What questions to ask a recruiter before an interview. What to ask in a recruiter interview

At the interview, you planned to talk about education, work experience, official duties and career growth? Instead, you are offered to draw a little man, tell a joke, solve a logical problem, and at the end of the conversation they are interested in how many fishing rods can fit in the back of a truck.

Your confusion is understandable. You can doubt the recruiter's mental health, laugh it off or even run away, but it's better to answer anyway. And quickly and without hesitation. The fact is that you are subjected to a special psychological test.

Trick questions can be divided into two groups. The first is stressful. This category includes information about your previous professional success‚ as well as about the composition of the family‚ children‚ about the place of work of parents, etc. Such questions help to catch the interlocutor on inaccuracies. In principle, the employer can find out the answers to them from the questionnaire, but it is important for him how you will react to them. In this case, you must answer as honestly as possible, without unnecessary emotions.

The second group - questions that test your erudition and sense of humor, command of speech and logic, reaction speed and endurance. Tricky questions, unlike stressful ones, do not have an offensive connotation and have a practical meaning. They can confuse the interlocutor, make him laugh, surprise him.

The theme of this group is difficult to determine, the imagination of recruiters is limitless. What fairy tale character would you be? What would you spend the million dollars you won on? How many piano tuners are there in the world? An unexpected question and a sharp transition from the official part of the interview to the entertaining part are confusing. In a state of shock, a person involuntarily reveals more about himself important information What was going to. After all, you can say that you will spend the money won on vacation in distant exotic countries, or you can spend it on obtaining an MBA degree at a foreign university or on starting your own business. It is clear which answer the employer will like more.

However, not all recruiters practice the use of the second category of fantasy questions, but you are guaranteed stressful questions in any case. How to respond to some of them? Let's practice.

1. Tell us about yourself

This most common and simple question often confuses candidates. With its help, you can find out about the life priorities of the candidate: after all, people first of all talk about what worries them more. The employer is primarily interested in your education and work experience. Story about personal life desirable to minimize. It is not known how the recruiter will react to the love of a potential security guard for melodramas or the ability to cross-stitch. Therefore, try to prepare an autobiographical mini-story in advance.

2. What do you do in your free time‚ do you have a hobby?

This question is a logical continuation of the previous one. It helps the recruiter to check the conformity of the psychological portrait of the candidate with the requirements of the position. For example, a company needs an active person with leadership qualities, with a willingness to travel. And the candidate at the interview tells that he is fond of floriculture, loves home comfort and does not handle the road well. Such a candidate is unlikely to be accepted into the state.

An answer like, “I work a lot and I’m too tired to do any more nonsense” is also not an option. Employers like active, versatile personalities.

When answering questions about your hobbies, it is better to talk about hobbies that require the same qualities as the proposed job. Analysts can boast achievements in solving crossword puzzles, executives - the position of captain of a sports club, designers - any creative occupation.

Also, the question about hobbies allows you to assess the intellectual level of the candidate, his health and fitness (if the hobby is of a sporting nature). Remember, if you have chosen reading books as a hobby, it will be better if you name not only the latest bestsellers, but also professional publications.

3. Why did you quit your previous job?

The employer wants to know what did not suit you in the old job and what you expect from the new one. The main rule: never speak badly about a former boss or colleagues. The new boss does not know how everything really happened, but he may consider you a conflicting and problematic employee. Nobody needs these. You can refer to a routine, an uncomfortable schedule, a change in leadership. But the best options the answer will be your statements that you want to be in the staff of a stable company, have the opportunity for career growth, work on interesting and useful projects etc.

4. List Your Weaknesses

A variation of this question is: "What can you say about your failures in life?" The recruiter is not interested in the fact of failure itself, but in your attitude to ups and downs, the ability to get back on your feet, to pull yourself together after a failure. Therefore, the ideal answer can be considered as follows: “I did not enter the university the first time, but I worked as a laboratory assistant, I acquired practical experience and then graduated from the institute with honors.

5. Tell us about your achievements

The recruiter tests your self-esteem. You can talk about a successfully implemented project, advanced training, and receiving a corporate award. The main thing is not to overdo it. You can’t go to the other extreme and underestimate your own knowledge and abilities. An interview is not a time for being overly modest. So, if, when answering the question, how well do you know German, the candidate decides to be modest, then, most likely, the personnel officer will make a note “does not speak the language” and will give the vacancy to a more confident applicant. Therefore, answer convincingly and confidently.

