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Recruiter Interview Questions

Hiring agencies and corporations look for someone with good listening and communication skills when hiring a recruiter. Be prepared to answer questions about your ability to listen to a potential candidate. Expect questions about your relationship with past managers, how you deal with rejected candidates, and when a candidate may reject a job offer from you.

Top Recruiter Interview Questions & How To Answer

Question 1

Question #1: What was your relationship like with your past managers?

How to answer
How to answer: This question is designed to see how well you, as a recruiter, work with managers and how you view your relationship with them. Answering that you feel that you and your managers work as partners and together in a proactive, positive manner.
Question 2

Question #2: How did you tell a potential candidate that they didn't get the job?

How to answer
How to answer: The hiring agency is looking for how a recruiter can handle delivering rejection to a candidate and their ability to use soft skillsto share that information. Answer by stating that you contacted the potential candidate to tell them the news, explained why they didn't get the job, and shared tips to enhance their next job interview.
Question 3

Question #3: What did you do when a qualified candidate rejected your job offer?

How to answer
How to answer: Occasionally, a candidate will reject a recruiter's job offer. Answer that you contacted the candidate to find out why they rejected the job offer. If the rejection had a valid reason — say the salary was too low — make it clear that you went to your hiring manager to help negotiate the salary the candidate was asking for.

60,838 recruiter interview questions shared by candidates

How would I go about identifying the top 10% of IBM software engineers? What is the difference between management and leadership? How would I go about setting up flu vaccination stations across Google campuses…and then how would I expand internationally? Behavioral based questions - tell me about when you did this, or teamwork, or accomplished this… Bring stories prepared Examples about Improving processes Delighted a client or a candidate Challenging wins when you had to overcome obstacles Times when you failed Teams that you have worked with (variety) Leadership opportunities (did not have direct authority but stepped up and led a team to the finish line) Don’t be afraid to go in deep. Add details, context, decisions making and data. Give color context with more details vs. not enough. Hypothetical questions… Related to staffing or problems that you would solve Scenario based questions – ask clarifying questions or make assumptions (they want to see how you gather data). They want to see that you’re asking questions and that you are using data to get you to a solution Considerations: look at the problem from a number from different angles Is your solution scalable? Leadership – are you someone who has strong influencing skills? Are you compelling and can you motivate others? Do you take initiative? Do you anticipate needs of clients? Are you proactive instead of reactive? Question around times you’ve had to get buy in, driven a project or process. Problem Solving – how do you respond to questions are you analytical? Do you gather data, are you strategic? Are you asking thoughtful questions? Role Related Knowledge – transferable skills that you bring. What competencies do you bring to the table? What are some key differences from the role you’re in vs. this role? Culture Fit – are you a good long term fit. They look for people who are super flexible and adaptable, pivot skills, reprioritize and roll with punches. Super collaborative, sharing ideas, talking through ideas. Working as a team, cross functional, open minded, thoughtful about things you say. Ambiguity, navigate your way etc.
avatar

Recruiter

Interviewed at Google

4.4★
Apr 30, 2015

How would I go about identifying the top 10% of IBM software engineers? What is the difference between management and leadership? How would I go about setting up flu vaccination stations across Google campuses…and then how would I expand internationally? Behavioral based questions - tell me about when you did this, or teamwork, or accomplished this… Bring stories prepared Examples about Improving processes Delighted a client or a candidate Challenging wins when you had to overcome obstacles Times when you failed Teams that you have worked with (variety) Leadership opportunities (did not have direct authority but stepped up and led a team to the finish line) Don’t be afraid to go in deep. Add details, context, decisions making and data. Give color context with more details vs. not enough. Hypothetical questions… Related to staffing or problems that you would solve Scenario based questions – ask clarifying questions or make assumptions (they want to see how you gather data). They want to see that you’re asking questions and that you are using data to get you to a solution Considerations: look at the problem from a number from different angles Is your solution scalable? Leadership – are you someone who has strong influencing skills? Are you compelling and can you motivate others? Do you take initiative? Do you anticipate needs of clients? Are you proactive instead of reactive? Question around times you’ve had to get buy in, driven a project or process. Problem Solving – how do you respond to questions are you analytical? Do you gather data, are you strategic? Are you asking thoughtful questions? Role Related Knowledge – transferable skills that you bring. What competencies do you bring to the table? What are some key differences from the role you’re in vs. this role? Culture Fit – are you a good long term fit. They look for people who are super flexible and adaptable, pivot skills, reprioritize and roll with punches. Super collaborative, sharing ideas, talking through ideas. Working as a team, cross functional, open minded, thoughtful about things you say. Ambiguity, navigate your way etc.

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