Dont Know What to Ask Human Resources Professionals? 5 Killer Questions to Ac...

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DONT KNOW WHAT TO ASK HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS? 5 KILLER QUESTIONS TO ACE SCREENING INTERVIEWS
April 11, 2013
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(http://melissallarena.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/dentist-recruitment-strategy.jpg)Oh, the awful, painful, repulsive HR screening interview.

Root canals are more fun than screening interviews with human resources professionals. As a career coach (http://melissallarena.com/news/frequently-askedquestions-faqs/), I have conducted thousands of mock interviews (http://melissallarena.com/#services) for anxious job candidates who are about to step into a room with human resources managers. The waiting room is usually cold and sterile, enlivened by just a few company trinkets to divert your focus from your impending 30-minute inquisition. So, you sit and wait. Your mind drifting between the company ISO 9001 award on the wall and your hopes that no surprise interview questions are asked. Screening interviews are necessary evils. They are meant to filter candidates and save the ultimate decision-makers time. They are a key ingredient in successful recruitment strategies so youll encounter them multiple times during your career. (http://melissallarena.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/human-resources-gatekeepers.jpg)

HR professionals serve as gatekeepers during screening interviews. You cant just dismiss them. You must always be respectful, delightful, and thoughtful. Treat HR professionals as you would treat hiring managers. Prepare HR-appropriate questions to ease the painful conversation.

To best guide you, Ive listed real questions that my clients originally intended to ask HR professionals and that I finessed to help each of them successfully move beyond that initial recruitment phase.

THE 5 MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS TO HR PROFESSIONALS (AND MY TWEAKS) 1. ORIGINAL: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR COMPANY CULTURE?
Tweak: My understanding is that evaluating cultural fit is extremely important especially in smaller firms where cultural differences are harder to absorb, tell me about the firms founders? What are their personalities like? How does this impact your search for assessing the right cultural fit?

Note: Useful tweak when applying for jobs in smaller firms. FYI, this insight came from my interview with an HR leader creating the HR function for Pinterest.

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2. ORIGINAL: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A CANDIDATE?

Tweak: I bring sharp analytical thinking, the kind thats essential when trying to evaluate whether to buy or sell a firms assets. Tell me about your best hires. What skills have they brought with them?

Note: Customize tweak with your top and relevant strength

3. ORIGINAL: WHAT DOES CAREER PROGRESSION LOOK LIKE WITHIN THE BUSINESS UNIT FOR WHICH YOU ARE HIRING?
Tweak: In my last firm, I had the opportunity to ascend from Assistant Brand Manager to Brand Manager and the next logical opportunity would have been to Senior Brand Manager. What does career progression look like within the business unit for which you are hiring?

Note: This tweak keeps selling the candidate by subtly leading with her history of promotions

4. ORIGINAL: DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS REGARDING MY CANDIDACY THAT I CAN ADDRESS?
Tweak: Is there anything else on your mind that I can address?

Note: Dont throw yourself under the bus. Stay positive.

5. ORIGINAL: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR COMPANY X?

Tweak: What drew me to your firm is its entrepreneurial spirit. I saw that come to life in your founders New York Times interview where he spoke about how his corporate development team leader took complete ownership over a mission critical assignment. How have you seen entrepreneurship come to life while working here?

Note: This is your chance to mention why you want to specifically work for Company X. In summary, your questions to HR must accomplish one of four things. They must 1) continue to sell you to HR professionals 2) initiate positive conversations, 3) showcase the homework youve done on the company, and/or 4) reinforce that you respect an HR professionals critical role in the firms employee recruitment strategy. If you are facing an interview, then I encourage you to email me for a 15-minute free consultation (mailto:melissa@melissallarena.com) to learn more about how I have helped professionals go from second choice and no job offers to becoming the only choice and receiving multiple job offers. Hint: asking smarter questions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE1r7rcgSps) has been the key to their success.

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About Melissa
As a career coach, my plan is to share what I have learned from having: dissected 1,000+ performance evaluations, reported to 20+ bosses, lived in 7 zip codes, worked in 2 foreign countries, transitioned directly from financial services to advertising, started a career coaching firm as a newbie mom, coached lawyers that no longer desired to practice law, helped a plethora of clients with compelling raw materials yet lackluster interview performance skills, earned 2 full rides to top academic institutions, and left law school. View all posts by Melissa

5 Responses to Dont Know What to Ask Human Resources Professionals? 5 Killer Questions to Ace Screening Interviews
1.

Kelliann McDonald (http://www.facebook.com/kelliannmc) says:

April 13, 2013 at 3:28 pm (http://melissallarena.com/interviewing/5-killer-questions-to-ask-human-resources-hr-screening-interviewsrecruitment-strategy/#comment-3352) Awesome tweaks! Thanks for sharing. Ive asked most of the original questions in interviews, but in the future I will be tweaking my questions per your suggestions. I like the fresh spin. Reply 2.

Clara says:
May 10, 2013 at 11:32 am (http://melissallarena.com/interviewing/5-killer-questions-to-ask-human-resources-hr-screening-interviewsrecruitment-strategy/#comment-3584)

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Dont Know What to Ask Human Resources Professionals? 5 Killer Questions to Ac... Page 3 of 6

This is a very resourceful read! Its important to know how to ask questions that assess not just whether an individual is a good fit for the company, but, most importantly, whether the company is a good fit for the individual. Thanks for sharing! Reply

Melissa says:
May 10, 2013 at 3:21 pm (http://melissallarena.com/interviewing/5-killer-questions-to-ask-human-resources-hr-screeninginterviews-recruitment-strategy/#comment-3586) Clara, You are totally right. Culture matters on both ends. Heres a brief video on exactly what you are saying! http://melissallarena.com/interview/interview-tips-figuring-out-a-companys-culture/ (http://melissallarena.com/interview/interview-tips-figuring-out-a-companys-culture/) Reply 3.

Allan Sesay says:

October 24, 2013 at 2:47 am (http://melissallarena.com/interviewing/5-killer-questions-to-ask-human-resources-hr-screeninginterviews-recruitment-strategy/#comment-10729) Thank you for your great ideas. This was very nice. Reply

Melissa (http://melissallarena.com) says:

October 25, 2013 at 9:25 am (http://melissallarena.com/interviewing/5-killer-questions-to-ask-human-resources-hr-screeninginterviews-recruitment-strategy/#comment-10737) Glad you found this useful. Let me know how your interview went! These are only great ideas if you used them and they worked Reply

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