6. How long do you plan to work with us?

This question helps the recruiter get to know your goals and determine the degree of sincerity. Of course, you can avoid answering by stating that first you have to work in the company and understand whether the team likes it, whether interesting tasks have to be solved. “If you like everything, then our cooperation will be long and mutually beneficial” - this phrase should dot the i's.

7. Where do you see yourself in N years?

As an option: “Do you plan to move up the career ladder?” Thus, the personnel officer is trying to assess your prospects for working in the company.

If a recruiter calls 3-5 years, then he expects that the future employee will spend this period in his organization. As a rule, the employer wants to know if the candidate has career ambitions. Your answer will show whether you objectively evaluate yourself as a professional, whether you value your profession, whether you love your job or your plans include only career growth.

If the recruiter names 10-15 years, then he wants to evaluate your long-term planning ability, the ability to set and achieve goals. A person who is not ambitious, not passionate about the profession, as a rule, does not think about the future, remains in the middle link for a long time, works only for a salary. Therefore, he is characterized by a sluggish attitude to work, shifting responsibility to others, and a lack of interest in the affairs of the company. Such an employee is not of interest to the company.

To give the answer that they want to hear from you, you need to collect information about the company before the interview. If you find out that there are often promotions in the company, then you can safely say about your hopes for career growth. If your career advancement is not expected, and you show career ambitions, you will most likely be denied a job.

8. What is your desired salary level?

The employer is interested in whether the company can “buy” you and how long they can keep you with this salary. When answering, feel free to name the amount, which is 10-15% higher than what you were paid at your previous job. The minimum cannot be lower than the old salary (or it must be compensated by something). If you are getting a first job, then look at similar offers on specialized sites and in the media.

9. How do you handle large workloads?

This means that the company most likely practices recycling. You can clarify whether they really take place, how overtime is paid. For the same purpose, questions are asked about marital status, the presence and age of children. From the answers, conclusions can be drawn about whether the employee will work without sick leave and time off, whether he will be able to travel on business trips, whether he will be a stable and dedicated employee.

10. What would you like to face at work?

Or this option: “What frustrates you the most at work?” These questions test the human qualities of the candidate. Answer based on generally recognized values: deceit, unprofessionalism, scandals, gossip. They may also ask under what conditions do you work best? With this question, the employer tries, firstly, to find out your attitude to work; secondly, find out what you expect from a new workplace, team, working conditions, etc. It is better to answer abstractly: friendly team, mutual understanding, clear task setting, etc.

Preparation is necessary!

At the interview, the personnel officer does not always seek to obtain reliable information about a potential employee. The main goal of the recruiter is to make a psychological portrait of the candidate, evaluate him moral character‚ ambition ‚ career aspirations. The answer must be given without fail, no matter how stupid or ridiculous the question may seem. To mutter “I don’t know” in response means to admit one’s complete defeat.

Of course, it is impossible to foresee all questions, every interview is unique. But you still need to be prepared. You can "wander" through the forums about employment, find practical advice. If you are lucky, you will stumble upon the stories of other applicants who were interviewed in the same company that you are going to go to.

It is also important to behave properly during the interview. Be calm, answer confidently, pronounce words clearly, ask follow-up questions. There is nothing to be afraid of, you are the best candidate, and the interview is just a necessary meeting. No need to be shy, but you shouldn’t be too frank either, you need to maintain a friendly attitude in any situation. Perhaps your interlocutor will become your future colleague. But even if not, be sure that you will definitely find a job. Good luck with your interview!

An interview is necessary in order to assess whether the candidate is suitable for the vacancy. Pay attention to the word "suitable". The recruiter does not care how wonderful and talented you are, the question is whether you are suitable for the position or not. Therefore, all the questions that are asked in the interview are aimed at checking this compliance.

So what do recruiters really want to know when they ask questions?

Tell us about yourself?

