limit the field before deciding on the winning candidate. This requires excellent and impartial judgment skills.
Communication skills: This is the ability to relate with others both verbally and in writing; it is essential for effective interviews and reports on applicants.
Teamwork: Often, the hiring process will involve multiple staff consulting or even sitting in on interviews along with the hiring manager. Teamwork facilitates open and effective communication between staff to accurately assess applicants and find the best candidates.
Time management: For competitive roles, a hiring manager will field many applicants often in addition to other responsibilities. Time management skill is key to completing the process efficiently and on schedule.
Negotiation skills: After deciding on the best candidate for the role, the hiring manager often participates in or leads the contract negotiations. This skill allows them to negotiate a contract that benefits both the company and the new hire.
Onboarding skills: Getting started at a new company can be challenging, and the ability to easily bring a new employee up to speed improves their integration into the team.
Industry expertise: Finally, a hiring manager needs industry expertise; to adequately interview candidates and assess their answers, the hiring manager needs to understand the company’s industry.
How to Become a Hiring Manager
To become a hiring manager, you need to possess certain qualifications and skills and be promoted to a leadership position on your team or within your department. If you are interested in becoming a hiring manager, consider the tips below;
- Attend a college or University to gain at least a bachelor’s degree: Popular major options for a hiring manager include business administration and human resources. However, you must present a master’s degree to stand out and boost your chances.
- Gain professional experience: You will need to build experience working in entry-and mid-level positions to pursue a career as a hiring manager. Experience in human resources is most likely to lead to hiring manager opportunities.
- Seek certifications: Earning a professional certification is a great way to distinguish yourself in the field. These certifications show that you have displayed expert knowledge to the certifying agency and you put in the effort to continue your growth and education after entering the workforce.
- Update your resume: As you gain experience in the field and attain certifications, your qualifications for a hiring manager position will become more thorough. Hence, update your resume to include your new experiences.
- Apply for management positions: Look for management opportunities with other companies within your industry. Consider open positions in your unit or organization. Institutional knowledge is valuable for a hiring manager.
Where to Work
A hiring manager can be employed in every sector or industry. Similarly, several private businesses and companies employ hiring managers to coordinate their recruitment processes. Examples of places where a hiring manager can work include sports, entertainment, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, construction, health, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and engineering to mention but a few.
Hiring Manager Salary Scale
A hiring manager role is often given to a high-ranking human resources staff. The average salary for a hiring manager is $69,398 per year. Salaries vary due to experience, company size, and location. However, hiring managers with more than ten years of experience can earn up to $74,615.