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How would you decide between two candidates with similar qualifications?
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How would you improve our employment brand?
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What would you do if a candidate was late or did not show up for an interview?
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Describe what you would do to create a useful succession plan.
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How would you maintain quality sourcing and recruiting if our demand for new hires suddenly doubled?
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What questions would you ask when conducting a phone interview?
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Explain what you would do to make an effective onboarding process.
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What strategies would you use to retain more talent?
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What strategies would you use to attract more talent?
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How would you determine if a current employee is a good fit for an opening?
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What skills make you qualified for this role?
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How do you prepare for interviews with candidates?
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Tell me about a time you missed out on a great candidate. What could you have done better?
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What questions would you ask when conducting a phone interview
Dream Job Interview? Top Interview Questions in 2021 from a Talent Acquisition (HR) Specialist
What skills make you qualified for this role?
A good talent acquisition manager or specialist needs to have interpersonal, technical and marketing skills. An interviewer asks this question to see if you have any skills that are relevant to the position. Before your interview, read through the job description and highlight any skills that are needed for this role. Then, think about which of these skills you have and talk about them in your answer.
Example: “Throughout my experience as a recruiter and talent acquisition specialist, I have developed my relationship-building skills. I’ve found that an important part of attracting talent is to establish trust and meaningful connections with each person I reach out to. I am often a candidate’s first impression of the company, so I work to make all of our interactions positive. My technical abilities also help me with my job. I use different social media platforms to market open positions and connect with my network of qualified candidates.”
How do you prepare for interviews with candidates?
Interviews are one way you can show candidates the company is a good place to work. Employers ask this question to make sure you can conduct a professional interview and attract more talent. In your answer, explain what steps you take to ensure that you’re asking appropriate interview questions for a specific role. Add what techniques you use to show how the company is a welcoming place to work.
Example: “Before an interview, I research useful interview questions for a particular role. I decide if these questions cover everything I need to know about a candidate and add more as needed. As I am waiting for a candidate, I read through their resume and cover letter one more time so it is fresh in my mind.
I find that it is just as important for an employer to make a good impression on candidates. On interview days, I dress in professional attire to show the candidate that we take our interviews seriously. I prepare the conference room by making it a comfortable temperature with appropriate lighting. I also place a few water bottles on the table in case the candidate gets thirsty.”
Tell me about a time you missed out on a great candidate. What could you have done better?
Employers ask this question to determine if you have the ability to learn from your mistakes or experiences. Think about a time you connected with a qualified candidate but was unable to move them along the hiring process. Explain what you learned from that situation and how you have improved your recruiting process.
Example: “During an especially busy hiring season, I was looking to fill an executive-level position. I found this great candidate and was able to have an initial phone interview with her. Since I was so busy with filling other roles, a few weeks went by before I followed up with her for a formal interview. She responded by letting me know she found an offer somewhere else. From this experience, I learned to prioritize who I reach out to better. I am now more transparent with candidates and give them a timeline of my hiring process.”
What questions would you ask when conducting a phone interview?
Phone interviews are an important part of screening candidates. Employers ask this interview question to find out if you have experience conducting phone interviews. In your answer, explain that you use phone interviews to learn more about a candidate’s background and their interest in the role. Share some specific questions you ask candidates, such as “Why are you interested in our company?” or “Tell me more about your professional experience.”
Example: “I find that a phone interview is a great way to screen candidates to determine if I want to meet with them for an in-person interview. I keep phone interviews brief, typically around 20-minutes in length. During this conversation, I can tell if a candidate is confident about their qualifications and genuinely interested in the role. I ask them questions such as, “Why are you interested in this role?” or “Which of your skills are relevant to this position?”
What is the difference between talent acquisition and recruiting?
Though talent acquisition professionals and recruiters have many overlapping job duties, there are a few key differences between these two roles. While recruiters primarily focus on filling open positions, talent acquisition managers and specialists focus more on creating a long-term human resources plan for companies.
Talent acquisition professionals help companies create a brand that attracts more specialized talent while recruiters are more likely to fill jobs that require more of a generalized skill set. A company looking for leaders, specialists and executives would hire a talent acquisition professional rather than a recruiter. Talent acquisition professionals expertise helps them fill high-level jobs that require a more specific skill set. They tend to work in niche industries such as medicine, law, finance and technology.
These general talent acquisition interview questions help an employer learn more about your personality and interest in a talent acquisition position:
- Tell me a little bit about yourself.
- What are your interests or hobbies outside of work?
- How did you get into talent acquisition?
- How would your previous employer describe you?
- Why are you interested in this industry?
- Why do you want to work for our company?
- What skills make you qualified for this role?
- What are the steps of your talent acquisition process?
- How do you stay up to date with hiring trends?
- How can you help our company find better candidates?
Can you explain what you would regard as potential red flags in applications?
Tests the candidates experience and determines whether they consider appropriate factors.
Highlights the candidates recruitment strategies and techniques.
5 Talent Acquisition Specialist interview questions and answers
Just like for any interview, there is often no one correct way to answer the following interview questions. Instead, adjust them to fit your own personal professional experience and achievements, and practice prior.
This question is designed to do a few things: it gets the conversation started, gives the recruiter a summary of your career thus far, and it can also give a hint as to your values by noting what you chose to include (and what you didn’t).
There’s a lot riding on this question, which is why it’s advisable to prepare. Keep it professional, brief and tailored to each company and job interview.
Structure it in a way that makes sense. One easy way in which to do this is with simple past-present-future format: – Past: What is your professional background? How did you get to where you are today? – Present: Your current role: What are your main responsibilities? What are your major achievements? – Future: What do you want to do next? Why this job?
A sample answer could look something like:
For the past 3 years, I’ve been working as a Recruitment Specialist for Company A. Prior to that, I was a HR Officer for Company B.
In the years I’ve been with Company A, I’ve found that I’m most fulfilled when I’m building long-term hiring strategies so employees can grow within their organisations. This also leads to successful outcomes for the company as they can hire quicker, cheaper and keep knowledge in-house.
For example, I built an internal pipeline of talent that allowed the wider HR team as well as any relevant hiring managers to see the potential we had within the company. This led to an increase in internal hires by 40%.
Moving forward, I’m looking for a role that will let me expand upon this strategy, particularly within the healthcare space, which is why I’m interested in your company…