The question that starts most interviews. It is needed in order to get to know the candidate, arrange him for a conversation, and at the same time check how he behaves. Does he speak confidently or is he too nervous? How does he phrase phrases? How does he react when interrupted? The manner of speech is extremely important if a person has to personally communicate with partners, clients and colleagues. If a candidate fidgets, rubs his hands, and is obviously nervous during a meeting, this may be a sign that he is hiding something. For example, a loud dismissal from a previous job. This behavior will alert the recruiter.

What did you like about your previous jobs?

This question helps you understand the candidate's values ​​and whether they align with the company's expectations. For example, a person settles in big company, and he liked working in a small team, communicating closely with management and making decisions on his own. There is a chance that a job in a startup or a small organization is more suitable for the candidate.

How long do you plan to work in our company?

This question has 2 main functions: to find out the plans of the applicant and check it for adequacy. There are certain rules in society that are accepted to be observed. According to these rules, the candidate is expected to answer that he plans to work for the company for a year, two, three or more. If instead he says, “I will work for you for six months, and then I want to leave for a more famous company,” this is an alarming sign.

If 3 companies make you an offer, how will you choose where to go?

The answer to this question will reveal the values ​​of the candidate. It is important that these are his values ​​at a particular point in time. For example, if he now needs to pay a mortgage, money will play a significant role. And if in the future financial question decides, then the popularity of the company, the team, tasks and other indicators may come to the fore. This question is rarely asked, so they don’t prepare for it in advance, which means the recruiter is more likely to get a sincere answer.

Why do you think other people lie?

This is an example of the so-called "projective" question. They ask you as if about other people, but subconsciously you will answer about yourself. Questions like these help lead candidates to clean water and learn their true values. Experienced recruiters understand that there are exceptions. For example, a candidate has always worked in companies for a long time, and he is asked the question “Why do you think people often change jobs.” The applicant did not have such experience, therefore, in the answer, he may share the opinion of his friends.

Why did you quit your last job?

This is one of the ways to identify the level of conflict of a person. Sometimes candidates do not think about it and tell how they had a fight with their boss, colleagues, partners or clients. Sometimes applicants, on the contrary, try to hide their conflict, but this is almost always noticeable in the manner of speech.

The recruiter may also ask about difficult situations at work and how the candidate handled them. The answer will show the level of conflict, stress resistance and responsibility. Some companies turn away conflicting, temperamental people in order to maintain a calm atmosphere in the office.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In a year?

The question is designed to find out what the applicant is striving for, what plans he makes for the future, and whether they exist. Answering it, candidates can reveal their infantilism, lust for power, unbridled love for money and other aspects.

Are you planning to go on maternity leave soon?

When a married girl of 25-30 years old comes for an interview, this is a risk for the company. What if she goes on maternity leave in a few months? To test this, recruiters directly ask about the decree. In most cases, the candidate answers “no”, and then recruiters ask the questions “Does the husband insist?”, “And mom?”. The answers will help assess the level of pressure on the applicant. Even if he swears that he has no plans to have children in the next couple of years, pressure from loved ones can play a decisive role.

Sometimes recruiters don't ask questions directly? The fact is that most candidates carefully prepare for the interview and come up with thoughtful answers. Often these answers are insincere and do not tell about a real person, but about a supposed ideal. So the dialogue goes something like this:

- Tell us about your weaknesses?

Perhaps I am too responsible. If I am given a task, I will do my best to see it through to the end. Even if it means working on weekends.

- What do you like most about your job?

– I like to work in a team. I really enjoy coming up with new projects with colleagues and discussing ideas.

In an interview, people often say what they are expected to hear, and not their real opinion. To bypass prepared answers, you have to come up with trick questions, and sometimes even conduct stressful interviews.

An example of the top 10 interview questions.

1. What do you like most about your current job?

If a candidate likes to do something, then he is probably very good at it.
The answer to this question gives you the opportunity to understand how the candidate will suit your organization (are the interests of the person consistent with the goals of your business?), and what he sees in you as an employer.
Again, if the person's response is something about how long their lunch break is, chances are it's a sign to move on to the next candidate.

2. What problem did you encounter and how did you solve it?

In the candidate's response, keep track of what details he or she mentions. The lack of detail signals exaggeration.
If this is really the person who solved the problem, then he will be able to describe any level of it. In other words, he will be able to point out every detail that led to success. If the narrative seems incomplete to you, then most likely he did not cope with this task. Because whoever fought hard with the problem will never forget it.

