This Is What Hiring Managers Are Looking For

Nine Essential Qualities Top Talent Candidates Display in Interviews

While every opportunity to talk to a hiring manager is valuable, the pressure can feel intense. Whether it’s a casual phone conversation, a video interview, or a formal Q&A, it matters. These interactions are just as critical as the preparations you invest in. The impression you make goes beyond your written credentials; hiring managers want to know if you’ll be a good fit for the team and the company culture.

Hiring managers are people responsible for identifying the right talent to join their organization. Typically, they are the heads of departments, team leaders, or supervisors who have a direct need for and understanding of the role you applied for. Unlike recruiters, who often handle the initial stages of sourcing and screening candidates, hiring managers make the final decision on which candidate joins their team. You’ll encounter hiring managers during interviews, especially in the later stages, as they are key players in assessing whether your skills, personality, and work style align with the team’s needs and the company’s culture. 

Understanding what these gatekeepers are looking for can help you make the most of these interactions. Here are nine essential qualities hiring managers seek in candidates:

Communication Skills

Clear and concise communication ability is an essential trait for all leadership roles. Hiring managers want to see you can express yourself effectively, understand instructions, and engage in meaningful conversation. Strong communication skills are evident early on, and they demonstrate that you'll be able to interact well with team members and clients on the job.

Cultural Fit

Every organization has a unique culture, and the right cultural fit can’t be found on paper. Hiring managers are reading between the lines to understand your work ethic, communication style, self-awareness, and how you live out personal values. Demonstrate an understanding of the company’s values and how your personality fits in. Ask about the team culture and be honest about why you’re drawn to it.

Problem-Solving Abilities

Hiring managers are always on the lookout for problem-solvers. They want candidates who habitually approach challenges with creativity, critical thinking, and a solutions-focused mindset. Prove that you followed through, too. Be prepared to share examples of how you’ve handled issues in the past.

Adaptability

Agility and resilience are crucial traits for leaders in today’s rapidly evolving workplaces. Hiring managers look for candidates who can adapt to new roles, changing environments, or unanticipated tasks with confidence and grace. You can demonstrate your flexibility in how you describe past challenges. Express an adaptable tone that welcomes inevitable changes.

Emotional Intelligence

People skills matter—arguably more than your education level and experiences. Hiring managers notice your emotional intelligence, or how you understand and manage emotions—both your own and others’. This skill is particularly useful for leaders, whose empathy and interpersonal connections establish positive culture and foster team success.

Reliability

A reliable candidate earns trust by demonstrating a strong work ethic and commitment to their role. Know what others can depend on you for—being the fast worker who always meets deadlines, or being the productive employee who makes the most of their time. Hiring managers seek individuals who can be counted on to maintain professionalism and consistently deliver quality work. Communicate your work standards and what you are consistent at.

Continuous Learning

Today’s successful professionals never stop learning. Hiring managers appreciate candidates who stay up to date on industry trends, are open to feedback, and show a genuine interest in expanding their skills and knowledge. Share openly how you pursue knowledge (reading books, research, volunteering, etc) and how you are growing currently.

Results Mindset

Focusing on outcomes shows hiring managers that you’re driven to accomplish goals and contribute to the company’s success. Be ready to discuss previous achievements or metrics that demonstrate your focus on achieving results. Remember that meeting goals drives the team’s mission forward. Hiring managers are searching for candidates who are naturally motivated to meet goals because of the difference their work can make.

Integrity

Hiring managers want to work with individuals they can trust. Speaking honestly and transparently about your experiences and motivations will help build rapport and show that you have a solid ethical foundation. Integrity is a non-negotiable for any leader on a values-based team.

Navigating all these expectations can be intimidating. You’ll want to display all these desirable traits while somehow being your authentic self. Nobody truly has it all, but how can you be honest about your strengths and weaknesses without coming across as prideful or vulnerable?

In order to compete with top talent, you’ll need to utilize tools that provide personal insights into what you need. Vanderbloemen provides the VanderIndex, a comprehensive assessment crafted to evaluate where you stand on the 12 traits that set high achievers apart. These traits are interwoven into how hiring managers identify their ideal candidates. Developed through over 2,500 executive searches and more than 30,000 interviews, this tool identifies how you score on the core characteristics of irreplaceable employees. 

Make a plan to keep moving forward, and get started on the VanderIndex today.