THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERVIEWS

Personnel/HR interviews

Personnel or human resources interviews (whichever name the company uses) can be a little hard to predict. In some companies they interview candidates first. In others they interview towards the end of the recruitment process. In others they don’t interview at all – you may not even meet them until you join the company. Whenever in the process you face personnel or HR, there are some common things it can be useful to know.

Personnel or HR interviews at the beginning

When Personnel or HR interviews are at the beginning of the recruitment process, before you have seen a line manager, they are screening applicants. They may well be seeing large numbers of applicants, and will then pass a shortlist to the line manager(s) for them to decide who to interview. This is often because managers are busy doing their own jobs, without the added workload of screening interviews with large numbers of candidates.

Personnel or HR would usually interview first where there are large numbers of vacancies as well, such as with graduate recruitment, or recruitment of large numbers of school leavers.

Sometimes it is just the company’s process. For example, some companies prefer just personnel or HR to interview first – perhaps because they are trained to interview, and are therefore best able to give a good impression at interview to all applicants and prospective employees.

Personnel or HR interviews at the end

When personnel or HR interviews are near the end of the recruitment process, they often fulfil a slightly different function. Here they are usually given responsibility to negotiate salaries, or to question you about any doubts or concerns the line manager may have. By getting this far you know you have come through previous interviews and that the company is still interested in you. This is just one more interview stage.

The purpose of personnel/HR interviews

It’s hard to generalise, but usually personnel or human resources people are just that. They’re specialists in personnel or human resources – maybe even recruitment. So unless you are applying for a job in that area, they aren’t likely to be asking you too many technical questions – that’s the line manager’s job. The emphasis of this interview is likely to be far more about:

• salary and benefits
• your reason for leaving
• your reasons for applying
• your motivation – what makes you tick at work
• your long-term career aspirations
• your general ‘fit’ for the company.

You might well be asked questions regarding:

• your communication skills
• time management
• your ability and experience of working in a team
• evidence of your self-motivation
• high standards of achievement from your past.

You could therefore prepare a little, by thinking of examples you could quote surrounding all these areas.

Senior management interviews

Very often, candidates find themselves faced with just one final hurdle – the senior management interview. The more senior you are, the more likely you are to have to meet with one or two final people. Why? There are many potential reasons, including:

• The job is a particularly influential one.
• The job is crucial to the business.
• They have had personality clashes in the past with employees doing that role or a similar one.
• You may be dealing with them on a regular basis.
• The job may involve a lot of external contact, so image is important.
• It may be that they just like to see everyone who is hired.
• Company policy is that everyone over a certain level is seen by ‘the big boss’.

Relax!

If you have made it this far you are probably now the only candidate in the running! Relax, because you are now very likely to be offered the job. To make these meetings less formal and less daunting, and also to enable them to fit better into the schedule of senior people more easily, they can sometimes not be a formal interview. Lunch is common, or a drink in the early evening, or even dinner. This can make it easier to relax and be yourself, but beware, you are still probably being assessed.

THE BALANCE OF POWER

Personnel/HR interviews

Where Personnel or HR interviews come at the beginning of the recruitment process, you have very little power. They are probably dealing with large numbers of candidates for the job(s), and you are likely to be one of many.

On the other hand, where they interview towards the end of the recruitment process you are in a position of rather more power. Once you have come this far you know that the company is interested in you. They have often invested quite considerable time and effort in interviewing you. Plus time has been passing as the recruitment process went on, so their need for someone to do the job is getting ever more urgent. At this stage, if you are still in the running you must be in with a good chance.

So you may be in quite a good situation. But the job isn’t yours just yet! The personnel or HR interview can be tricky, as you need to remember that these are the people in a company who should be the most highly trained to interview people. Therefore they are the most likely to spot any problem areas in your CV, or any answers you give that aren’t what they are looking for.

Senior management interviews

In this situation there is power on both sides. The interviewer has power because they are senior management, and can almost certainly block your recruitment if they decide to for whatever reason. However, you also have power, because you are very likely to be the only candidate at this stage. Thus you are unlikely to be compared with others, just assessed and evaluated on your own merits.

