10 usual HR questions

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Good preparation for an interview may decide about its success, so it is worth reviewing your CV a few days before the scheduled date, considering how to best present your professional career, and think about answering the most frequent questions during the recruitment meeting.

Will these only be questions about the experience gained? Will they check knowledge in a given area or knowledge of specific tools? Will they test motivation and creativity? While the questions may be worded differently, there are several areas that a recruiter almost always wants to explore in an interview. Here they are.

1. Please tell me something about yourself.

This question is almost always asked during an interview and is one of the most disliked by candidates. On the other hand, recruiters want to use it to find out if you know your value on the labor market and if you can present yourself well.

The optimal answer is a brief account of who you are professional. Do not repeat information about your career path in your CV, but describe what you like to do most at work, what interests you, and what you are most successful in. You can also tell about your non-professional interests, but remember that you cannot make up stories about it like in a CV.

2. What was your greatest professional success?

When answering this question, it is worth choosing the most relevant professional achievement for your applying position. It is worth giving specifics and presenting the analysis and assessment of the whole situation: what made the whole project successful, e.g., good organization or the ability to work under time pressure. Both describing your role in the project and emphasizing teamwork will be welcomed. The testimony of how he coped with the difficulties encountered in a given task also testifies to the candidate positively.

If you do not have great professional achievements yet, you can talk about less success, which became a driving force for you to continue your work or achievement from your studies. Also, in this case, however, it is worth remembering that the described event corresponds to the future job and the skills needed in it.

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This question, very often asked by recruiters, is usually aimed at examining a candidate's motivation and willingness to develop. As these are important issues from the employer's point of view, as they affect the quality of work and how long the employee will stay in the company, it is worth considering and responding carefully.

Experts advise against mentioning developing areas that are currently crucial for the candidate and are also consistent with the organization's needs. You can also answer in a more general way that we still want to work in a given department or industry, but in a higher position. As always, don't makeup things or talk about goals that are completely inconsistent with your aspirations.

4. Why should we hire you?

To answer this question well, you need to know the job description you are applying for and be aware of the required competencies. Then you need to compare the employer's requirements with your professional experience and skills to convince him that we meet his criteria.

A good argument may also be the benefits that the company will bring when hiring you. Here you can recall your experiences from situations coinciding with those falling within the scope of your new duties, show off your knowledge of working tools in a given position, and even having industry contacts - it all depends on the position.

General knowledge of the company you are applying to may also come in handy when answering this question. - It will be much easier for a candidate who knows the company and its position on the market to justify why they would like to work in it - confirms Magdalena Szewczyk from LeasingTeam Professional.

5. What do you know about our company?

This question is a way of examining the candidate's motivation and knowledge of the industry. Therefore, before the meeting, you should gather as much information as possible about the employer: his products, services offered, and development plans.

Where to get them? Many organizations, such as banks, post their strategies on websites. Various communications from organizations can be helpful. You can also, for example, see the speeches of the leaders of a given company at industry conferences because these can also tell us a lot about the direction in which a given company is heading. Finally, it is worth getting to know employees' opinions on the operation of the organization.

How to answer? Experts suggest that overly praising an employer at this point is not the best idea. Of course, you can demonstrate the knowledge of the company's position on the market. Still, it is more worth focusing on its activities, products, or values ​​represented by it and telling what interests us most and what is in line with our professional goals.

6. What motivates you to work?

Employee motivation is essential for employers because it translates into their effectiveness and the results they deliver. Therefore, you should consider what pleases you at work, what gives you satisfaction, and what makes you more willing to perform your tasks. Do you need support and positive motivation from your manager? Are you performance-driven? Or maybe you want to see your progress and have constant feedback on your work?

The question of motivation also checks whether the candidate will find his place in a given organization and whether cooperation will be satisfactory and beneficial for both parties. Contrary to appearances, this is an important issue. It is not worth submitting an unsubstantiated declaration in reality because if it turns out that we do not fit the company's culture, the employment period may be concise.

7. What are your expectations towards your superior?

The purpose of this question and the one about motivation are to verify whether the candidate fits the company's organizational culture and whether he will be able to work effectively with his future supervisor. Each manager has a different management style, so it is important to confront it with the candidate's preferences at the stage of the interview. If the supervisor likes to have everything under strict control, and the candidate needs a lot of autonomy, the cooperation will not be successful for either party.

That is why it is worth talking openly about the expectations and factors influencing the successful cooperation with the manager. Think about what is important to you: professional relations, approach to employee development, or maybe the substantive skills of the supervisor?

If this question takes the form of "How was your cooperation with your current supervisor?", Avoid talking about his shortcomings and provide examples of your successful cooperation.

You can also describe here what you think the ideal boss should be.

- Good matching of the employee and the supervisor is crucial for the success of their future cooperation. Therefore, the HR department often organizes the second stage of the interview with the candidate. The future superior also participate so that both parties can get to know each other's expectations and comment on the expert.

8. Who do you like to work with?

Teamwork is one of the key organizational issues in many companies today, so the recruiter, by asking this question, wants to find out if you can work in a team.

To prove it, you can tell about the projects you have worked on. The course of work in the project team, the goal achieved by them, and your attitude will be important information for the recruiter.

What if you don't have the soul of a team member? If you choose to work in an organization that requires cooperation in a team, it is worth practicing the skills and good principles of teamwork. You can tell the recruiter that although you have worked in an independent position so far, you have the will and readiness to work in a team and the intention to develop in this direction.

9. What are your financial expectations?

This is an important interview question for both parties. To answer them, you need to know the exact scope of duties in a given position and be familiar with the salaries offered in the industry at similar levels. This will allow you to more objectively determine the amount of your satisfactory salary, which will result both from the scope of duties in a given position, as well as from your experience and competencies. You will also be sure that this amount is real and will not destroy your chances of employment or be excessively low.

The preparation of the so-called expected salary range, both gross and net. Experts suggest that you should also ask about the bonus system and non-wage benefits such as sports cards, medical care, gift vouchers, or training.

10. Where else do you apply? How many recruitment processes do you participate in?

This seemingly trivial question is quite important because it tells the recruiter what you are really looking for. Are you consistent, aware, and confident? This is evidenced by the candidacy for similar positions, with a consistent scope of duties. Do you know the industry and employers in it? You can list other companies to which you sent your CV. Do you have a plan for your professional development? Tell us about the positions you are applying for in the context of your previous employment.

Additional question: Do you have any questions?

Only one answer is correct here: yes. Before the interview, prepare a few questions for you to ask here. Experts agree: not asking any at this point means that, in the recruiter's eyes, you are a person who is really uninterested in the job for which he is applying.

Many candidates wonder what to ask at this point. There are at least a few possibilities:

You can ask about the details of the duties for the position you are applying for and the software used in this job, the size of the team in which you will find yourself or about its cooperation with foreign branches.

You can show interest in the company's development plans and ask about some element of the strategy you are particularly interested in or what you have heard about in a different context.

You can also ask who will be your supervisor.

Another option is to ask about the career path in the company. Show that you want to develop and that you have long-term plans with your employer.

If all these issues have already been thoroughly discussed during the interview, you can always ask about the next stages of recruitment.

In this way, at the end of the interview, you can show your interest again, emphasize your competencies and show off your industry knowledge.

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