New Talent Acquisition Manager Interview Preparation Guide

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With this question, what the talent acquisition specialist wants to know is how the applicant envisions his career and what strategies he has or would be implemented to reach the desired goals.

My job is to build a pipeline of potential candidates with an eye to placing them in open positions, either at Kering or within our brands. I’m also active in supporting the selection process for leadership positions and creative roles. And I work closely with schools and universities through a variety of Kering initiatives to identify future top talent.

This question asked by a talent acquisition specialist focuses on knowing how good the candidate is or could be in the long run. This gives candidates an opportunity to shine with the perfect answers they can give.

The biggest mistake most candidates make with this question is speak negatively about their past employers. Well, the truth could be equally dark, and the negative work environment might have affected him or her negatively; however, when starting something fresh, especially like answering an interview question, the negative speech can only turn out to be a loss for the candidate.

An excellent way to enter the fashion industry is to start in retail. Working in a store provides a crucial knowledge of the product and the clientele, which is key for many positions in the fashion industry. Retail also offers a number of career opportunities, though many graduates are not fully aware of the potential behind retail.

Finding enough nurses. Many nurses are reaching retirement age and since they are usually working a 12-hour shift it is difficult for them to continue working at the bedside.

Also, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation therapists and pharmacists. In the past, you needed a Bachelor’s degree and now you may need a Master’s or even a doctorate. In general health care workers need higher levels of credentialing than before.

Most candidates when encountered with this question often begin explaining the list of their dark sides, considering they might get a benefit out of it. Fallacy! What the recruiter wants to understand from the candidates here is how they are prepared for the work challenges and what approach do they prefer to use to overcome a problem or tough situation.

The candidates who impress me the most usually combine two key elements: remarkable knowledge about their field and passion for the job. Also, being humble is a quality that I value very much in a candidate, especially in young professionals.

I wish they asked me what my leadership style is like and what I expect. They are interviewing us as much as we’re interviewing them. So they can confirm that this feels like the right match for them.
I also wished they asked, “How will I know I’m successful in this job in a year?” Use the interview to establish expectations.

Finally, I have candidates meet the team without me in the room. I wish people would talk about teams and get to know players on the team. Talk about where their strengths could help the team do better things. What kind of team they are going to be joining? What could they add to our team and what could that team add to them?

When recruiting for project managers, I’m looking for sound communication skills. Asking this fun question and hearing the candidate’s response allows me to recognize what the person in front of me is actually like.

If the interviewee comes up with an interesting answer, I know they are creative and can communicate well. Their response obviously shouldn’t be negative, but needs to be something honest and interesting enough to remember.

It also allows me to see if the candidate is a quick thinker, which is another important skill required from a project manager. As this is not a particularly common question a candidate would expect to be asked, it’s fascinating to see what they come up with.

In my experience delegating responsibility and authority is crucial. A team needs to be able to develop and grow as individuals and a whole, not be held back by low expectations or ego.
I believe in building a team. Each member of the team should be clear on their role, know where they fit in and feel as though they can depend on one another. I also believe in real-time feedback. If you do something wrong you should know it immediately. Regardless of right or wrong, the further removed feedback is in time, the less effective it is.

One person we recently hired had great self-awareness of what her strengths were and what she needed to develop. Usually when we ask someone, “What are your strengths and areas for development?” they say they take on too much work or that they are a perfectionist. This doesn’t really demonstrate self-awareness. I want to hear specifically what areas you are strong, what areas you aren’t, and how you hold yourself accountable for your personal development.

This person in particular noted that she was a harmonizer and great at helping defuse conflict. Her areas of development were strategic thinking and decision quality. She had specific examples of how she tries to improve this.

A great sales manager is a natural leader and teacher, with genuine enthusiasm to help others succeed. If they’re only driven by meeting quota or closing deals, they may be better suited for a sales rep position. This question will help you see what kind of mentor the candidate will be, and how they will help your team grow and evolve. Look for a candidate who has a desire to help others, not someone who gives you a generic answer. Look for personal stories––the candidate should be able to demonstrate her ability to connect with people on a personal level.