3. What style of work do you prefer?

This question is better than the standard one: "Are you a team player?" As a rule, whether a person works well in a team is calculated through other questions.
Through this question, you will learn more about the candidate's preferences and how his behavior is suitable for working in a team - instead of asking directly if he is a team player.

4. Tell us about your significant experience, how does it motivate you to do more?

This question will help you find out what your candidate is passionate about. What a candidate does also outside of work can be as important as their ability to solve problems.

5. What was the most negative feedback you received and what did you take away from it?

If the candidate says in response to this question that he cannot remember any criticism he received, then this is a big red flag for you. Such a response usually shows a worker who does not pay attention to his weaknesses or is unwilling to admit mistakes in his work. Both are difficult to work with.

On the other hand, a well-thought-out candidate response helps to establish that this is an employee who is able to accept harsh criticism and benefit from it, regardless of whether the candidate agrees with it or not. A good worker can go beyond criticism of this kind and learn to find a positive opportunity to strengthen his character.

6. Tell about your friends.

Yes, this is not a technical question. But it will shake up the interview or confuse the candidate, while at the same time revealing what type of people he prefers in his environment. Effective workers seek to surround themselves with other efficient workers, and good people, as a rule, tend to be in the company of other good people.

This question also helps to uncover a candidate who is constantly on social media and interacting with a huge number of friends, or someone who is completely loyal to only one or two friends outside of his family. Only you know which of these is preferable for you and the psychological atmosphere of your company.

7. When you were asked to do too much work, how did you react?

The question is useful to find out if the candidate can admit that he needs help. It will show how much the applicant can process before asking for help and how he uses the resources available to him.

8. What do you think people don't understand about you?

This question shows how polished the candidate's social skills are. Can he recognize what others perceive as a weakness in him - even if in fact it is not so?
As a rule, employers prefer those who are aware of how they are perceived by others. It also helps to know what steps the person has taken to mitigate the bad impression made on others.

9. What happened the last time you let someone down?

We've all let someone down at least once in our lives, and how we deal with it and move closer to a second chance defines our character.
With this type of question, you are trying to see the strength of the character of your candidate and whether he will allow another situation where he will let someone down.

Of course, a person's response may raise a few red flags (still mistakes have been made). But a great candidate can show you how he unfolded a negative situation in positive side– either by admitting a mistake and learning from experience, or by taking corrective action.

10. If you were hiring for this position, what candidate would you be looking for?

The question, of course, may stun a few people, but the candidate should be able to use it to illustrate what strengths he appreciates in the worker. This can help you better determine if a candidate is the right fit in terms of what is valued in your company.

A bad candidate will talk about a list of qualities they think you want to hear, which is pretty easy to figure out.

Often candidates go through 2-3 interviews. First with the recruiter, and then with the immediate supervisor. Let's see what interests them.

Depending on the level of the vacancy and the size of the company, you may also be met by a Human Resources Director or a higher level manager.

Interview with a recruiter

The task of the recruiter is to choose the most suitable applicants from hundreds of responses. His work can be compared to a sieve through which he "sifts" a stream of resumes and selects those that meet the requirements of the position.

In fact, he compares the requirements of the vacancy with information about your experience, so your task is to give him confidence that he made the right choice.

At the first interview, as a rule, they clarify formal data: did you really perform certain duties, do you know the programs that indicated, are you ready to move, is your length of service indicated correctly, and so on.

Some applicants are annoyed by such questions - “it’s still written in the resume!” they think. However, we recommend that you don't give up on clarifications and help the recruiter make sure that your experience meets all the requirements.

Sometimes these clarifying questions are asked to save time.

The second task of a recruiter is to assess how you fit a particular company: will you fit into the corporate culture, into the atmosphere of the unit, will you get along with the future boss. That is why at the meeting you are asked questions that may seem strange and even irrelevant. For example, they model situations with your behavior in a given situation. Or ask where you want to be in five or ten years? Do you smoke, do you play sports? So the recruiter checks whether you will take root in the new team.

