HR Consultant Interview Preparation Guide

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Find your specific niche – if you are a career professional, what type of client truly speaks to you? Collect those clients and treasure them.

It is difficult to break some habits. This question will help the interviewer understand your weaknesses or areas of improvement from your colleagues’ point of view. The question makes the candidates really think about the perception their colleagues could carry about them.

Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I'll be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what I'm presently doing to prepare myself…

You are eager to look good but don’t make the common mistake of exaggerating your current position. Mentioning some of the routine tasks in your day adds realism to your description and show that you don’t neglect important details such as paperwork. Put yourself in the interviewer’s place as your answer. When you’ve been doing a job for years it becomes second nature to you, and you must be aware of all the tasks you undertake. You should spend a few days making notes of your activities at work to regain an outsider’s perspective. Try to show that you make good use of your time, that you plan before you begin your work and that you review your achievements at the end of it.

Start by explaining what you'd need to do to get ramped up. What information would you need? What parts of the company would you need to familiarize yourself with? What other employees would you want to sit down with? Next, choose a couple of areas where you think you can make meaningful contributions right away. (e.g., “I think a great starter project would be diving into your email marketing campaigns and setting up a tracking system for them.”) Sure, if you get the job, you (or your new employer) might decide there’s a better starting place, but having an answer prepared will show the interviewer where you can add immediate impact—and that you’re excited to get started.

Of the many interview questions and their answers, this one might seem like the trickiest, especially if you desperately want the job. However, agreeing to it when you are not okay with working round the clock and during the weekends won’t do you any good.

If you are cool with the timings, then you don’t need to think twice and say it works for you. But even if it doesn’t, avoid a flat out NO. Instead, frame your answer smartly.

Very direct and very scary!

This is one of the trickiest yet the simplest of all the interview questions with answers that we have talked about so far. How?

Well, for one, you are only human and the interviewer knows that. If you say you don’t lie, then that will be the biggest lie and make you come across as someone who cannot be entirely trusted. So, unless and until you are intending on pulling off something very cheeky, it will be best to stick to the truth.

Talk about an instance when you lied and make sure it is not about a major lie but an innocent, white lie.

The most rewarding experience that I’ve had was when I initially became an HR Business Partner. I was assigned to support a team that held negative perceptions of the HR practice, in general, and the role of the HR Business Partner, specifically. I was tasked with changing those perceptions.

It was all about watching, listening, and learning in order to determine where I could deliver real value to the team. They were embarking on a major business transformation initiative, and felt that HR would be of absolutely no help to them.

Transformation is my love and after many months of inserting myself into situations and decisions I was able to gain enough trust to permit me to deliver a number of programs that were relevant, timely, and of interest to the leaders I supported. Those programs were hugely successful and, as a result, I achieved my goal of changing the perception of the leaders.

My next job will be to move to a role where I can apply my coaching and counselling skills, ideally as a Life/Career or Transition coach. The industries I’ll target will be not-for-profit or health care.

I truly enjoy helping individuals find their passion and/or resolve various challenges they’re facing, whether those challenges are on a personal or professional level.

This has brought some responses like ‘My salary expectations’. This is a good way to understand what the other person really stands for,” said Gundecha. The usual question – “Why should we hire you?” – puts the interviewee in selling mode. More often, the question evokes standard, sugar-coated answers. Flipping the question can bring out the real self

The hiring manager is trying to get at your underlying motivations for wanting this job. Are you here just for a paycheck or do you see yourself becoming an integral part of the company and growing along with it? You need to show them that you want to become “part of the family”.

When completing your preparations for the interview, always have this question in the back of your mind.

Have a look at the average salary for someone in this industry, area, and who possesses similar skills to yourself, and you should get a basic idea.

But remember: this is only the first interview. You haven’t been offered the job. There’s no need at this stage to be try and begin negotiations. Giving a broad salary range will usually be enough to move on, but be prepared to back it up if you need to.

☛ What do you think are the most important positions within the HR department?
☛ What is the position within the HR department responsible for creating the work environment in the company?
☛ If you were responsible for the implementation of a programme in your company, what actions would be your priority?
☛ What is your reaction when a change is introduced in your life and you have not taken part in identifying or planning it? Can you give me an example?

☛ Are you member of any professional organisation related to HR?
☛ How can you contribute to our company’s success?
☛ In your opinion, what is the best way to communicate the corporate values to employees?
☛ Tell me about any experience that you have setting up new procedures.
☛ How would you manage a conflict between two workmates?
☛ What do you look for in a recruitment process? What kind of individuals?
☛ How would you face a dismissal situation? Have you ever had to fire someone?
☛ Can you describe the process that you normally follow to make a decision about an important issue?

☛ How would you describe your HR management style?
☛ Do you consider yourself a good manager? Can you provide some examples?
☛ Do you think that you have top executive potential?
☛ In your opinion, what is the most difficult aspect of being manager?
☛ Can you tell me a time when you developed a programme or a process in your company that was finally successful? What were the reasons that led you to identify those need(s)?
☛ What variables do you consider to ensure an appropriate performance of your team?
☛ Can you describe a situation where you had to help a department to implement changes? What was that change about and how did HR to identify the needs? How was the action plan developed?

