Hiring is an important decision that can often be extremely time sensitive. Even a straightforward search involves coordinating multiple stakeholders: leadership, hiring managers, HR partners, and team members, all while balancing interviews, feedback cycles, and everyone’s daily responsibilities. Interview processes alone can span three to four weeks, not including any necessary recalibration. That’s why the upfront conversation matters so much.

In today’s competitive market, especially as an increasing number of companies return to fully in-office environments, hiring managers are looking beyond resumes to assess how candidates think, communicate, and collaborate.