3rd Round Interviews

Meursault

Hi all, I have a third round interview tomorrow which I am not sure how to prepare for. It is with the HR mgr, rather than the manager for the hiring dept.

Does anyone have any experience of this? What kind of questions should I expect?

Thanks

Eoin

What sort of position are you applying for?

The odds are that there will be lots of bull**** questions. Not all HR people are like that at all, but enough are.

Not too bull****ty:
Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict in the workplace
Tell me about a time where you improved a process in the workplace
Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help a customer
Tell me about your communication style
Something team-worky
Something about dealing with pressure
Why are you leaving your job?
What do you know about this company?
What are your salary expectations?

Bull****ty:
Why do you want to work here?
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
What are your weaknesses? (most cliched HR question of all time - but don't say "I work too hard")
How would your current boss/colleagues describe you?

There could be an aptitude test or some sort of behavioural test, but if they haven't told you there is one, there may not be.

For when you're asked to describe a situation, check out this article.

At this stage, it sounds like the hiring manager is happy with your skills and experience, which is a great sign.

Meursault

Eoin wrote: »

What sort of position are you applying for?

The odds are that there will be lots of bull**** questions. Not all HR people are like that at all, but enough are.

Not too bull****ty:
Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict in the workplace
Tell me about a time where you improved a process in the workplace
Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help a customer
Tell me about your communication style
Something team-worky
Something about dealing with pressure
Why are you leaving your job?
What do you know about this company?
What are your salary expectations?

Bull****ty:
Why do you want to work here?
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
What are your weaknesses? (most cliched HR question of all time - but don't say "I work too hard")
How would your current boss/colleagues describe you?

There could be an aptitude test or some sort of behavioural test, but if they haven't told you there is one, there may not be.

For when you're asked to describe a situation, check out this article.

At this stage, it sounds like the hiring manager is happy with your skills and experience, which is a great sign.

Hi eoin thanks for the advice. I will have a think about how best to answer the questions above

Eoin

Meursault wrote: »

Hi eoin thanks for the advice. I will have a think about how best to answer the questions above

Best of luck - and try and think about what behaviours someone in this particular job might need to demonstrate. The questions I've mentioned are quite generic because you didn't say what type of job you're applying for.

For example, if it's a senior position, then expect to be asked about times you've mentored other staff, how you've dealt with having awkward conversations with someone on your team etc.

If it's a customer facing role, then you might be asked about how you deal with awkward customers.

Meursault

Eoin wrote: »

Best of luck - and try and think about what behaviours someone in this particular job might need to demonstrate. The questions I've mentioned are quite generic because you didn't say what type of job you're applying for.

For example, if it's a senior position, then expect to be asked about times you've mentored other staff, how you've dealt with having awkward conversations with someone on your team etc.

If it's a customer facing role, then you might be asked about how you deal with awkward customers.

Sorry I forgot to mention it is a finance role and it's not a management position which is why I found the third round a bit unusual. I haven't had that before

Eoin

I wouldn't be surprised to have a HR interview for a non-management position; that was just an example of specific questions you'd be asked if you were a manager. There's a HR interview for all levels in our company, from graduates upwards.

The hiring manager will often concentrate on your skills and experience, while a HR interviewer is often much better at digging into how you deal with different situations, types of people, communication styles and all that.

Most people on this forum have complete disdain for HR people, but as a hiring manager myself, I've found that they can ask really good questions of a candidate that I wouldn't, and would be able to pick up on warning signs that I may not. But then again, the HR person I worked with is really good and wouldn't ask the stupid questions.

As I mentioned earlier, when you're asked about a time when... make sure you can be specific about what the situation was, what your role was and/or what you did and what the result was.

If you're asked about why you're leaving your job, don't be negative about the current place. Make it more about why you want this job, not why you want to leave the old one.

Meursault

Thanks again Eoin. I appreciate the advice. I am interviewing for the place I actually worked in before my current job. The finance dept is being re-located abroad so I lose my job in May, so I have a very good reason for looking for a new job. I am trying to figure out the best way of answering the inevitable question of why i want to return to this company.

It is for a total different position and I have upskilled since i was last there though, so I will probably focus on that.

Ann Landers

Eoin wrote: »

Bull****ty:

Where do you want to be in 5 years?
What are your weaknesses? (most cliched HR question of all time - but don't say "I work too hard")

I got asked both of these yesterday in an interview. Not by a HR person though. It took all my strength not to roll my eyes. :pac:

TBH, most of the questions on your list have been asked in pretty much every interview I've been at in the last two years. (and that's a lot of interviews ) They're not going anywhere soon from what I can see, sadly.