People and finance
A first interview with a recruiter should answer three questions. Can they find good people who aren’t applying? Can they get a hiring manager to agree a clear description of who they need, and stick to it? Do candidates feel well treated, even when the answer is no? Recruiters talk for a living, so listen for real details, not a polished delivery.
The AI’s follow-up questions test whether a recruiter’s stories hold up past the first answer. That’s exactly what good recruiters do with candidates.
What to look for
The questions
Ask them in order. Listen for real details: what happened, what the candidate did, and how it ended.
Strong answer
Names the job, the places they searched, what didn’t work, and the specific search or referral that found the hire. Can say why that person said yes.
Weak answer
Posted the job and waited, or describes the search only as “I used my network”.
Strong answer
Asks which three matter most and what the person will actually do in their first months. Shows the manager how few people match the full list.
Weak answer
Takes the list as written and starts searching.
Strong answer
Asked for specific reasons and checked them against what the job needs. Then either updated the job requirements or made the case with evidence. Respects that the final decision is the manager’s.
Weak answer
Complains about the manager, or accepted “not a fit” without asking what it meant.
Strong answer
Calls rather than emails, does it quickly, gives honest and useful reasons where they can, and offers to stay in touch only when they mean it.
Weak answer
Sends a template email, or waits until the role is filled before telling anyone.
Strong answer
Finds out the real reason, checks whether anything can be negotiated, and goes back to the second-choice candidate the same day. Says what they’d ask earlier next time, like whether the person had other offers or whether their current employer might pay more to keep them.
Weak answer
Treats it as bad luck, with no thought about the warning signs they missed.
Strong answer
Describes a real system: going through every candidate at set times, a follow-up date on each one, and a rule for how long anyone can go without hearing back.
Weak answer
“I’m very organized”, with no method behind it.
Strong answer
Says no clearly, explains why in plain terms, steers back to reasons that are about the job, and brings in HR or legal if it continues.
Weak answer
Goes along with it quietly, or hasn’t thought about it.
Strong answer
Describes a short, personal message that mentioned the candidate’s actual work and gave a concrete reason to talk. Can say what they changed after messages that got no reply.
Weak answer
Describes a long template about the company, sent to everyone.
Before the interview
Short form questions the candidate answers before the interview. You read the answers next to the interview. They aren’t scored.
Listen for
Avoid
Use this in LessRounds
Paste the questions into a scripted interview, where the AI reads each question word for word. Add the skills from the scorecard, then share one link. Every recruiter candidate gets the same questions. You get a score for each skill, with the candidate’s own words that explain it.
It depends on what you need. Agency recruiters work for an outside firm and tend to be strong at finding people fast and getting offers accepted. In-house recruiters work for one company and spend more time on hiring managers, the hiring process and the company’s reputation as an employer. Ask candidates from either side about the part of the job they did less of.
Ask them how they’d find people for one of your real job openings: where they’d look, what they’d search for and what their first message would say. Specific answers are worth more than talk about “my network”.
Start with 100 free credits, enough for about 20 interviews. No credit card or sales call needed.