Whether you are going for a role as a trainee recruitment consultant or a recruitment consultant the same sort of questions will arise. Below are the 5 most questions that will be asked during the interview and the best way to answer them
Why do you want to work here or why do you want to work for us?
This question is asked for 2 reasons. The first one being that the employer genuinely wants to see if you can give a good answer, maybe you have had a background in the subject, or that you want to work for a growing company. The second part is to see if you have done your research to show your level of commitment.
Answer: What you need to have done is your research on the company, look up what type of jobs they recruit for as well as industries and competitors local and nationally. This will show a good understanding of market as well as the company as a whole. Remember you can never over research but you can always under research.
Why Recruitment?
This can be a tough one at times as it may be the case that you just want a job. However stay away from the answers such as “I heard it is good money”.
Answer: Everybody’s answers will be different. Don’t just talk about the company relate it to their business. For example if they work in the finance sector mention that you enjoy the finance sector (Maybe you even have a degree in it or qualification) and that recruitment gives you autonomy to do what you love and make a difference. Also mention that every single companies biggest assets are their staff and people who work for them and you know how important it is to find the right staff and you want to be part of helping to grow businesses and the opportunity to be rewarded for working extra hard really appeals you you (MONEY!).
Give me an example where you dealt with a difficult client or customer
This question or something similar is bound to come up due to the fact that as a recruitment consultant you will be dealing with difficult customers (Candidates) and Clients (Employers/Managers).
Answer: What the interviewer wants to see from your answer is an example of a situation where you dealt with it professionally and gave a good level of customer care. You could mention how you saved a deal or how you convinced a customer to still continue to use your service.
Why should we hire you?
If you are not prepared for this question or give an answer along to the lines of “I am friendly and hard working” chances are your interview will not go to great. However if you are prepared and give an amazing answer it can turn around the interview and land you the position.
Answer: Everybody’s answer will be different but you want to home in on your skills, what you have achieved in your last role and/or what you plan to achieve. A good way to start would be to mention skills that you have that would be relevant… “Having had 1 year experience in sales, I was among the highest achieving professional in my division, how I achieved this was excelling at my level of customer service as well as client services to not only out perform my colleagues but also my competition in the market without reducing my prices. I know if I was offered the position I could use all my existing skills to replicate and be an asset to the business.” A simple short answer that is confident but not pie in the sky over the top.
What is your strengths and/or Weaknesses?
A very common question if you know how, very easy to answer. However a lot of people can get stumped on this sort of question so always be prepare as it will show up in 90% of interview.
Strengths answer: You want to highlight an achievement as well as a core strength you have. So if you have a customer service background mention how you had the highest level of customer service satisfaction score at your last company. Or if you was in sales of any form mention how your greatest strength is selling as you out performed all your co-workers in revenue month after month. Give real life examples of this
Weakness Answer: We all have weaknesses, your employer knows this but obviously don’t mention anything that may scare them off. A good way to answer this would be to mention how you have never recruited in the niche that the company recruit for and that it would take you a few months to get a detailed understanding of the market. Tell them that in your first few weeks once you get up to speed with the companies internal processes you would be studying the market to get ahead of the competition and see what exactly is on trend.
