Recruitment Interview Questions & Answers

I was invited to come in for an interview following an initial phone screening process. The interview was actually very relaxed. As soon as I walked in the man interviewing me was very pleasant and friendly. I was asked a series of questions. These included what my strengths and weaknesses were. He also asked why I wanted to work in recruitment. He further asked where I could see myself in 5 years informing me that the company liked for candidates to have serious goals (such as owning a property). He also asked me situational questions such as examples where I had to be competitive or overcome difficulties. I had to show what sort of skills I had that would be best suited to the role (one of the things I said was that I am a great listener which is good for building relationships). Overall, I felt very confident and relaxed.

"What is your main strength and weakness?" This was a difficult question because you have to figure out a weakness without making yourself seem like any less of an ideal candidate.

This company is very interested in a good level of experience. Although I had about a years worth of experience in retail this was cited as the main reason for not being offered the role. I was told that other candidates displayed that they were able to progress onto management roles. Therefore I would advise having a good level of experience before considering applying.

when I arrived at the office I was met by a friendly receptionist who directed me to sit in the waiting area. After about 10 minutes my interviewer came to meet me. It was a one on one interview so it was just us two. The interview took place in a small room. The interview lasted about 20 minutes conisting of various questions, the most notable of which are mentioned above. It was generally a good experience.

The interview took place in a relatively relaxed atmosphere; one on one chat around a small table overlooking the sights of London.
Went through my past experiences and was briefed on the 3 main competences of working in recruitment for which I then had to describe how I matched each competency, giving examples from previous experience. Other questions involved why I wanted to work in recruitment and factors that motivated me personally and why.
The interview lasted around 45mins.

The most difficult aspect of the interview was trying to use a range of different examples from previous experience to describe how you demonstrated resilience in a working environment, as it is likely you will experience a number of drawbacks throughout your time in recruitment which you need to be able to pick yourself up from and come back stronger.

Make sure you present yourself immaculately, both the way you dress and the way you speak; clearly, confidently and concisely.
Make sure you have a very good idea on what the company actually does and why you personally want to work in recruitment compared to other areas of work you have already experienced.

The interview was simply me and the interviewer sitting around a small table discussing my competences in relation to the job role for roughly 45mins.

Obviously, as with any other company, the first thing I have done was to send my CV and cover Letter. I then received a call from one of their recruiters just to have a brief chat and he sent me some information about the company and the role. He told me to call him back in case I was interested. As I was, I have done a phone interview where I was asked some general questions on my background and on why I wanted to join that company. Specifically they asked me why I wanted to take over that role and how I would have been successful doing it. After the telephone interview I was invited to an assessment center in their HQ in London. We were previously given a couple of short case studies that we had to read for the assessment day. That day we had 3 exercises. The first one was a group one where we had to acquire a potential client: we were given time to discuss as a group of three people and then we had to do the role-play. The second was a face-to-face interview where we were supposed to be the interviewer; we were given a couple of CVs and the job description. Individually we had to decide which CV fitted the best and then we had to sell the position bargaining on the salary. Lastly, we had to solve an issue. They gave some real life problems and we had to pretend to be on the phone to calm the situation. Overall, the assessment center lasted around 2 hours and we were 6 people. At the assessment center they invite people for any type of position: from the entry level ones to the more specialized ones. Candidates were then given a mark in different relevant categories.

I found extremely hard pretending to be an interviewer. As I have never done it before, I missed some fundamental questions.

If you are interested in applying for this company there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, as with any other company, make sure your CV is up to date with all the relevant information, and the cover letter is tailored to the needs of the company. You do not have to be an expert in Adecco or recruitment consulting, however, it is important to possess some knowledge on the subject. What Adecco does, how it is divided, how it operates, and how it differs from its competitors. During the phone interview, just be calm and confident. This is what they want to see I think: a friendly confident individual who does not have problems to talk on the phone. Be interesting, keep the conversation going and prepare a couple of questions to ask the interviewer when the interview is finished. You can ask him the team members, the culture of the company: show him you are interested in understanding better the philosophy of the agency. For the assessment day, I do not have any real good advice that I can give since I did not get the job. Nevertheless, I would say to meet with a friend of yours and pretend to interview him for a job. I think that people should do some more role-playing at home. Try to imagine having a conversation with the HR manager of a big company and attracting him to make a contract with Adecco. Always be polite, but confident and firm.

