Hiring is often described as a process where an employer evaluates a candidate. In reality, the strongest hiring conversations usually work in both directions.
Candidates are also assessing the company, the manager, the culture and the role itself. They want to know whether the opportunity matches their goals, whether expectations are realistic and whether the organisation is somewhere they can do good work.
That dynamic is familiar to Kendra Stearns Drozd, a former executive recruiter who worked with consumer packaged goods marketing professionals. Before moving into recruiting, Drozd had already worked in advertising and brand management, including a role as Senior Associate Brand Manager at Kraft Foods. That gave her an understanding of the industry from the inside before she began helping companies and candidates find the right fit.
“Recruiting is not just about whether someone can do the job,” Drozd said. “You also have to think about whether the role makes sense for that person and whether the environment is one where they can succeed.”
A Résumé Is Only Part of the Picture
A résumé is useful, but it has limits. It can show where someone worked, what roles they held and how their responsibilities changed over time. What it cannot easily show is what motivates them, what kind of manager they work best with or why they are ready to make a move.
Those details usually emerge through conversation. Drozd worked as an Executive Recruiter at Bloom, Gross & Associates, a boutique, all-women recruiting firm focused on consumer packaged goods marketing. Because she already understood the sector, she could speak with candidates about the realities of the work rather than treating the hiring process as a simple checklist.
That kind of context matters because two candidates can have very similar experience but want completely different things from their next roles. One may want broader responsibility. Another may want a more collaborative team. Someone else may be looking for stability, flexibility or a different pace. Matching experience is only the first step.
Candidates Notice How a Company Hires
The hiring process itself also sends a message. Candidates notice whether interviews are organised, whether people communicate clearly, whether job expectations change from one conversation to the next and whether the company seems genuinely interested in getting to know them.
A confusing hiring process can raise questions about what working inside the organisation might be like. That means employers are often creating an impression long before an offer is made.
For Drozd, this is where communication becomes especially important. “If you’re asking someone to make a major career decision, they need enough information to understand what they’re stepping into,” she said. “Clear communication helps both sides make a better decision.”
Industry Knowledge Helps, but Listening Matters More
Recruiters who understand an industry can ask more informed questions. They may understand common career paths, typical responsibilities or why someone with a particular background might be ready for a certain role. But industry knowledge alone is not enough because listening remains one of the most important parts of the process.
Candidates will often explain what they want if they are given enough room to speak. The challenge is resisting the temptation to immediately fit them into the first available opportunity.
That applies to employers as well. A hiring manager may begin with a very specific idea of the perfect candidate, but a good conversation can reveal that some requirements are essential while others are simply preferences.
The better both sides understand their real priorities, the easier it becomes to identify whether there is a genuine fit.
The Best Fit Is Not Always the Most Obvious One
Hiring can become overly focused on finding someone whose background looks exactly like the person who previously held the role. That can narrow the field too quickly and cause employers to overlook candidates with strong transferable skills.
Someone with experience from a related part of the industry may bring a useful perspective. A candidate who has changed functions may understand customers, operations or teams differently. Transferable skills such as communication, strategic thinking and relationship building can sometimes matter as much as a perfectly linear career history.
Drozd’s own career is an example of that. She moved from advertising into consumer brand management and later into recruiting. Each role was different, but the skills carried over.
Advertising required coordination and client communication. Brand management required understanding consumers and making strategic decisions. Recruiting required understanding people, organisations, and motivations. The job titles changed, but many of the underlying skills did not.
Hiring Is a Long-Term Decision
For employers, hiring is about more than filling an immediate vacancy. For candidates, accepting a role can shape several years of their professional lives. That is why speed should not always be the only goal.
A thoughtful process gives both sides the chance to ask harder questions. What does success in the role actually look like? Why is the position open? How does the team work together? What does the candidate want to learn next? What would make the opportunity a poor fit?
Those questions can reveal far more than a rehearsed interview answer. The most productive hiring conversations are not one-sided evaluations. They are an exchange of information where both sides have the chance to understand the opportunity properly.
When employers and candidates both feel comfortable examining the role carefully, they have a better chance of making a decision that works beyond the first few months. That is ultimately what good recruiting should help accomplish.
