- How would you describe yourself?
- How did you hear about this job opening?
- What do you know about our company and the HR department?
- What are your biggest strengths?
- Describe your biggest weakness. …
- What are your career goals?
- How do you feel about working as a team?
- What motivates you?
What entry level job interview questions can you expect? Typically interview questions for entry level job candidates will explore why you are interested in both the job opportunity and the company and why the company should hire you.
The challenge for all entry level job candidates is proving that, despite your lack of experience, you have the potential and the ability to successfully fulfill the role. Preparing good interview answers to typical entry level interview questions will help you stand out as an excellent job candidate.
HR ASSISTANT Interview Questions & Answers (Human Resources Interview Prep!)
1. Why are you interested in this role? Stating a clear and concise answer here is crucial. The employer is looking to see that you are interested and ready to invest your time into such an opportunity. Be specific about your goals and expectations, discuss how you believe your qualifications are in-line with those required of the position, and be ready to explain why you chose this particular company when applying.
2. Give me an example of a time when you worked on a team. What was your role? Your ability to collaborate and communicate with a team are probably the most important professional soft skills that you can have. Prepare for this by having some specific examples ready from when you worked on a group project. You don’t have to choose a group project where you were the team lead. What’s more important is that you knew your role on a team and that you performed well in your role. If that was a leadership role, great. If not, no worries. If you have examples of how you established or tweaked processes or mediated conflict within the team, use them.
3. Describe a situation where you taught a concept to a co-worker or classmate. You’ve just spent a lot of time learning from professors and in groups, so you might not think of yourself as a teacher. However, the more knowledge you accumulate, the more likely it is that you’ll be teaching things in the future. It’s best to be specific if you can, and focus on an example from a group project at school or in a previous job. Focus primarily on how you communicated with the person and ensured that they were learning. Don’t focus so much on what you taught them, but rather on how you taught them.
2. What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? To answer this question you need to do some introspection. Ask your friends, family, and any previous coworkers what they how they view your strengths and weaknesses. Prepare to discuss at least 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. Stay away from clichés like “perfectionist” and “workaholic” as they can be interpreted as weaknesses. Own up to your faults. Everyone has them. Just be honest and open to improving yourself.
3. Give me an example or a situation in which… These questions are not only used to determine what you learned from a particular experience, but also to assess how you would respond to potential workplace scenarios and situations. Prepare to talk about 3 scenarios in which you faced conflict or difficulty in either work or school, had difficulty with either a supervisor or peer, and a leadership opportunity or a project you are particularly proud of.
HR staff are held to high standards concerning confidentiality of employee records and workplace policies still in the development stage. The interviewer will undoubtedly focus on how important confidentiality is to the HR field by asking questions about workplace dilemmas that involve handling confidential information.
If youre having problems discerning what your weaknesses are, look at your strengths and see where you could go wrong with them if you apply to much of a good thing. For example, you could say, “Im very detail-focused and sometimes that can become a weakness when it leans toward being a perfectionist. I take pride in my work, but I realize overdoing it on details can slow business processes. Im working on improving that weakness through prioritizing my work and using time-management principles.”
The recruiter or HR hiring manager – who could be the department manager or a higher-level staff member whos involved in the selection process – already has reviewed your resume. Even so, common entry-level job interview questions for an HR entry-level job often require you to summarize your work experience, points out HR University.com.
When possible, give concrete examples of when someone has tried to convince you to spill what you know about HR and the companys employees. If you dont have HR experience, give an example about another type of business secret that youve held close to the vest.
Questions like, “Why dont you tell me about your background?” and “Based on your background, what do you find appealing about this job posting?” are common entry-level human resources interview questions
5 essential entry level job interview questions
You are almost guaranteed to be asked these 5 core questions in your entry level interview. Use the interview answer guidelines to prepare your own winning response.
1. Tell me about yourself
This can be a tricky question, especially for entry level job candidates. There is so much information you could provide, but the key is to focus on the details that highlight your suitability for the job – this is what interests the interviewer. Focus on your qualifications, any relevant work experience, internships, volunteer work or extra curricular activities. Include what you hope to achieve with this new job. Keep it concise and compelling.
2. What interests you about this position?
Be clear, concise and specific about why this entry level job fits well with your career goals, with your qualifications and with your skills and knowledge. A good understanding of the job description is essential when preparing for this entry level job interview question. Point out which aspects of the job are of particular interest to you and how you are eager to utilize what you have learned to meet the job requirements.
3. Why do you want to work for this company?
Researching the company is essential prior to your job interview, and this question is an opportunity to highlight your knowledge of the company.
Focus on:
The interviewer may ask specific entry level job interview questions about the company such as:
What do you know about our products and/or services?
What do you know about our industry?
What is it specifically about our company that you find interesting?
4. Why should we hire you?
Use this entry level job interview question as an opportunity to showcase how your strengths and skills are the right fit for the job requirements.
Likely examples of this include:
5. What do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses as an entry level job candidate?
Think carefully about this question and be sure to make your interview answer relevant to the job requirements. These pages will help you with this.
3 entry level job interview questions about your studies and qualifications
As you go through these interview questions about your studies and qualifications, keep in mind that your interview answers should convince the employer that you are well prepared to make the move from being a student to an employee.
1. How have your studies prepared you for this job and a career in…?
An in-depth understanding of this particular position will help you focus on those aspects of your studies that add direct value to the job. Include the relevant knowledge you have learned and the practical application of this knowledge in assignments and projects. Discuss work-related competencies you developed during your studies including:
“My coursework has provided me with a solid knowledge of XYZ. The practical application of this knowledge in projects and real-world scenarios assists in a smooth transition to the workplace. Valuable competencies that I have developed include in-depth research and data analysis skills, strong communication and presentation skills and the ability to efficiently manage a demanding workload to meet multiple deadlines . The numerous group projects I have been involved in have enabled me to learn how to successfully collaborate and contribute as part of a team.”
2. Tell me more about this internship/ part-time job/ volunteer work on your resume
The key criteria in answering this entry level job interview question is to highlight the relevance of your experience to the job. A good starting point for your answer is to explain why you applied for the internship or decided to volunteer in that capacity. Briefly discuss your personal responsibilities in the part-time job, internship or volunteer project and what you learned. Keep it focused and concise.
Relevant take-away skills could include:
3. Why did you choose this extra curricular?
The employer is exploring your interests. Describe your motivation for joining a particular club or society and how it met your personal goals. You can then go on to give a brief summary of what you learned and improved on through your role and activities. Articulate how this has made you a better job candidate.
For example, as a member of a sports team you develop important skills including discipline, perseverance and collaboration.
FAQ
How do I prepare for my first HR interview?
- Why did you decide to apply to this role? …
- What experience do you have that would be relevant to this role? …
- Tell me about your experience in … …
- What did you like most about the job description? …
- Why are you leaving your current job? / Why did you leave your previous job?
What should I expect at my first HR interview?
- Research the company you’re interviewing with. …
- Research the person who is interviewing you. …
- Carefully read the job description and understand every point, as well as how your own skills fulfil all the requirements. …
- Review your CV and be prepare to answer questions about it, as well.
What questions will be asked at an HR Assistant interview?
