Who decides whether interviewee move to next round - HR or Hiring Manager?

Question

I've had several interviews with HR (consulting or corporate strategy roles). Typically, at the end of the interview, the HR will say that my profile will be presented to the hiring manager, who will decide whether to interview me.

My question is: who decides whether I will go to the next round - is it HR or the hiring manager? What does the process look like - will HR really hand-pick a few candidates and “pitch” the profiles to the hiring manager?

If it is the hiring manager who has the final decision power, while HR is just an admin process, then I should probably try to network/reach out to the hiring manager in order to secure an interview. Otherwise, even if I impressed the HR and the HR is willing to endorse me, I may not be moved to the next round if the hiring manager doesn't like my profile. My goal is to secure the first interview with the hiring manager efficiently.

Any thoughts, please?

Answer 1

Hi,

It's probably helpful to understand and contexualize the different roles.

HR is a support function → they support the recruiting process and often are in charge of running the process
While they can share input, typically the decision is made by ‘business’ or the business entity that is trying to hire for that role
This is why very often HR is the one to do the first/initial rounds of ‘screening’, but the final rounds are always with ‘business’ themselves
Of course, the level of influence/input given by HR really depends / differs from company to company

In MBB, decisions are only made by the consulting team members who have conducted the interviews. A recruiting director / lead (who is always a consultant) may weigh in on difficult/borderline decisions, but again the important point isthat he is a consultant (and therefore the ‘business’ owner and not HR).

In a corporate situation, in my experience, if HR likes your CV (and is respected/trusted in the company), that's enough to get you infront of the hiring manager because frankly speaking the hiring manager does not have the time to screen CVs.

If your goal is to secure the first interview directly, yes, it will definitely help alot if the hiring manager directly endorses your CV, but then it ultimately becomes a function of feasibility/practicality of connecting with someone who is likely very busy and whose day job is not screening/finding new candidates.

So in your situation, I would do both - network with both HR and Hiring Manager but I would be very tactful about networking with the Hiring Manager and probably place less expectation on that.

All the best!

Answer 2

Neither.

The people interviewing you (i.e the consultants, managers, partners, etc.) are the ones who decide.

Here's some reading to help you pass those interviews:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-get-a-consulting-internship-tips-and-tricks

Answer 3

Hi there,

different firms run different recruiting processes with different responsibilities. In consulting, it's typically the interviewers who (individually or collectively) decide, who gets passed. HR here is acting more as a process-facilitating body.

In corporate strat roles, at times I see more HR involvement in the decision-making, especially when it comes to screening decisions (they then often conduct the screening interviews anyway) or pay-related Y/N decisions / veto-rights. Again though, it's very company- and also role-specific.

Hope this helps

Regards, Andi

Answer 4

Hi there,

Great question!

In short, it depends on the office and firm.

For most firms and offices, HR is trusted to filter the candidates from when they apply to when they get to the first round.

Consultants (senior or junior) don't provide input until the actual interview rounds.

And from there, the decision of whether or not you get the job depends fully on the interviewers, not HR (which is why if you don't feel prepared, it's always best to postpone the interviewer and you can have the confidence that it won't affect you ‘negatively' in the recruitment process).

Best,

Cristian