[Guide]
The intake call that prevents a bad hire: eight questions to ask the hiring manager
Most failed searches fail on day one, at the intake call. These eight questions turn a vague brief into a role you can actually close.
A hiring manager says: senior, strong, fits the culture, can start soon. That is a wish. The intake call is where you turn it into a brief you can close. Eight questions, in this order.
What will this person have done in six months that makes you glad you hired them?
This gives you outcomes. Write down the two or three results. They become the first paragraph of the job post and the backbone of the scorecard.
What happened to the last person in this role, or why does the role exist now?
A replacement after a quiet exit, a replacement after a loud one, and a brand-new role are three different searches. Candidates will ask. You need the true answer before they do.
What is the one thing you will not compromise on?
One. If the manager names five, ask which one they would keep if they could keep only one. That is your must-have. Everything else is nice-to-have, and you tell the manager that now, at the start of the search.
Who has done this well before, in this company or elsewhere?
A real name gives you a profile to source against: their background, their path, where they came from. Vague adjectives give you nothing.
Who interviews, in what order, and who decides?
Get the names and the sequence on the call. A process agreed up front moves much faster than one invented stage by stage. If two people both think they decide, you have found the problem early.
What is the salary range, and what happens if the right person is above it?
Ask for a specific number. Then ask the second question. The answer tells you whether this search is real.
Why would a strong candidate turn this offer down?
Managers rarely think about this. The answer is your list of objections, and the job post should answer the top two before anyone asks.
When do you need this person in the seat, and what breaks if it slips?
Urgency is a budget. A role that can slip a quarter is a different search from one where a product launch depends on it.
After the call
Turn your notes into a one-page role profile: outcomes, must-have, nice-to-haves, process, range, objections, deadline. Send it to the manager and ask for a written yes. Source only after the yes. This is the single habit that separates searches that close from searches that drag.
Is your situation similar?
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