Position Name: HR Geneeralist
Interviewer
Candidate Name
Interview Date
Introductory Questions
– Interviewer(s) share name, role, tenure, and hand business cards for thank you messages – Share a brief overview of the company
– Give Candidate the Job Description, highlight Job Purpose, Schedule/Travel, Major Challenges & Key Decisions, and Physical Requirements
Walk us through your professional background.
What do you know about our organization?
Transitional & Verification Questions
– Clarify any unclear information from resume or application
– Verify availability for work hours and schedule, start date, and other important details
What interests you about working for us?
Technical Questions
– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups
List your top 3 technical skills.
What specific areas (related to the position) do you consider yourself the most knowledgeable? What areas have you had less experience or do not feel as comfortable with?
Behavioral / Situational Questions
– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups. Follow up questions may include:
- Tell us more about the action you took and the outcome.
- What did you say at that point?
- How did you react to that situation?
- Explain your role in more detail.
- Tell me in detail what steps you took.
- And what was the result?
- Describe the obstacles you faced in getting it done.
- What other options did you consider?
- Why do you think you reacted as you did?
- How do you think others felt about your actions at the time?
- Were you satisfied with the outcome of your actions?
- If the same or a similar situation presented itself, what would you do differently?
Conflict Management
Give me an example of a time when you confronted a negative attitude successfully.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Critical Thinking
Describe for me a recent time when you needed to make a job-related decision but did not have all of the information you needed. How did you go about completing the task?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Emotional Intelligence
How do you determine what information and when it is time to update upper management?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Initiative
Tell us about a time that you went above and beyond the call of duty.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Judgement
Tell us about a mistake that you made, how you took ownership, and what steps you took to make it right.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Tell me about a project or task you completed with little to no guidance or support.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Performance Management
Share your philosophy or approach to knowing if a performance issue is a training issue or not.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Talent Acquisition
How do you determine who to involve in a recruitment process?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
To what extent do you prefer structured versus free flowing interviews? Share the pros and cons to each approach.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Teamwork/Team Building
Please give me an example of how you have contributed to the culture of previous teams.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
What role do you enjoy playing when working on a team?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Candidate’s Questions
– Be sure to leave time for their questions, generally 1-3
– Paint a positive but honest view of the pros and cons of the work and culture
Notes
Closing Questions
– Describe where you are in the process, next steps, and when they can expect to hear back
– Ask if they have any final remarks
What could you bring to this position that other candidates could not?
Interviewer Assessment
Enter your overall assessment about the candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and fit for this position.
Would you recommend this candidate advance in the process?