nick18_in
Nikhil Gadodia
HR administrator
Why do you want to pursue a career in HR, and what steps have you taken to ensure it's the right career for you?
Why: We want to see just how realistic their view of HR is, and whether their decision to enter HR is an informed one, or a whim.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a poor answer:
Have you been involved in disciplinary actions and grievances in your current role?
Why: At this level, candidates face more nitty-gritty questioning about specific tasks, the aim being to determine their degree of involvement and the level at which they have assisted line managers.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer: "
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
Training and development officer
How would you do a TNA (training needs analysis)?
Why: At this level, we're just looking to test HR knowledge of regulations and procedures to make sure that the basics are in place.
A good answer would include:
Example of a weak answer: "
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
HR manager
Which business issues did you become involved with in your last/current role?
Why: This will show us the degree of interaction they had with their internal client base (eg line managers), as well as the nature of the HR work they handled. For example, were they interacting at line manager level or more junior level? Were the issues mainly those of a white-collar (office-based) environment, or about employee relations in a blue-collar (production) environment? Each will reveal the real nature of their HR experience. We also want to see how proactive they are in dealing with the business issues.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a bad answer:
Tell us about a business objective your company set, and how you went about implementing it.
Why: We're looking for a combination of the rounding of their technical know-how, their ability to relate business objectives to HR, their internal client management skills, and the extent of their implementation experience.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a weak answer:
How do you calibrate HR best practice in your current role?
Why: Here, we're looking to see if they have an understanding of the business-HR link, and to see if they have the capacity to think at a conceptual level. The measures they give us will show this.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer:
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
HR director
How do your HR objectives tie into the overall business objectives?
Why: We're looking to see what tangible contribution the candidate has made to the business, and if they've successfully linked HR strategy to overall business strategy.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a weak answer:
What steps have you taken to ensure that HR activity is aligned to organisational goals?
Why: We're trying to get a feel for their understanding of how HR can impact on the organisation and add value at a business - rather than purely functional - level. We are also looking for the individual who goes beyond the bare minimum of standard practice or what is expected of them.
Example of a strong answer:
Example of a poor answer:
Is this a board-level HR directorship? How is HR regarded within your business and how commercially involved are you?
Why: We're less interested in the nitty-gritty operational issues, and more interested in the candidate's ability to think and act strategically, ie to see and manage the HR function in the context of the business. The best HR directors are commercial people who happen to have an HR specialism. To help establish their level of commercial awareness and involvement, we'd also be looking for evidence of commercial ventures in which the candidate has been involved.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer:
Why do you want to pursue a career in HR, and what steps have you taken to ensure it's the right career for you?
Why: We want to see just how realistic their view of HR is, and whether their decision to enter HR is an informed one, or a whim.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a poor answer:
Have you been involved in disciplinary actions and grievances in your current role?
Why: At this level, candidates face more nitty-gritty questioning about specific tasks, the aim being to determine their degree of involvement and the level at which they have assisted line managers.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer: "
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
Training and development officer
How would you do a TNA (training needs analysis)?
Why: At this level, we're just looking to test HR knowledge of regulations and procedures to make sure that the basics are in place.
A good answer would include:
Example of a weak answer: "
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
HR manager
Which business issues did you become involved with in your last/current role?
Why: This will show us the degree of interaction they had with their internal client base (eg line managers), as well as the nature of the HR work they handled. For example, were they interacting at line manager level or more junior level? Were the issues mainly those of a white-collar (office-based) environment, or about employee relations in a blue-collar (production) environment? Each will reveal the real nature of their HR experience. We also want to see how proactive they are in dealing with the business issues.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a bad answer:
Tell us about a business objective your company set, and how you went about implementing it.
Why: We're looking for a combination of the rounding of their technical know-how, their ability to relate business objectives to HR, their internal client management skills, and the extent of their implementation experience.
Example of a good answer: "
Example of a weak answer:
How do you calibrate HR best practice in your current role?
Why: Here, we're looking to see if they have an understanding of the business-HR link, and to see if they have the capacity to think at a conceptual level. The measures they give us will show this.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer:
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/
HR director
How do your HR objectives tie into the overall business objectives?
Why: We're looking to see what tangible contribution the candidate has made to the business, and if they've successfully linked HR strategy to overall business strategy.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a weak answer:
What steps have you taken to ensure that HR activity is aligned to organisational goals?
Why: We're trying to get a feel for their understanding of how HR can impact on the organisation and add value at a business - rather than purely functional - level. We are also looking for the individual who goes beyond the bare minimum of standard practice or what is expected of them.
Example of a strong answer:
Example of a poor answer:
Is this a board-level HR directorship? How is HR regarded within your business and how commercially involved are you?
Why: We're less interested in the nitty-gritty operational issues, and more interested in the candidate's ability to think and act strategically, ie to see and manage the HR function in the context of the business. The best HR directors are commercial people who happen to have an HR specialism. To help establish their level of commercial awareness and involvement, we'd also be looking for evidence of commercial ventures in which the candidate has been involved.
Example of a good answer:
Example of a poor answer: