The role of HR within a business is a crucial one. Recent research for the Robert Half Salary Guide showed that HR advisors are among the most in-demand roles for the coming year, as many businesses roll out growth plans and digital transformation projects.
To help make sure you hire the right candidate, you'll need to prepare for the interview through deciding what the best questions are for a HR position, what makes a good HR advisor and what traits are needed for this role.
Experts at Robert Half reveal which questions you should include alongside standard interview questions on competency, hard skills and soft skills.
Preparing for a HR advisor interview
Before you can start writing HR advisor competency interview questions, you’ll need to do some groundwork to help make the hiring process far faster and more efficient. This will ultimately result in higher quality candidates and a better chance of hiring the correct fit.
• Assess CVs
Taking the time to properly assess candidate CVs will get HR hiring off to a strong start and helps to ensure that the quality of candidate you get is high. Familiarise yourself with CV assessment best practice or hire a recruitment company who are highly skilled in this area.
• Plan for the future
It’s important to bear in mind that any HR professional you choose to add to your ranks will need to fit with your future business plans.
• Checking references
Recent research has revealed that many candidates exaggerate skills and experience on their CVs. To prevent any time wasting, it’s recommended that you take the time to check references on your selection of top CVs to validate any claims.
HR adviser interview questions
Whether you’re writing interview questions for a senior HR advisor or questions suited to a junior HR candidate, you’ll need to ensure that you explore emotional intelligence, analytical skills and how well a candidate can support and assist with digital innovation in the workplace.
Here are some HR interview question samples:
- Which HR functions were you most involved with in your recent role?
- Can you tell me a little about your proficiencies in human resources information systems and any areas you’d like to improve your skills in?
- Tell me about the kind of work environment that your previous HR department helped to create for staff. Were you directly involved in implementing or maintaining any aspects of it?
- Describe a time which an employee came to you with a discrepancy, how you handled the issue and what the outcome was.
- Are there are processes or programs you helped to introduce in your last company? Describe how this was implemented and how effective it was.
- Which aspects of your role do you find the most satisfying?
- How would you identify areas of the business which need HR intervention or a change in process?
- What is indirect discrimination and can you provide an example of how you’ve ensured this doesn’t happen in the policies you’ve reviewed?
- What steps have you taken to deliver training to new managers?
- Please describe an ER case you have managed and the outcome?
- What is the reason for grievance procedures and tell us about your experience in handling grievances?
- Please describe a situation where you were relied on to implement a new policy initiative and the steps you’ve taken with managers and employees to ensure its success.
- Tell me about a time you were involved in an employee engagement programme, what was your involvement and what was the outcome?
Taking the next steps in the HR hiring process
Once you’ve chosen a selection of candidates that you’d like to see again, it’s time to plan your second round interview questions.
During your initial interviews, be sure to make notes next to each of the questions you ask so that you can explore topics more thoroughly and uniquely with each chosen candidate when they return.
Submit a vacancy to the Robert Half team or contact our HR recruitment consultants and let us help you find your ideal HR advisor today.