For example, if you are used to smoking breaks every hour, and the company promotes a healthy lifestyle, you will feel like a black sheep. There is a similar discrepancy if we are talking about an ordinary position where there is no growth, and you say that you see yourself in a year as a director of a division.

If the position requires you to negotiate and deal with difficult clients, a recruiter can give you a stressful interview, creating an uncomfortable situation, and observe your reaction. The way you present yourself will give him an understanding of how you fit the vacancy.

In any case, the task of the recruiter is to select a candidate according to the signs of compliance with the conditions of the vacancy and the spirit of the company.

With a recruiter, you can and should discuss the conditions and work schedule, the benefits provided, staffing, opportunities for growth and training in the company, as well as a salary bracket if the interlocutor raises this issue.

And leave the details of daily work and narrow professional moments for a meeting with the head.

Interview with the manager

If a recruiter invites you to a meeting with a future boss (relevant for specialists and), congratulations, your chances are already very high.

In the first interviews, it was important for the interlocutors to get a general idea of ​​​​you and what you were doing. In the presentation to the manager, you can dwell on the details, focus on professional nuances, use more terms in speech.

The manager is unlikely to ask you about your strengths and weaknesses, as well as about where you see yourself in 5 years, but he can offer you a work case and, following the course of your thoughts, assess how you fit into his team.

Communication with the manager should be two-way - when talking about yourself, ask how such cases are resolved in his department.

For example, you worked as a sales manager in a company that had an aggressive policy and followed the rule: a contract at any cost. The new company may have other strategies, say not to provide a discount of more than 5% under any circumstances. Therefore, when answering questions, you should always clarify: as is customary in this organization. This is how you show your flexibility.

Prepare questions for the leader in advance. A good professional question will make you stand out. On the eve of the meeting, study the biography of the interlocutor, his experience, completed projects. Treat the interview like meeting an interesting expert in your field. What would you like to ask him?
A sincere interest in people and their work will surely endear you to the interlocutor. This secret has been used by famous journalists for centuries - and it is perfectly applicable for interviews as well. But before you ask questions, still ask if this can be done or is it better to leave it until the next time. If the interlocutor is inclined to take you to work, he will want to continue the conversation, otherwise he will not waste his and your time on an aimless conversation.

We hope our tips will help you better prepare for your interview. Successful search work!

I recently heard a big millionaire ask himself, “Why do I need an HR specialist? Why should I pay him such and such an annual salary, if I myself do a good job with the selection of the team.

To bookmarks

The question, as they say, is not in the eyebrow, but in the very heart.

Why pay the same annual salary to an accountant? Or a personal assistant, for example? After all, she is simply engaged in office work, keeps minutes of meetings, brings water, well, she also books tickets and buys medicines for 50 thousand rubles a month, more precisely for 600 thousand rubles a year. And a good HR employee directly affects the company's profit.

The problem, of course, is in HR specialists too.

It is enough to look at the requirements for candidates: liberal arts, preferably a psychological education (well, of course, he must understand the intricacies of the psyche, because a failed psychotherapist is directly suitable for recruiting and working with people), work experience of at least a year (do you really need more), completely optional knowledge English (why do we need the latest achievements and scientific articles on the subject), no requirements for serious “field” work.

And this can be explained. Science is new. The managers themselves do not know anything about this, and the requirements for vacancies are rewritten from each other. No one sets a serious task - to teach the skills of managing people to middle managers. What is there - the owners themselves are sure that if they manage the business, then they will somehow cope with the people.

So it's all in its swamp and self-reproducing. Someone to blame.

Recruiter at the interview

It's never too late to learn. More precisely, always on time, so let's start simple. What questions should be asked to a recruiter at an interview in order to select exactly those people who are needed by the business, or rather the owner, because he is the business. And what questions are absolutely useless and even harmful.

