HR Interview Techniques
Interviews for Human Resources (HR) professionals are not different than any other interview. The best interview techniques are primarily for those with no Human Resources experience, trying to start their HR career. As a result, after getting the resume recognized and getting invited to an interview, it requires a few interview techniques in order to stay “in the running”. Those who have experience use very few interview techniques.
Preparing for interviews
Long before you are invited to an interview, you must prepare for the interview. Don’t wait until you get invited to an interview to prepare. Initially, being prepared or practicing should ease the nerves that come with most job interviews. Ultimately, it allows you to look and feel more relaxed during the interview.
Interviews have changed over time, especially since 2020. I created videos to help you prepare. Here’s the video to Learn the Secret to Crushing Job Interviews. That video is primarily focused on traditional interviews. Here’s a video on Preparing for Virtual/Online Job Interviews.
Once you get the invitation to the interview, then you should get more insight into the company you are interviewing to work with and the people who may work with you. One way to get more insight is to search for the company online.
Check the company’s website. Keep a keen eye out for highlights on things that are important to you. Sharing beliefs with a company is a game changer! Next, you should check their GlassDoor reviews and the company page on LinkedIn. Keep in mind that Glassdoor is full of reviews from previous employees so employee reviews are normally mixed and extremely negative reviews typically are from employees who were separated/terminated from the company.
After getting an understanding of the company, then search for the professionals that will interview you. Search for their profiles on LinkedIn. You don’t have to connect or follow them, but definitely peek around to see
- What their posts are about
- Past places they’ve worked
- What was their career path was
- Things you may have in common (college, groups, etc.)
The PAR Method will make you stand out!
When answering the other interview questions, you definitely want to use the PAR Method. With the PAR Method, you will reply with a problem that your previous employer had, the actions you took to correct those problems, and the results that came from your actions.
This method is good for nearly any interview question but especially good for showing your input and transformation during times of:
- Challenges
- Successes
- New initiatives
- Compliance
- Performance progression
This will show how your knowledge, skills, and abilities can transform a company from a negative position to a positive position. It also shows your strategy in your profession and how you can benefit the organization that you’re interviewing for.
Don’t forget to follow-up after the interview
After the interview, it is important to send a thank you note as an interview follow-up. It is best to send those within 24-48 hours after the interview. In that message, you want to thank the interviewer for the interview, point out a few of their challenges and how you will help them see success through your work, and remind them that you’ll be expecting to hear from them.
This next concept is a stretch, but it will make you stand out if you send thank you emails to each interviewer – even if it was a panel interview. Making the thank you email personally to your experience with that interviewer helps too.
In the Leveling Up Your Career eBook, you can find examples of not only creating your elevator pitch but also sample thank you notes. Heyyy HR has two videos that you will find helpful, Interview Follow-ups and How to Ace the Job Interview.
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