That day we had 3 exercises. The first one was a group one where we had to acquire a potential client: we were given time to discuss as a group of three people and then we had to do the role-play. The second was a face-to-face interview where we were supposed to be the interviewer; we were given a couple of CVs and the job description. Individually we had to decide which CV fitted the best and then we had to sell the position bargaining on the salary. Lastly, we had to solve an issue. They gave some real life problems and we had to pretend to be on the phone to calm the situation. Overall, the assessment center lasted around 2 hours and we were 6 people. At the assessment center they invite people for any type of position: from the entry level ones to the more specialized ones. Candidates were then given a mark in different relevant categories.

After applying for the recruitment consultant position online, I received a telephone call a few weeks later. It was a quick phone conversation, ultimately asking why recruitment and why the Allegis group in particular.

Following on from this, I was then asked to come to their office for a face to face interview. It was arranged for the following week and a comprehensive interview pack was sent over via email. It was extremely thorough and proved really helpful (it basically told you the dos and dont's if you want to impress and want the role). The member of the recruitment team was really supportive with any further questions or queries I had related to the interview.

The actual interview itself lasted a (record breaking for me) 4 hours, but it flew by! The structure followed a one to one with different employees of the Allegis group. I met about 5 different people in total and all were really lovely. They would each introduce themselves, their role and how they are finding it. They would then ask questions related to my CV, my extra curriculum activities and really try to understand you as a person - including your motivations.

Each person I was interviewed by had different interview tactics, so each experience was different and the difficulty of each interview was diverse. It was a really challenging, but good interview experience.

I was given a scenario and I had to work out what the best option/route to take would be, and to explain why i thought that. It required you to think quickly and be confident in your response. The interviewer was extremely positive though and was supportive in my answer.

Be prepared to really sell your strengths, whilst being yourself - but be realistic and honest. Really understand why you want to work in recruitment, and don't be afraid to say for the money! Learn about the company and research what you think working in recruitment will involve and how you would fit that role.
Follow and stick to the interview preparation pack, it is really helpful!

In my personal experience, there wasn't an assessment centre, but just a series of one to one interviews.

The initial telephone interview was very brief, and asked a standard set of questions: Why Recruitment? Why Hays? and so on.

A one-on-one interview was arranged for the next morning. This lasted about half an hour. Involved a more detailed look over my CV, alongside a short role play of a recruitment scenario.

Was invited to attend assessment centre the next day.

Nothing particularly hard; role play was most challenging as hadn't done that before.

Don't forget it's a sales role; in any role play/scenario you should get something positive out of it. Getting your candidate (in the scenario) an interview is ideal.

The assessment centre is the most challenging part by far. I would really recommend practicing some role-play or general recruitment phone calls with somebody if possible - don't get flustered by an objection which you should be able to overcome.

Arrived at Recruitment Centre in London at 8:30. There was about 17 people there. First exercise you were given a short period of time to either agree or disagree with a generic statement about business/recruitment. This was fairly tough, albeit only as I was first. Those at the end of the table had a good 8 minutes to prepare in contrast to my 30 seconds.

Secondly, the group split into two. One takes a tour around the office and talks to some current staff. Members of the other group are given a CV each of varying strength. Asked to rank them in order of quality, then perform an individual exercise trying to sell the candidate to the client. Remember to sell the interview and you'll be fine; be persistent! Groups then rotate around.

Thirdly, you are assigned a random recruitment scenario as you go to the front of the room for a role-play. You've got no time to prepare for this one. Just remember to get something positive out of it and you'll be fine; don't forget to use creative license.

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Lastly, we were told to write a job spec for a trainee recruitment consultant whilst they go out of the room to decide who is through to the final interviews. This task is essentially pointless as far as I can work, as if you're out it won't get looked at (and probably doesn't if you get through).

I was invited back for final interviews (same day). This involved 3 interviews with members of the sector in which I would be placed. Roughly, I'd say they were done to test 1) Motivation 2) Sales ability / How you'd fit in 3) Personality (although there was definitely crossover between all 3 people interviewing).