When considering a new job, candidates should ask themselves if they possess the necessary requirements to succeed in the role and whether the job would help them develop their career in the direction they’d like to go.

The job hiring process works both ways. While I always hope to meet outstanding candidates, I also always try to deliver an excellent candidate experience through all the selection processes steps, from the first contact to the interview process. After all, the candidate is also trying to decide if the company is a good fit for them, so it’s important that their experience with us be positive. In terms of interviews, they help recruiters understand the level of motivation and the candidate’s potential with respect to a vacancy or future opportunities, which is essential to the recruitment process.

Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I’ve been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn’t realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.

In addition to being a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, I also contribute to several online business publications, which requires me to do a large amount of research on my own time to uncover new development and trends in the talent acquisition industry. I also attend industry conferences and participate in the SHRM’s seminars and workshops as often as possible. In such a fast-moving industry, I know it is vital that I keep my skills current, which is why I make sure I’m always on the edge of new industry trends.

Every project is full of the unexpected. A critical skill for project managers is the ability to solve problems flexibly and with agility. Thus, asking project managers to present multiple solutions to a challenge is a great interview question!

Interviews and CVs are obviously very important parts of the process. However, Kering also requires our candidates to carry out online assessments in order to test their personality and ensure candidates are aligned with our core values.

Questions like this (i.e. ones that require a candidate to provide a real world example of how they dealt with a challenging situation) are some of the most powerful questions you can ask in a hiring interview. Rather than asking them a leading question that “coaches” them into saying what they think you want to hear, these questions require a concrete answer. Ultimately, you want to learn how the candidate deals with a team or a rep that isn’t meeting company standards. A great answer to this question will be one that demonstrates how the candidate indentified the specific reason the rep was failing to meet their quota, how s/he addressed that issue, and whether or not it was ultimately rectified. A good follow-up to this question is, “Have you ever terminated a sales rep for any reason? Under what circumstances?”

I expect you to be building relationships. You can’t get anything done alone these days.

Much depends on your job, however you should be highly proficient in your job duties in the first year at a minimum. A great way to figure out your goals is to sit with your manager to clarify expectations. Also ask yourself, “How will I become proficient so I can operate on my own 90% of the time?” Employers need talent individuals who add value really from day one.

Leadership, time management and a finely tuned understanding of people are three key qualities I would bring to this position. In my last position, I was promoted to lead recruiter within 12 months of being hired at the company. I managed a team of three other recruiters and helped the staffing agency I worked with grow their client base by 25 percent and earn the title of Top Staffing Agency in our metropolitan area. In this leadership position and in past positions, I have honed my time management abilities to make sure that no project or task gets neglected and that not a minute goes to waste. Lastly, my understanding of the qualities that make lasting, worthwhile hires has grown considerably over my nearly 10 years in staffing, HR and talent acquisition. My people skills allow me to work calmly and effectively with coworkers, managers, subordinates, clients and candidates alike.

First, we have a few groups of hires. Nurses are a huge piece of our talent community. And then there are professionals like therapists and non-clinical professionals like marketing, finance, etc.

We get over 50,000 applications a year. It’s really hard to just put an application in and stand out, so there is definitely something to networking. However, we get a bulk of our people from college relationships and memberships. In health care, credentialing is very important. For non-clinical, you’re working next to PhDs and MDs. So it’s not only your education but your certifications and professional memberships.

When it comes to memberships, obviously I can’t just take your resume and give you a job. But if I keep running into this person at events and meetings, she’s going to be the first person I call. If I go to Drexel University and I’m part of alumni group or new students, we’re living, working, and playing together. This is how networking works for us and how we find many hires.

☛ Do the people seem happy?
☛ Are they helpful?
☛ Are they enthusiastic about their work?
☛ Are they enthusiastic about the organization?
☛ Do you feel welcome?
☛ Do you like the people?
☛ Do you like the facilities?
☛ Do you like the management style?
☛ Does this seem like a good place to work?

☛ Describe a time you made a mistake that cost you a good candidate
☛ Have you ever encountered problems dealing with recruitment agencies? How did you resolve them?
☛ Tell us about your experience with onboarding
☛ Describe a time you helped someone do their job better
☛ Tell me about your most successful accomplishment in talent management