General HR Interview Preparation Guide

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Fringe benefit can be defined as the benefits provided by the employer to its employees in addition to the regular salary. These include health plans, paid holidays, cafeteria, company transport etc.

Why do you think you qualify for a human resource executive's/manager' position?
What are your strengths and weaknesses as HR? professional?
What according to you are the three qualities that an HR Executive must have?
Why did you choose HR as your career?
What do you think are the roles and responsibilities of an HR Manager?
Why did you decide to get into HR after you graduation in computers/commerce/physics?
What is Personnel Management?
What are the responsibilities of a personnel manager?
What do you mean by Management? Describe its essential functions of management.
What is the difference between salary and incentive?
What is 'Span of Management'?
What are the diffrent factors that determine the ' span of Management'.
What do you mean by Fringe Benefits?

Following factors determine the Span of Management:

1. Size of the organization
2. Different tasks that are performed to keep the work going
3. Complexity of the production process
4. Extent to which IT can help in the process.

Span of Management or Control in easy terms means, number of subordinates a manager manages.

Salary can be termed as the fixed remuneration you are offered for your services while incentive means some extra benefits that you are offered based on your performance. Incentive can be in cash or kind.

Management in simple terms can be understood as the process of bringing people together to achieve the desired goals. The essential functions of management include: Planning, Organizing, Budgeting, Resourcing, Directing, Controlling and Reviewing.

Some of the responsibilities of a personnel manager include:

coordinating benefit programs and employee training,managing the recruiting process, conducting exit interviews and salary surveys,coordinating recordkeeping and payroll, and administering personnel policies.

Usually these two terms are used interchangeably but there does lie a difference between the two.

Personnel management is reactive in nature and includes administrative tasks while HRM is proactive in nature and requires continous develpment in policies and functions of the organization for a better tomorrow.
Personnel management is more of an independent task than HRM which needs to involve the managers of all departments for developing a better team.
Personnel mangement believes that satisfied employees yield better performance while HRM believes that a good performance provides satisfaction to employees.
HRM works around developing startegies to improve the performance of employees. Personnel mangement works around motivating employees with compensation, bonuses, rewards etc.
Actually Personnel management can be considered as a subset of HRM.
Here you have to bear in mind that if you are offered the position of a Personnel Manager, you may be required to perform HRM functions and vice versa.

Personnel management is managing welfare and performance of persons who are a part of the operations.

There are many people who actually get into HR after graduating in a totally different stream. To some people it just happens while for others it is a deliberate move.

If it just happened to you, you can say that I was on a look out for a job when I got the first opportunity in HR. I took it up and slowly realized that I have started liking it. I brushed up my skills by keeping myself updated about the new developments in the field and acquiring a professional degree (If you have got one.)

If it was a deliberate move, you can discuss your reasons for moving into this role.

The purpose of this question is to understand your knowledge of the role.

The responsibilities of an HR manager include:

Recruitment, Training, Organizational Development, Communication, Performance development and management, Salary and benefits, Team Building, Building Employee relationship, Developing Leadership, Motivational exercises, Developing companies policies and procedures, Managing the health care program for employees etc.

Depending on the size of the organization, the HR manager has a team performing each of these roles.

While answering this question, don’t simply say that I love to work with people and that is the reason I am into HR. This is the most common answer and moreover something which makes the interviewer burst into laughter. This answer easily makes them understand that you are saying this just to get the job.

A better way would be to identify some work areas that an HR manager has to perform in his daily routine and relate them to your interest. A possible answer could be, I liked to be a part of the recruitment team which can identify right people and put them into right places. An employment into recruitment slowly developed into a full fledged HR profession.

Knowledge,
Intuition,
Versatility,
Flexibility,
Focus and above all a human touch in every thing you do

You may find this question asked in different forms during the interview. The purpose of asking the same question in same way is to judge the consistency of candidate’s answers.