Didn't find the final interviews particularly challenging, as long as you're aware of your CV and past you should be ok.

I was told I'd hear back the following Monday although had nothing. Attempted to chase them up later in the week and couldn't get through to the internal recruiter. Sent an e-mail and arranged to speak the next day, although was busy again when I phoned. Asked for feedback via email finally although had nothing since.

THe first interview was via the phone, asking why you want to go into recruitment and what motivates you. You're then given lots of information about the company which comes in use for the next stage- the Skype interview. This lasts about 30-40 minutes and covers all the main competency questions, who the company are and their background as well as digging through your CV.

Describe a time when you worked incredibly hard and still failed, and what did you take from it?
What makes a good company?

Really research the group and their different sectors- they take a lot of pride in their company. Have some ideas as to how recruitment firms find candidates. Have lots of questions prepared as each interviewer expects you to ask a number of questions.

The assessment centre lasted about 2 hours, and involved being sat in a room and being interviewed 1 on 1 by 4 members of the team. Each interviewer asks similar questions and tries to gauge you as a person- what drives you and why you think you would be a valuable memeber of their team. One interviewer in particular was very tenacious and asked a couple of abtract questions regarding the number of bricks in England. However all the interveiwers were friendly and were open to questions.

Applied online by sending my CV, about three days later I received a call and had a telephone interview. I was asked questions such as why I applied for this particular position, and what I had been doing since I graduated in June. I was also asked to describe a time where I demonstrated a strong work ethic and resilience as these are key characteristics of someone suitable for this role. At the end of the telephone call I was told that Buchanan Sachs didn’t hold assessment centre days and that I was invited to attend a face-to-face interview which would be two days after.

The face-to-face interview was very interesting and lasted about an hour and a half. I was surprised that I was not asked about my knowledge of the company at all, mainly about what other jobs I have applied to and whether I was competitive or not. I was also asked to describe what I would do in certain situations that I may find myself in, such as trying to get through to a director of a potential client on the phone. I was told from the onset that none of the other jobs I had applied to would be able to compete with the commission structure offered by this role. My interviewer was also trying to convince me that I would be more suited to a recruitment consultant role rather than an executive search consultant role – to which I disagreed as all my previous work experience was in fact in research (I wasn’t sure if they were only looking for recruitment consultants). The commissions structure of the company was also explained to me and I also discovered that the basic salary advertised was a lot higher than the one I would be offered.

The meeting concluded with an offer of arranging interviews with 4/5 directors of companies that same week for a recruitment consultant role not for an executive search consultant role. I was told that I had two hours to decide whether to proceed or not. I was also advised that these directors would try to deter me from wanting to be a recruitment consultant which I thought was rather strange. I decided not to take up the offer as there were some inconsistencies in the interview and I didn’t want to lie about wanting to become a recruitment consultant as this was not the role I wanted or applied for.

Why haven't you found a full time job yet as you graduated in June?

You have to be extremely money motived - basically you're sole reason for applying for such a role and talk about this throughout the entire interview.
Also have to be prepared to have a low basic salary and rely on commission.

There was no assessment centre - was told that the company didn't run an assessment day as it becomes more of a "shouting match".

There was an initial phone interview, which I wasn't aware of as I only rang back for further details. It was a graduate recruitment member of their team and lasted about 25 minutes. About why I would be good at the job, what my strengths are, what qualities I think an individual in recruitment should possess and where I see myself in the future including the most important factors to myself. This was followed by feedback and an invitation to the group exercise/interviews the following day.

There were a large group of graduates, we each stood up to introduce ourselves. Then were put into groups where we had to try an exercise to influence the others to our point of view and evaluate how well we had done.
Then each graduate had to stand up for a 1 minute debate on a given subject.
After this step some were asked to leave as they hadn't been successful.
After this there was a interview with a panel of two interviewers.
Then feedback on the interview, and finally questions on where I want to be within the sector and finally I was invited back next week for a training day.

Out of everyone here, why are you the best for recruitment and what marks you out as different?

Be confident, don't be intimidated by the other candidates because in all likelihood, never mind how good they seem, you equally managed to get to that step so you are just as good, if not better, than everyone else. Believe in yourself and remember it does not matter what others think of you, just be yourself.

