What Hiring Managers Really Look For: Pulling Back the Curtain on the Hiring Process
One of the most practical panels from the 2026 AdaMarie Career Navigation Summit is now available inside the AdaMarie Professional Network. Here’s what you’ll take away from it and how to watch the full conversation.
Few things in a career feel more like a black box than the hiring process. You polish a resume, hit submit, and wait with no idea whether a human ever saw it, what they thought, or why the answer was no. This panel exists to open that box, with three people who sit on the other side of it every single day.
Moderated by AdaMarie’s Natalia Daies, the conversation brings together Joané Booth, Amber Beimer, and Victoria Hill — HR, people, and talent leaders who collectively review countless resumes and run countless interviews.
Much of what they share will come as a genuine relief, especially if the AI-and-ATS panic has been keeping you up at night, or if a string of rejections has started to feel like a verdict on your worth. Without giving it all away: the fears most job seekers carry are more overblown than you’d guess, and what hiring managers are truly optimizing for turns out to be far more human than the process makes it feel.
The panel is also refreshingly concrete where it counts. You’ll come away with a sharper sense of how to make a resume earn a second read, how to prove your impact, and how to translate experience from one world into another. Plus hear honest, compassionate answers to the questions real job seekers submitted live, from career gaps to accommodations to the maddening “overqualified but underexperienced” trap.
If the job market has you feeling like you’re shouting into a void, this is the conversation that hands you back some clarity, some strategy, and a real dose of encouragement. Better heard from the people who actually make the call.
Watch the full panel inside the APN
The complete conversation, including all the live audience questions and the panelists’ closing takeaways, is available now in the AdaMarie Professional Network, alongside every other session from this year’s summit.
Inside, you’ll find:
The full summit replay library, including the sessions you couldn’t catch live
Live workshops and expert conversations year-round
Our spring Career Accelerator
A growing library of career resources
A Slack community full of people navigating their next steps right alongside you
Meet the Speakers
Joané Booth | LinkedIn
People & Culture Manager, Women Donors Network
Joané has spent over a decade asking a simple but powerful question: what does it look like when systems actually work for everyone? She began her career in politics and policy, serving as a Policy Advisor to Governor Mark Dayton, Diversity & Inclusion Outreach Director for Senator Tina Smith, and Partnerships Manager at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. She also co-founded POWERMoves, a community that united over 1,200 women of color across Minnesota. Now, as People & Culture Manager at Women Donors Network, Joané channels that same energy inward, shaping an organizational culture and team that reflect the values she has championed her whole career.
Amber Beimer | LinkedIn
Associate Director, Program Delivery, Advanced Clinical
Amber Beimer is an experienced clinical operations and program delivery leader with nearly 20 years of experience in clinical research and pharmaceutical development. As Associate Director of Program Delivery at Advanced Clinical, she leads teams and provides strategic oversight across programs, with a focus on operational excellence, client partnerships, and team development. Her career has spanned roles from Clinical Research Associate and Clinical Project Manager through clinical operations and program leadership, giving her a broad perspective on both the execution and strategic side of clinical research.
Victoria Hill (Moderator) | LinkedIn
Vice President of People & Culture, Advanced Group
Victoria Hill is a passionate people leader with over 15 years of experience in human resources, specializing in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership Development, and HR Management — all grounded in one core principle: centering the human experience to foster authentic, inclusive relationships. As Vice President of Global People & Culture at Advanced Group, she leads a global team overseeing Benefits, Payroll, HR, DE&I, Social Impact, and Learning & Development across North America and beyond, shaping a culture where people thrive and purpose drives performance.