Ensure that you have read the job specifications properly before you appear for the interview. While answering this question, identify the qualities a person needs as an HR Manager and see how you fit into them. Take out the qualities which make you a strong candidate for this position and offer them to the interviewer. The qualities which are usually sought in the candidate for this role are: Knowledge, Intuition, Versatility, Flexibility, Focus and above all a human touch in every thing you do. If you have any extra qualification like the knowledge of a software useful in handling the job, you can discuss that also during the interview.

It is absolutely OK to accept that every human being has weaknesses but if you can make your weaknesses work to your advantage that makes you a winner. A probable answer to this question could be, while dealing with the employee’s problems at times I get very attached to them but I think this helps me in understanding their problems better and offering them a solution while being within the company limits. I have experienced that this attitude of mine towards the staff help them being more open to me and loyal to the company.

While asking this the interviewer wants to see, how do you identify yourself yourself with the job role. Relate your educational qualification, work experience and personal qualities with the role to answer this question.

A possible answer could be, the role of a human resource manager needs the person to connect with others on a human level and help them meet their aspirations while following the company's policies, structure and rules. I think with an experience of 'X' years, I know well how to deal with humans and my last employment has given me a good insight into the rules and regulations an HR manager has to keep in mind while operating.

If I am selected for this position, I'll use my initial 90 days in understanding my role carefully in terms of the contribution to the business and increasing the overall profitability. I'll sit with my line manager and other juniors to understand what has already been done and what its impact has been. From there on, I'll formulate my strategy to growth in close conjunction with managers and see that it is properly implemented.

Since I'd be coming from an altogether new environment, I am bound to possess a new perspective towards everything here including the company, product, customers, environment, strategy etc. This will enable me to constructively question things which anyone else here might not do. This will help in improving the things and making the product & company better.
Having worked closely with product development team I understand how the research for product development is carried out and how is customer requirement analysed; I'd be able to provide a value addition there too.

You might feel that I possess more degrees than you require for this position. But, I believe that I grow everyday when I talk to my staff, customers and superiors. So, basically the learning process continues through out the life - I don't think I am over qualified.

Yes, it happened once. I was quite friendly with a colleague of mine from the other department. While talking to him during the lunch hour, I casually told him about the new marketing strategy that the marketing team was thinking about. He mentioned it to his boss and that caused a lot of confusion between the two departments. This taught me a lesson that you must not discuss any departmental strategies with anyone from other department unless you have been authorized by your boss.

Yes, I was feeling exhausted after years of non-stop work. So, I decided to take a break and spend some time with my family on a rejuvenating vacation. I am happy to have returned fully recharged.

Yes, there have been many such instances. I like people who challenge my decisions rather than following me blindly. This keeps me ensured that I am surrounded by thinking brains rather than just a set of dumb followers.
When someone challenges your decisions, you are bound to rethink over it and the chances of reaching the best option are brighter.

I have been working at a senior level since last many years. These roles have always needed me to make real time decisions. Sometimes the facts, figures and other information in real time cases are not complete & still we have to make a decision. In such cases, there exists a probability of making inaccurate decisions.
Knowing this, I usually run down my old decisions to see the outcome. It makes sure that I don't repeat a mistake ever again in future. While carrying out one such exercise, I realised that the product promotion strategy that I recommended would have been different, if I had had the complete data and figures but there was no way to get them in real time.

I like new challenges and a chance to grow. As long I keeping getting these, I don't think I'll need to switch over. I'd like to believe that this relationship lasts for many years. However, I haven't set a time limit as such.

I believe that at one point of time in career salary becomes secondary and self actualization become more important. While taking up any new job, it will be my priority to ensure that the work culture, chances to contribute and grow are sufficient along with the money I am paid. I also believe that any good company who cares about its employees ensures that they are paid well.

There are many people who do not change their jobs for years and when they go out looking for a new employer, this is one of the most important questions they are asked. Some people might look upon staying with the same employer for long as "lack of ambition.
A good answer to this question can be something like, Yes, you are right. I stayed with my last employer for almost 5 years but I was continuously growing in the company, doing new things, handling bigger challenges. So, I was quite happy working with them for these many years. You can then talk about how you grew with your last employer.