Described above.

Communication: Initial contact with the interviewer was via email after I had shown interest in the role a couple of weeks beforehand. I was then contacted by the recruiter who had viewed my CV and wanted to know whether recruitment was a career that I wanted to pursue. At the time I did not know a whole lot about recruiting. However, I said that I hadn't ruled it out and would research the role thoroughly and reply within the next working day if I would like to start the interview process officially.

Commute: On the day of the interview I woke up and got the earlier train to ensure that I was there on time (11 a.m). The journey itself took about an hour and a half but while commuting I made sure to think about whether this journey would be manageable on a daily basis (both time and cost of travelling)

The interview: I was met by a lovely employee who was very welcoming who escorted me to the conference room where the one on one meeting was held. She made a brief introduction of herself and her role in the company (She had only been working for 9 months herself). She then went on to ask about my education; grades, extra-curricular activities etc. After noticing a slight dip in grades in comparison to my others she very politely asked if there was a reason for this. I briefly told her of some personal matters that had affected my grades in my first year of college (to which she completely understood). Fortunately these discrepancies were dwarfed by my university grades and overall result. She then focused on my work history in chronological order and asked about the skills that I had attained in each job. I replied to what I thought that they would like to hear as a recruitment agency e.g. good customer service skills, time management, multitasking and building professional relationships.After she was satisfied with looking at my CV she was very sure to tell me about the workload and the stress that can come with the job. After doing my research previously I was already aware of the extremely competitive nature in the recruitment business so was not deterred by her warnings and understood that she had to make sure that I was not going to quit at the first sign of trouble.

The whole interview lasted approximately 30 minutes and was rounded off with her asking whether I had any questions to which I replied with my usual pre-prepared list of (what is the day to day life like?, what have people gone on to accomplish after this role etc.) After giving very detailed and insightful answers I was told that the next step would be to come in for a second interview after some more senior staff had a chance to look over my CV with the interviewer to see if I was a suitable candidate to carry on to the next stage of interviews.

Can you describe a scenario in your work that shows you have overcome an obstacle in your work?

What is your weakest trait?

Pre-interview:

- Know the company and what they do (more specifically what your role would be within the company) You can never do too much research!

- It's always better to over-dress than under-dress. If you happen to be far more formal than needed all that shows is that you care enough to put in the effort which is never a bad thing

- Plan your journey! If you don't know the route very well or have to rely on public transport, allow plenty of time in case you get lost/get stuck in traffic/get on the wrong train. Again, showing up early is never a bad sign!

- Look at your CV and extract skills that you have learnt over both your education and work experience and apply those relevant skills to the job you are applying for

Interview:

- Smile and have good posture and if you can, try and make small talk. It means you are relaxed in a work environment and not daunted by meeting new people (which is kind of crucial in a sales career)

If nothing else, just enjoy yourself. There is always the possibility that you may not get the job. The best thing to do is learn from it (get feedback if you can) and apply it to your future interviews

As a general tip for every interview it is always a nice touch to send an email to your interviewer after the interview (probably not as soon as you leave the door) saying thank you for their time and that you're looking forward to hearing from them.

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Initial telephone interview lasted about 20 minutes with one of the higher ups in the graduate recruitment team. I was asked what attracted to me the role, my skills, strengths and weaknesses and what skills I would like to develop. We also discussed my experiences that were listed on my CV and additional hobbies. I was finally invited to an assessment centre and I was informed of the details of said assessment centre.

Have you ever had a bad experience with an employer, and explain what happened and how it was resolved?

Be very outgoing and loud at the assessment centre. It seemed as though that's what the company was looking for. Be well rehearsed in your answers to general questions in regards to why you would want the position, what motivates you and your strengths and weaknesses.

An elevator pitch.
Then split into pairs, given 5 minutes to interview each other, and then gives 3 minutes to prepare a 1 minute presentation on your partner which had then to be delivered to the group.
Finally was a survival task, where we were split into 2 groups of approximately 10. The scenario was that we were stranded on a rubber dinghy in the middle of an ocean, and we had 15 items. The wask was to rank the items in terms of their importance