☛ How did you evaluate the success of HR services in your previous HR position? What was the aspect that you considered?
☛ How did you determine or contribute to determining the priorities of the HR department in your previous position?
☛ In your previous job, how did the HR department contribute to creating, maintaining or changing the corporate culture?
☛ How did you decide or assist in deciding the priorities in the HR area in your last position?
☛ Can you describe a situation when an employee complaint about his or her manager? How did you deal with this situation? How did the problem end?
☛ What actions or programmes that you implemented to improve or maintain work environment, do you think is the best or you feel more proud about?

☛ Here’s a short case study about a client. How would you advise them?
☛ If you disagreed with a team member about something and the deadline was getting close, what would you do?
☛ Imagine a client is reluctant to accept your proposed solutions. How do you handle this?
☛ A client is going through a merger with another company. What would you advise them to pay attention to concerning the workforce? How would you help them in shaping/maintaining company culture?
☛ If a client asked you to propose some IT solutions for HR operations, how would you decide on your suggestions?
☛ Imagine a client asks for your advice in a subject you aren’t familiar with. How do you handle it?
☛ How do you stay current with changes in labor regulations?
☛ What metrics do you use to evaluate a problematic situation?
☛ What do you need to know before starting an investigation for a client?
☛ What can be done in your experience to deal with low employee morale?
☛ Describe a time when you had to solve a problem with a tight deadline
☛ Tell me about a time you produced a solution for a client that saved them money
☛ Have you ever made a mistake during a project? What did that teach you?
☛ Talk about a time you provided an innovative solution when conventional approach failed
☛ Describe a time you had to handle various projects at once. How did you prioritize tasks?
☛ Have you ever had to face an ethical dilemma while working on a project for a client? How did you resolve it?

Employees are investments, and you expect every employee to generate a positive return on his or her salary. (Otherwise why do you have them on the payroll?)

In every job some activities make a bigger difference than others. You need your HR team to fill job openings, but what you really want is for them to find the right candidates, because that results in higher retention rates, lower training costs, and better overall productivity.

You need your service techs to perform effective repairs, but what you really want is for those techs to identify ways to solve problems and provide other benefits -- in short, to build customer relationships and even generate additional sales.

This question is meant to reveal whether the candidates prefer being on their own or managed at every step. “We are looking to find out if they would feel less empowered if they are micromanaged or whether they would prefer a free work environment wherein which they get evaluated periodically, senior vice president-talent excellence at Teleperformance. We also ask the potential employees to support their answers by examples from their previous jobs or with their personality traits

An HR Business Partner has the inside track on the business and on changes that are occurring – or are about to occur. They also have knowledge about the climate and culture of the organization and of roles that are presently available, or may be coming available in the future. As a career professional, it might help to know that impending corporate changes could impact the role that a client is seeking at my firm. With information such as this, the client could be counseled accordingly.

HR Business Partners also have a good sense of the expectations, skills, and capabilities required in a particular industry. For those clients looking to move into a company, the Business Partner might be able to facilitate connections. We typically have extensive networks of contacts and colleagues in a variety of businesses.

This is to check if the candidate is really interested in the kind of role the company is offering. It will also help the interviewers understand whether the candidate has thought through about his or her next job requirement, researched the opportunities in the sector and what he or she is really ready for.

Uploading your resume to a job posting on a website is simply not enough! You must find a way to make connections internally in order to get your resume to the top of the pile. Learn as much as you can about the company so that, if given the opportunity of an interview, you’re able to speak intelligently about all aspects of the firm. Interviewees really impress when they’re able to do this, and, I believe, too few job seekers leverage this strategy.

Finding a job is all about marketing yourself. And, contrary to prevailing wisdom, I firmly believe that it shouldn’t always be about what the company wants. Seriously ask yourself what you want from a company and their leadership team. What does the company stand for, what does leadership value, and do these things resonate with you? Talk to people who work there. Use your connections, or work hard to make connections if you don’t already have them.

We have written an in depth blog post over at: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

DO:
☛ Grab hold of the opportunity this question gives you. This question really lets you guide the interview where you want it to go. This your chance to relate your most impressive success story, so take advantage!
☛ Highlight a strength that is crucial to the position. (As I mentioned earlier)
☛ Find out from your company research and from the job description what strengths the company puts a lot of stock into.

DON’T:
☛ Don’t make claims that you can’t illustrate with a brief example or fact.
☛ Don’t be overly modest but don’t claim to be Superman or Superwoman either.
☛ Don’t name a strength that is irrelevant to the job at hand.

This is one of the most common interview questions overall! Recruiters usually don’t like to see gaps in your employment history. The best way to excuse a gap is to describe what you were up to in the meantime. A gap is not always a bad thing. You might have traveled, volunteered, started a successful blog, or learned new things through books or online courses. Always be honest. If you have a relevant reason why you were unemployed for a while, say it. Don’t make excuses and by no means say you were trying hard to find a job and you couldn’t get one. It’s always better to say you were unemployed by choice, and not because nobody wanted to hire you. Even unemployment has its perks. You should highlight that this period was enriching and worth it.

Talking about your hobbies and interests is a great way to open the paths of communication in a job interview. While you can go out and be completely honest about your hobbies, even if they don’t resound with the job profile, there are certain hobbies you should keep to yourself.

If your hobbies include partying or drinking, then you should look for other hobbies to talk about. However, if you enjoy a good game of football or compete over video games then you can talk about it. But be ready to answer questions asked regarding your hobbies.

If you say you love photography but can’t talk about cameras or any photographer that inspires you, then it may come across as a poor choice or lie. So, prepare well and broaden the spectrum of your hobby.