Recruitment Interview Questions & Answers

I went through a phone interview, and then an assessment center.

The phone conversation was pretty casual, mostly questions about myself and why I want to do recruitment, and what the job looks like.

The assessment center was friendly, with situational tasks and a presentation about the company.

A task involving how to deal with client objections.

I was advised to engage a lot during the assessment center, ask questions, be confident and chatty, and try to be the "leader" of the group. So just try to participate in all the tasks and ask relevant questions.

A lady held a presentation to give us more info about the company, then we did three group situational tasks. We also had a FAQ session where we could ask questions related to the job and the company.

Started in a group introduction where I had to do a 30 on the spot in "welcoming" of myself to the other candidates and interviewers.

Then a 3 min interview with the candidate next to me to then prepare a 1 min presentation about why they should get the job.

Then an exercise about what items to salvage from a sinking ship to survive at sea.

When I reached the next round of interviews, I had 20 mins to create a 3 minutre presentation on myself and why I would be perfect for recruitment and Las Fosse.

What is my inspiration to enter recruitment?

Try and be as personable, outspoken and yet measured as you can. Their business is built on a family-esque ethos so being friendly, cooperative and interesting is key. Also do your research; I did a tremendous amount of background research and that is what separated me from the other candidates, even though I did not get offered the job

See above

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.

MMA got in touch with me immediately after I sent my application to them through graduate-jobs.com, and an interview date was established for the following day. My interview covered all areas that I was anticipating with nothing "out of the blue" or unnecessary. My interviewer was friendly, engaging and professional.

A question based around giving an example of when I've shown commercialism in my life.

Preparation is without a doubt key! For the first round interview things are less formal and you mainly need to have good answers for: Why do you want to do a job like this? How are you suited to this job? Why do you want to work for us?
Be yourself and engage with the interviewer, ask him/ her questions also.
As the interviews progress they become more detailed. You will need to research the company well, essentially they're culture page, and any information that sets them out from the crowd.

Command tasks, presentations, tests and case studies.

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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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.

I had an interview with the internal recruiter after my assessment centre. I was asked why I chose their company and if I had applied elsewhere. I came back the following week for a telephone test and a few more interviews with my current manager and then the company director. I was asked about my commitment to the company

Why did I choose recruitment and not stick to a typical chemical engineering job?

Come in confident and ready to get stuck into the tasks. Try to quickly learn the names of the other trainees to make the tasks run more smoothly. Be smiley and yourself. Listen to the tasks carefully and keep an eye on the time to make sure you show your great time management skills. The telephone test might seem daunting but just talk on the phone as though you were talking to an old family friend.

I had an assessment centre with an introductory presentation and individual introductions followed by group tasks. The task I remember the most was pitching a fellow candidate to the rest of the group. Those who got through to the interview stage had an hour after the assessment centre to grab some lunch and then return for an interview.

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

I was contacted two days before the interview by email to let me know that I would be required to complete and telephone interview to assess my personality and skills.
The interviewer said I could have some preparation material which I found very useful.
It didn't feel like an interview it was quite informal and I felt nervous at first but I was soon at ease and thought my personality came across well.

To describe myself in three words. It is hard to choose three words on the spot which encompass my personality

If there is an opportunity to receive pre interview preparation material take it and prepare as much as you can. It makes the interview less nerve wracking. It allows clear focused answers as I tend to babble when nervous.

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First telephone interview with an account director. This lasted about 45 minutes and he described a lot about the company and role, the role is more like succession planning than immediate vacancy filling. We talked about my Cv and experiences which made me suitable and what I liked about the role eg. Client contact, research and long relationships rather than filling jobs day by day. I asked quite a lot of questions which I think he liked and he said he would contact me for a face to face interview

The face to face interview was scheduled about a week later. There wasn't any predatory work and joining the original account director was the London MD and a senior researcher,one up from the position applied for. They told me more about the company's history and some of what the accounts were like. They described how it feels to work there. They were very open about the company and let me know how they get around problems, how they dress in the office, the culture, going home times, everything. It was definitely not a test type situation and felt very relaxed, especially as we held the interview in a coffee shop as their office was being done.

The office is in an amazing location in soho, the dress is formal but they have a less formal environment. The company is quite small but I get the impression they would like to expand a little.

They asked me things like: when have you had to do report writing in a non academic sense, when have you had to research non academically, how did you do that using a specific example, what was your dissertation topic etc. they took quite a lot of interest in finding out about my skills. No personality questions like what are your hobbies, but they did seem really keen on personality as a factor.

Quite specific tomy degree, but they asked if I would be comfortable calling execs in China and speaking with them in Chinese about their job experience and prospects. This was only difficult as it is hrd to know exactly how easy that would be until I have had some experience.

No other questions were too difficult, it was very relaxed. The only thing is that they are very keen to make sure that the interviewee is really eager for the job and wants to do it.

After the second interview I realised the role wasn't right for me and I wouldn't take it if they offered, which I felt that they might. I let them know and they were fine with it, they want someone who is interested in the role.

Be relaxed and friendly as they are very nice.

No assessment centre