MAKING THE RIGHT IMPRESSION

At this stage it is likely that someone has decided that you have the skills and abilities they need. Therefore the interview is more likely to be about ‘fit’. Be prepared. Remember the comments and questions in the last chapter – use examples that are directly relevant wherever possible. Ask questions that force the interviewer to imagine you actually working there.

Salary and benefits

You should at all costs avoid salary discussions until they are making you a firm job offer, if possible. But with senior management or personnel/HR interviews, if they ask, you need to be prepared. After all, in many organisations this may be the final interview.

Know your current situation

Be thoroughly prepared to handle any unexpected discussions on salary and benefits. You can prepare by knowing the details of your current salary and benefits. Vague answers such as, ‘I think it’s £24,000, or maybe £25,000’ will do you no favours. Neither will be being vague – saying ‘about £25,000’, when you’re actually on £24,000! Know how much you earn, for goodness sake – as an annual salary, and also as an hourly rate if you are paid by the hour.

Current vs expected salary

In an ideal world, you should avoid disclosing your salary for as long as possible. But once you are dealing with personnel, HR or senior management, you may well be asked to. That’s fine.

However, do try at all costs to avoid discussions about what salary you would like until you know they want to hire you. There are a number of reasons for this, and the subject of negotiating salary is dealt with in depth in Chapter 8, Interviews and Meetings to Discuss Offers.

Check your benefits

Now is the time to check what benefits you currently receive. Do you know how much pension your current employer provides? What about life insurance? Check your existing contract, and if in doubt ask a colleague, or if necessary personnel or human resources. There’s nothing wrong with asking; people often assume you’re checking before taking out a new policy. Make a list of benefits to refer to in the interview if necessary, in case you forget.

Establish what you want

Finally, research what the job is paying, and what you can afford to accept. You need to know what your bottom line is. If the job advert said £24–28,000, what exactly does that mean? It means they’ll pay between £24,000 and £28,000. You might assume if you currently earn £24,000 that they wouldn’t offer you anything less than, say, £26,000. I mean, everybody knows you normally increase your salary when changing jobs, right?Wrong!

Look at things from the employer’s point of view. They may well be working within a set budget, and perhaps that company has set pay scales for this type of work. Or they may have other employees earning a certain salary, and to be fair to them they simply don’t want to recruit anyone on a higher salary. There is far more going on with the employer’s deliberations than a common convention that you increase your salary when you move jobs!

Senior management interviews

So how exactly do you make the right impression? There are a number of pointers that can help.

Remember their status

Senior management have usually gained their roles by a combination of years of experience and ability. They will usually be powerful individuals in the company, and whatever you think of them as individuals, their jobs demand respect. Always remember who they are, and don’t get lulled into a false sense of security so that you lapse into over-familiarity, being too informal.

Stay confident

Having said that, stay confident. Don’t be too much in awe of them, and therefore end up appearing shy and nervous. You want to appear confident and self-assured, whilst still respecting them. By being friendly and open you will appear to be at ease.

Help them imagine you as a colleague

In previous chapters we have advocated using examples, question responses and questions that force the interviewer to imagine you actually working for (and with) them. This is still a good idea, but don’t overplay your hand. Appearing too sure of yourself can be irritating to some people, so it can be best to remember to use language like, ‘if I join you I’d like to start looking at . . .,’ and not ‘when I join you . . .’ This allows you to make them imagine you working for them, without being presumptous.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

Remember, it is good practice to always ask one or two questions – it shows interest and enthusiasm for the job – provided of course that you don’t ask questions that indicate otherwise! Personnel or HR look after the company policies and procedures, so it is useful to ask questions about these, if they haven’t already been covered. With senior management you may even find that the conversation flags unless you have some questions. They may be relying on you to take part of the initiative. Here are some suggestions.

How does the company measure and review performance?

It’s useful to know whether they operate an appraisal scheme or some form of performance management. Is there a link to pay reviews, salary increases and/or bonuses or performance related pay (PRP)?

