HR interviews are a significant & crucial step in your job pursuit. It is considered so since it involves direct interaction with the person who could be deciding your fitment for that job opportunity. It is an excellent opportunity for you to create a good impression and showcase your accomplishments & other nuances which were not a part of your resume.
A well-prepared approach gives you the confidence to deliver a neat performance. You can practice for your following HR interview using these commonly asked HR Interview questions. We have added some pro tips and sample answers to help you prepare better.
- Tell me about yourself
- What do you understand about us as an organization & our work?
- Why are you interested in this job opportunity?
- What are your strengths & weaknesses?
- What is you biggest achievement?
- Why should we hire you?
- In the next 5 years, where do you aspire to see yourself?
- What are your salary expectations?
- Why are you switching roles?
- Do you have any questions?
1. Tell me about yourself
You have to cover your strengths, accomplishments & other details that you wish to bring to HR’s attention.
Refrain from talking about your personal details; share only necessary & relevant information, which positively impacts creating a good impression about yourself.
Sample answer:
I belong to ABC town, situated in XYZ state. I completed my Bachelors in Engineering owing to my interest in that field. My strengths are my attention to detail, ability to understand & follow instructions & proactive thinking. My goal in life is to learn every day, grow & become a better person. I enjoy being in the corporate hustle, working hard & finding joy in the wins, and learning lessons from the mistakes. I have worked in companies like (names) & got exposed to areas of content marketing & content strategy. In my leisure time, I like to read books & indulge in gardening.
2. What do you understand about us as an organization & our work?
This is where you can utilize your research skills and dive deep to understand the organization’s contributions, work culture & how they add value to their customers/clients.
You can refer to the social media handles & website of the organization to get an understanding of the industry & work they do
Try & see if you can find any testimonials of the work done. Knowing & highlighting that during your interview will make you stand out.
Sample answer:
DRA is an organization that contributes to the space of manufacturing & automobiles. You have been in the market for the last 2 decades, doing exemplary work in the market and impacting the lives of people associated with it. I recently read an article on (topic) on your social media page; it was pretty interesting. I’m so happy to have gotten the opportunity to attend this interview with your team.
3. Why are you interested in this job opportunity?
Here you have to highlight what triggered your interest in you to apply to this organization/job role.
If the organization’s vision/mission/goal aligns with yours, you can mention the same.
You can also talk about their recent achievement/noteworthy points & say how that impacted/motivated you to be a part of this organization.
Sample answer:
I admire that your organization believes in & works towards empowering the lives of the underprivileged community. It has been my passion to channel all my strengths to do something meaningful with my life & my gifts. Hence I consider this an excellent opportunity for me to work with you in this organization & achieve a common goal.
4. What are your strengths & weaknesses?
You have to draw a thin line between being proud of your strengths & sounding boastful.
While being honest helps with this question, your weakness should not dilute your strengths; hence this question has to be handled delicately & smartly.
Sample answer:
My strengths are my attention to detail, my dedication & proactiveness. (You can share an incident that holds for any of the qualities mentioned above). My weakness is that I get into work too much that I sometimes zone out from the outer world & its happenings. I am now trying to achieve a balance in that regard.
5. What is you biggest achievement?
You can talk about how you solved a problem/found a solution/made things efficient & organized in your previous roles
Rather than stating only narratives, including quantifiable data points would make your achievements strong
Sample answer:
While working at ABC, I sensed that the process efficiency of specific internal tasks was not up to the mark. It constantly involved fire fighting among the teammates, which lowered productivity & efficiency. Hence I suggested aligning every task flow step by step, ensuring accountability at all stages by the team. This increased team productivity twice, we were able to finish all responsibilities without much back & forth & the output quality was also found satisfactory by the management.
6. Why should we hire you?
Here you have to make compelling points on how you would be the right fit for that role & the organization.
Previous instances of where you have demonstrated desired behaviors required in the current job achieved results or which remotely involves your success in that particular field can be mentioned.
Sample answer:
I believe I am the right fit for this opportunity because I possess the skills to deal with the responsibilities of this role. With my strengths on board, I would certainly contribute to my fullest, be sincere in my approach & ensure that expectations are met without compromise. My process-oriented approach & adaptability to work in a fast-paced environment will benefit this role.
7. In the next 5 years, where do you aspire to see yourself?
This question is an opportunity for you to exhibit your futuristic aspirations & goals that you plan to accomplish
Being authentic & using your creativity in this response would be a game-changer
Sample answer:
In the next 5 years, I want to be in a position where I can directly impact people’s lives & make them better. As I am driven by the goal of learning & growing every day, I wish to channel all my learnings & do something that directly affects people’s lives & I wish to have that power.
8. What are your salary expectations?
This response should be dealt with tactically since this also is a part of making or breaking the deal. Do not quote a figure yourself; understand from HR the range/budget for this role.
Feel free to leverage your current salary, performance review ratings & their impact on your salary. It is always advised to research market trends on the average salary one earns, basis years of experience & skills.
Sample answer:
My current salary is as per skillset, experience & the revenue generated by the projects I worked on. Its also in alignment with industry standards. My performance reviews are around the corner & I believe they will impact my salary. I wish to understand from you on the best salary that you would be offering that is competitive & satisfactory to both the parties.
9. Why are you switching roles?
State the genuine reason why you are looking at this role. It could be one or more of the following reasons: Job role not satisfactory, compensation is low, work-life balance is not there, work culture not aligning with you.
Ensure that you do not bad mouth your previous job/employer as it does not show you in good light
Sample answer:
I feel this opportunity is an excellent chance for me to explore & utilize my talents. This also provides me a platform to learn new things and contribute to a more significant cause. I feel my graph at my current organization has hit a stable point & opportunities where I can & wish to leverage my skills are not being offered to me at the moment.
10. Do you have any questions?
You can leverage this opportunity to ask more specific questions about the organization & its hierarchy, their work nature, and the role you are applying for in detail. Do not say you don’t have any questions, go prepared with a set of questions you wish to check with HR. But ensure you maintain the boundary of not asking too many irrelevant/personal questions.
A little homework before giving the actual interview always goes a long way. Prepare your answers well in advance, and admit you do not know the answer to something instead of cooking up something; this saves your face.
Please do not underestimate the power of an HR interview round, as it is the foundation for your future steps. Keep these pointers in mind. Now buckle up & prepare for your HR interview with full energy.
All the Best 🙂
Quick check – Things to keep in mind while while applying for a job
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