The Most Common HR Interview Questions

HR screening interviews are a great way for HR to take the first crucial steps in a business’ recruitment process.

They help you to find out what a job candidate is like, how they’ll function in their role, and whether they’ll get on with your other staff members.

So, with those crucial points in mind, it’s important you ask them the right questions to make sure they fit into your company culture.

And in this guide we’re here to take a look at the types of questions you might want to consider for your HR interview.

Plus, a few other tricks of the trade you can pick up to enhance your hiring strategy. Starting with what exactly this is all about.

What is an HR interview?

An HR screening interview has important differences from other types of job interviews. Your HR administrator interview questions should establish a way to explore a candidate’s:

• Personality type.
• Ability to communicate.
• Confidence levels.
• Management skills.
• Teamwork abilities.

As you can see, it’s a bit different from the more traditional job interviews you probably already know like the back of your hand.

In a job interview, you’ll ask more pressing questions about a candidate’s work history, why they want the job, and what their skill set will bring to your business.

In comparison, an HR interview is your chance to get to know the candidate.

Another key difference to job interviews is a HR interview will usually take place over the phone. This is a major time saver for your business in itself, because it saves you having to arrange a suitable time for the candidate to come down to the office. After all, it might immediately turn out they’re not the right fit.

So, with a phone interview from your HR professional you can take a brief look at a candidate’s technical knowledge and personality traits.

Their knowledge may include projects they’ve managed, the skill set they have, what they’re looking for in the future, whether they’ll need any training, and why they’re looking to leave their current employer.

This means you’ll want to structure your questions to get an understanding of their motivation, planned career path, and the future they see with your business.

But the HR interview is also a chance for you to explain your company culture.

If it’s an interviewee you particularly want to impress, here’s your chance to show them what you can do to further their career.

And this all leads to the next step—what exactly should you ask your candidates?

HR interview questions (UK)

There are many questions you can ask during an HR interview. It’s, essentially, a bit of an informal chat where both sides find out a little bit about each other.

As for the questions, we’ve got a few ideas for you just below.

Don’t consider the list definitive, as it really depends on your industry and the role you’re looking to fill.

But even though your business has unique requirements, there are typical HR interview questions to consider asking? Here are a few:

• Why are you looking to leave your current role?
• Can you tell me about your background?
• Can you talk me through your CV up to your current role?
• What interests you in our vacancy?
• What sort of a company culture are you looking for?
• Do you prefer working with others or alone?
• Can you describe a challenging situation you faced in a previous role?
• What sort of salary are you looking for?
• Do you have any questions for me?

The questions are entirely your choice, of course, and you can create ones that best represent your business and its culture.

Just remember that the world of recruitment is going through an overhaul at the moment. This is thanks to new technology and changing social attitudes towards work.

So an HR interview is your chance to shake up your procedure.

Ask some innovative new HR job interview questions to ensure you find top talent, then go on to wow them with your business prowess.

Exit interviews

Now that we’ve had a look at HR interviews, at the other end of the scale you have employee departures.

When the inevitable happens and a staff member decides to leave your business, don’t lose the opportunity to learn something from their experiences with you.

Exit interviews are an increasingly popular form of HR that can teach you about what your employee thought about your various business procedures.

Take advantage of HR exit interview questions. You can take what you learn from them to help improve your recruitment strategy and staff retention rate.

So, structure your questions in a way that you can learn about your employee’s time with you. Here are a few ideas:

• How did you find our company culture?
• What are your thoughts of working for our business?
• Why did you decide to move to a new role?
• What were the best, and worst, aspects of working for us?

Again, it’s all about your industry, the employee’s role, and what you’d like to take from their time with you.

With the above in mind, you can consider implementing changes to your business.

It’s an important HR option to consider, in this respect, as you get an understanding of what your employees enjoy about working for you, plus what they find irksome.

Get more out of your recruitment process

Find the right candidates, ask the correct questions, and snag the best talent.

We can help you with your HR interviews and hiring strategy as a whole. Get in touch right away and we’ll help you out: 0800 783 2806.