Researching your hiring manager before an interview helps you have a real conversation instead of a one-sided quiz. It shows genuine interest, and it helps you ask smarter questions.
Why It Matters
Most candidates prep answers. Fewer prep for the person asking the questions.
Knowing a little about your hiring manager changes things. You can spot shared interests, understand their priorities, and tailor your answers to what they actually care about. It can turn a stiff Q&A into a real two-way chat.
It also helps you ask better questions at the end. "What does success look like in this role?" hits different when you already know the manager built the team from scratch.
What to Look For
You do not need a deep investigation. A 15-minute search can tell you a lot.
On LinkedIn:
- Their career path. Have they always been in this industry, or did they switch?
- How long they have been at the company. A new manager often means a team in transition.
- Posts or articles they have written. This tells you what topics they care about.
- Mutual connections. A shared contact can give you an honest heads-up about their style.
On the web:
- Any talks, podcasts, or panels they have appeared on.
- Press mentions, especially around projects they led.
- Company blog posts or team announcements with their name.
Company news related to their team:
- Has their department been growing or shrinking?
- Any recent product launches, reorgs, or funding news that affects their area?
One Thing Most People Miss
Hiring managers are not static. Their priorities shift with company news.
If their team just landed a big new client, they need someone who can hit the ground running. If there were layoffs nearby, they may be cautious and looking for low-risk hires. Knowing what is happening around them helps you pitch yourself the right way.
The problem is that tracking this manually takes time. You would need to check LinkedIn, Google News, and the company blog regularly, especially in the days before your interview.
This is where a tool like AIDular saves you effort. You can set it to monitor news about a specific person or their team and get a report emailed to you before the interview. No manual searching needed.
Copy-Paste AIDular Prompt
Here is a prompt you can use directly in AIDular:
Track news, LinkedIn activity, and web mentions for [Hiring Manager Name] at [Company Name]. Also include any recent news about [Company Name]'s [relevant department, e.g. "engineering team" or "sales division"]. Send me a weekly report.
Set it to weekly, or switch it to daily in the week of your interview. You will walk in with a fresh, sourced briefing without spending an hour on Google.
How to Actually Use What You Find
Finding information is only half of it. Here is how to put it to work:
- Mirror their language. If they write about "customer outcomes," use that phrase, not "user satisfaction."
- Reference a project they led. Keep it brief and genuine. "I saw your team launched X last quarter, which is part of why this role appealed to me."
- Ask a relevant question. "Your recent post mentioned scaling the team, is that still the direction for this year?" shows you did your homework.
- Adjust your tone. A hiring manager who posts casual, funny content probably wants a relaxed conversation. One who shares dense industry reports may prefer precision.
A Quick Note on Boundaries
Keep your research to public information. LinkedIn, company websites, published interviews, and news articles are all fair game. Do not reference anything personal or anything the person clearly shared in a private context.
The goal is to be prepared, not to make them feel watched.
Try It Free
AIDular runs this kind of research on a schedule so you are always up to date. Set up your first monitor for free at aidular.com and go into your next interview knowing exactly who you are talking to.