I have no doubt you can give candidates compelling messages about what makes your position exciting, good for their career, etc. 

So why would I want you to ask your hiring managers why they think their position is a great opportunity? For these reasons: 

It’s important for you to know how your hiring managers are “marketing/selling” their positions when they are talking to candidates. When you ask them this question, you may be appalled at how poorly they describe what's great about the opportunity when they are talking to those candidates you worked so hard to find for them. 

Recently, I was coaching a recruiter and doing a launch call with her. The hiring manager was answering the launch questions I had given her with really complete articulate answers. However, even though I was on the phone, I could tell when she asked this essential question, the hiring manager did “deer in the headlights”. 

Eventually he gave us a very limited answer, pretty standard and full of trite phrases. Does any candidate really believe every company interviewing them is the “Number 1 provider” in their industry? 

Incredibly, he did not mention any of the things that would really be exciting to the candidate he was looking to hire. As the recruiter and I started to list the things about his position that would be compelling (and give him a competitive advantage for hiring), he got it. 

He started to open up about his business, and we had a great conversation about a lot of other things going on that in his department that would be more interesting information for this and other postings! 

So in addition to learning things that are probably not in the job description, you can essentially “train” your hiring manager on what they should be talking about with candidates.

Share what you know will attract the target candidate pool. This demonstrates your excitement about doing the search, which every hiring manager likes. It also gives you and the hiring manager an opportunity to discuss that is important to them—their business. It’s a great way to build the kind of relationship you want with your hiring managers. 

Plus you may hear things about the position, the team, the future, etc., that you didn’t know. These things bring you closer to the hiring manager and can make your postings stand out from the rest! 

And standout postings bring more great candidates.

Let me know how it goes!