HR Interview Questions

Most of the times, HR professionals speak with the applicants before they forward applications to the relevant department for the next-stage interview. Interview with HR is crucial because it is the first step for you to enter the company as an employee.

The questions that HR professionals ask are not the same as asked by the direct hiring managers of the relevant department. The purpose of HR interview questions is to gain an insight into your general abilities and your suitability as a candidate.

Following are the common HR interview Questions

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1. Describe yourself (Introduce Yourself)

This is one of the most typical questions. However, through this question, you can make a good impression in front of the interviewer. HR wants to know about your professional and educational background.

Also, they want to evaluate your speaking style, confidence and body language. Provide an overview of your past roles and your educational experience. You can briefly describe your strengths to convey the message that you are a suitable candidate for this position.

2. Why Have You Applied for This Position?

This question helps HR professionals to determine as to why you are interested in this specific role or position. You can reply: I can use my skills and strengths effectively by working at this position.

This position will provide me with an opportunity to prove myself. You have to give the impression that your qualifications, project or experience relate to the position you are interviewing for.

If you have any past achievements in that field, specifically highlight them. You have to describe your passion for the position that you have applied for.

3. Why Do You Want to Quit Your Existing Job?

In the answer, you have to prove the positive aspects that you expect by making a transition to this company. Do not discuss any negative elements of your existing employer.

Remember, you will end up leaving a negative impression on the HR professionals if you talk negatively about your current employer. Focus on the positive factors of the new company. You have to demonstrate that you can make significant progress in this company.

4. Can you describe an occasion when you did not perform well at work or in your college?

The HR professionals ask this question on purpose. They want to know if you’re going to learn from your previous mistakes. Even highly intelligent individuals make mistakes.

Don’t say: I have never messed up or made any mistake at work or in my college, it will not be the right answer. Similarly, if you discuss the long list of errors, it would mean that probably you are not suitable for this position.

You need to describe a mistake that does not indicate you are an irresponsible individual or anything that represents a lack of character. Describe a situation when you have made a mistake, and then you quickly realized that you were wrong and improved yourself.

For example, you may say: When I newly became a team leader, I was passionate about my work. For this reason, I took several tasks. However, I quickly realized that those tasks overburdened me.

Additionally, my team members, and I was not able to focus on all of them at the same time. As a team leader, I never compromise on quality, and I always seek perfection in my work.

I recognized that the best way is to delegate the tasks. I adopted the strategy to delegate by collaborating with teammates about the project, and as a result, I became a successful team leader.

5. Have you experienced conflict with a colleague and how you dealt with such a situation?

HR professionals do not want to hear anything about your conflicts with your colleagues. They ask this question to know your strategy in case of professional conflicts that are part of almost every organization.

When professionals work closely with different people in the team, they may have a difference of opinion that might lead to conflicts. A good employee is the one who knows how to manage conflicts.

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Your answer should highlight a particular solution to a different situation that you may have faced at your workplace.

In the answer, you have to demonstrate your level of empathy for your co-workers. You can reply: once I was leading a team, and we needed to submit a project to the client in the next five days.

All of my team members were doing well, and I was hopeful that we would be able to submit the project within the deadline. However, one of my team members did not come to the office for two days.

I was surprised, and a bit confused because we were at the critical juncture in terms of completing the task. When I inquired, I learned that he was dealing with a severe emergency at his home, and he was really upset.

I realized the whole situation, and I discussed the matter with my manager, he was not willing to listen to any justification. He made it clear that we have to deliver the project at or before the due date.

Under those circumstances, I led from the front and completed the task that was the responsibility of my absent team member. This is how I helped my team member who was in trouble, and I managed to resolve the conflict.

6. What do you know about this company?

Through this question, HR professionals want to know whether you have conducted any research about the company. It is better that you appear for the interview with proper information about the company. You might describe the company’s profile and the relevant details that you know about the organization.

7. What are your current manager’s views about you?

This question aims to evaluate your performance in your last job. You can say that your manager always appreciates you, and you may describe the instances when they acknowledged your efforts.

8. Do you have any questions for me?

This is the last question of the interview. You may ask about the company’s values and any professional development program.