• Google HR tells us from the height of their genius that it's better not to hire good worker than make a mistake and hire two bad ones. Thanks to them for setting and relentless improvement in people management. It's nice to follow the strong and smart.
• It is very important that HR clearly understands the values ​​of the owner. That is, when choosing a recruiter for yourself, look for a like-minded person with the closest values ​​​​to you personally, and not just by resume, budget and competencies. This can be tweaked. And the heart and upbringing are very long and laborious.
• Feel free to check your pickers regularly. Interview people together. Listen to each other. Listen to your recruiter even more. How he thinks, what he asks people about, how he relays information about your business to the world, how he behaves with people. Test its work not only at first, but also regularly afterwards. People tend to relax and feel like gods. Check your watch.
• Say goodbye to toxic HR. This is trouble. These people have maximum access to the brains and motivation of employees, they poison the atmosphere exponentially much more than a dissatisfied programmer or a disgruntled office manager.
• Stroke the head of a person devoted to you. A good HR manager good director on sales - makes you a cashier. Feel free to buy these.

This is a strategy. And now some tactical steps. Suppose you have a small business, and an HR specialist was not needed for some time or would further inflate the budget. And then they expanded, and the time has come.

Or a big business: HR employees are like dirt, but all the work is stupid and ineffective.

We start with the alphabet.

We gather recruiters and teach them how to interview

We ask them simple questions, ask them to answer in the same simple human language, but with detailed argumentation:

• How long does your interview last and why so much?
• What questions do you ask (are they the same, if not, the percentage of the same and different)?
• What are the key questions for different positions?
• Name case questions for different positions, and why did you choose these particular cases?
• Do you conduct testing and why, what do you reveal in these tests?
• How do you assess the candidate's compliance with the company's values?
• How do you assess the candidate's potential?
• Personally, what are your evaluation criteria (HR is always the author's opinion, since until robots have replaced us, we rely on our experience)?
• How do you say goodbye to candidates?
• How do you give feedback do you give?
• How do you create a reserve?
• How do you look for a person for an unpublished vacancy that needs to be filled in principle, but no one understands exactly who exactly is needed?
• What questions do you consider your most successful find and why?
• What number of stages do you think is ideal for the key positions of the company?
• Do you need someone at the interview for an additional opinion on the candidate?
• What do you do when in doubt?
• When and in what proportion does the involvement of an HR employee in the life and adaptation of a new employee change (and does it change at all) (six months, one year, three years)?
• What is the purpose of your questions? What exactly do you want to know with these questions from a person?

Why do they ask these questions

• For example, you ask him about marital status. What for?
• Ask when he moved to your city. For what purpose?
• Ask him a case question, how he will act in such and such a situation. For what?
• What do you want to learn by asking a question about weaknesses? What about the strong?
• What will give you the answer to the question: where do you see yourself in five years?
• What do you want to know about a person when you are interested in his hobby in relation to a specific position as a marketer or engineer?
• When you ask what book he read last, what drives you? How and in what way will this help to understand how exactly the candidate is suitable for this position, this department and this business?
• Being interested in the reason for the dismissal, what exactly do you discover for yourself in this person, given that with a 90% probability he is lying or not finishing?
• Asking, "Sell me this pen" or "How many balloons will fit on the bus," what do you learn about a person?

Why is it important for the owner to know

• You pay for your recruiter's working hours.
• An HR specialist relays information about your brand and your personal name to the world. No one knows what kind of company you really are, but people talked at the interview and formed their impression.
• An HR employee is like a watchman. The temptation to become such an arbiter of fate and a demigod is very close, the stage is as close as possible, and the keys to the gate are under your nose. It is difficult to maintain modesty in behavior and correctness in manners.

And whether the candidate was offered water in the summer. And the toilet. Did they ask him how he got there from another city? How did he get there, how did he find the office, does he need to catch his breath, to recover if he is worried. The price of the issue is a second, attention is priceless.

Each question that a recruiter asks a candidate for your money and paid working time should have a specific purpose for the assessment. And that goal is to search right person to the desired position.

If the goal is unattainable, and so the candidate was considered, and from the side, well, it doesn’t fit, then the goal is to send him home with the feeling that it was the best interview in his life. What for? At a minimum, this is a plus in the karma of your HR branding. As a maximum, you will be a dream employer, and this is big competition, large selection, more cool candidates, win-win.

Therefore, we take our psychotherapist with a humanitarian education and teach him first. At the same time yourself. And then we let people in. You cannot teach yourself, look for consultants, remember: a recruiter is the gateway to your business. His face. The first letters of his name. Its marketing, hands, and it is these people that directly affect your profits.

You are not building your business for someone to formally fulfill their duties for your money.