Recruiting is a two way street and the best managers internalize that and cater the interview experience accordingly.

Being as open as possible about the role is the most important thing you can do to ensure you hire the right candidate.  For example, if it’s a sales role, be honest about how much ‘cold calling’ they will be doing, share in as much detail as possible what the pipeline looks like, what prospects say about your service, price, talk about the amount of travel and more.

Likewise, be open about the budget and staffing plans down to levels and compensation so you minimize surprises downstream.

Candidates should ideally speak to peers to get a good handle on the culture, what they love about the company and what the challenges are.  All companies have their pros and cons, masking the cons often comes back and bites you.

To the extent possible, create a process where you can see the candidate in the role. Perhaps that’s a coding exercise, a group presentation, reviewing redacted work products, etc.

And always take time to meet finalists for lunch or an after work bite to eat. You’ll see them in a less formal setting, perhaps pick up on some clues you missed in the other sessions.  And, you’ll hopefully ensure you are on the same page in terms of style, passion, energy and communication.  You’ll also help them assess your style, your values and better understand what it will take to be successful in the company.

Finally, do reference checks.  If the person isn’t working and confidentiality isn’t a concern, you can try to find people in common that you may trust more than a cold call, but even those are valuable if you know what questions to ask and how to get people to share.