How long do people usually stay with the company?

Do they have a large population of people who don’t stay very long? If you want a role that you can grow and stay in for several years, do you want to join a company where most people leave after 18 months?

Why did the last person leave?

You may not get the real answer, but it’s a good question. Were they promoted? If so, this shows that you can progress within the company. If you’re told that they left to go and work somewhere else, it’s very hard to find a way of asking why politely, but it would be very useful to know. Depending on how things are going and how much rapport you have with the interviewer, you could possibly ask, ‘do you mind if I ask whether you know why?’

Why they left can give you a very good idea of whether or not you want the job, if you have any doubts. It can make the difference between deciding to take it and waiting for something more right for you. For example, if you are a little concerned that the job isn’t very challenging, and the previous person left to gain a role with more responsibility outside the company, it could mean they had to leave as there were no internal prospects. You might need to be prepared to stay in that role for a while, and is that really what you want?

Where does this position and department fit into the company?

If you have any doubts about this, now is the time to ask!

What would you say is the management style of the section or department?

This is especially useful if you aren’t sure whether or not you would work well with the manager/supervisor you have met. Think about it – if you have found the person who would be your manager a little intimidating, and you were told the style was ‘quite disciplined and structured – formal really’ wouldn’t that tell you something? Also, if you had found the person very informal and surprisingly easy-going, wouldn’t it be reassuring to be told the style was, very relaxed and friendly, but managed well. Everyone is given responsibility for their own work, and access to the manager when they need it?

Can you explain the structure of the department to me?

Obviously only use this if it hasn’t been explained in detail. Or modify the question, and ask them to explain the overall structure of the company.

How many employees are there in the department? And in the rest of the company?

You don’t necessarily need to know this, but it makes conversation and shows interest in the company as a whole.

Are there any significant changes in the department coming up?

This is helpful information to find out, as well as showing how interested you are.

How do you rate yourselves against your competition?

This is a question that requires them to think. It also enables you to sell your own application, by going on to say how you view the competition as well.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Personnel/HR interviews

The personnel or HR interview is quite an important one. This is because the personnel or HR interviewer you face will probably have been extensively trained in interviewing. Other interviewers may have been on a course, or have been trained in some way, but rarely will they have had the same level of training, or the same experience at interviews. Therefore, although some people take this interview less seriously than others where they may be asked more technical questions, you are probably facing your most skilled interviewer.

This isn’t something to worry about unnecessarily, just be aware of it. If you aren’t sure what they are asking, clarify what they want before responding. Glib, superficial answers aren’t likely to do you any favours – be prepared to think through your answers and be honest. There is nothing wrong with saying, ‘Can I have a second to think about that?’

Senior management interviews

This is the opposite situation! Senior managers may have been trained in interviewing, but it could have been some time ago and they may not have had any recent training. Also, in view of their position, they may do very few interviews. Thus they can often be awkward interviewers, not quite sure what to say to you.

Be very careful of alcohol!

If the meeting takes place over a drink or meal, it can often mean alcohol being offered. Unless you really don’t drink, don’t refuse, as it can be awkward to explain. By the same token, don’t have more than one or two glasses of wine.

Sometimes senior management use these meetings to try to have an enjoyable time, and get you to relax with some drinks, and then see how you bear up under questions once you’re had your tongue loosened! Alcohol lowers inhibitions, remember, so you are far more likely to make a slip and say something you otherwise wouldn’t if you have had a few drinks. A couple of glasses of wine will ensure you don’t appear unsociable, but that you treat the meeting seriously. Standing firm under pressure to drink more can be a test in itself . . .

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

A decision will usually be forthcoming after this interview. After a personnel or HR interview you may be asked to meet with a senior manager – but once this is done you are usually waiting for a decision now. It makes sense to ask what the process is following the interview. If you are told that someone will get back to you, there is nothing wrong with asking roughly when you might hear. Being too specific just sounds fussy and even a little desperate, so make sure you ask casually and don’t be pushy.

CHECKLIST