List of HR Specialist Interview Questions

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List of HR Specialist Interview Questions

Scroll down to read more!

Table of Contents

When you’re interviewing for positions in your human resources department like HR Specialist, it’s particularly important to be able to assess all candidates using the same data (or scoring). This is where structured interviews come in. In a structured interview, questions are determined in advance and consistent. In unstructured interviews, the questions are not set in advance or may come from a loose set of notes from a hiring manager.

Based on the qualifications you’re looking for, your HR Specialist interview questions should be open-ended but structured so that candidates may provide specific information that will distinguish them from the other candidates you’re interviewing for the position. Asking the right questions during the interview is crucial to selecting the right candidates to hire.

How to Interview and Select a Human Resource Specialist 

HR Specialists typically have 1-3 years of experience working in HR. The responsibilities in this role are very broad, but are still focused on administration, payroll processing, and other administrative tasks. HR Specialists can gain additional experience working on specialty projects, employee orientation, training, and pre-screen interviewing. Human Resource Specialists have a basic understanding of some employment law. They are hourly non-exempt workers and serve as a go-to resource for employees and managers alike.

HR specialists normally report to an HR Director or VP of HR. The number of HR Specialist positions depends on the size of your HR team and organizational structure.


human resources HR specialist salary range compensation

List of HR Specialist Interview Questions 

Below are a list of Interview questions for HR and Human Resource Specialist interview questions to get you started. You can access our downloadable resource called for more interview tips and downloadable interview forms to use during the hiring process.

1) Tell us a bit about your work background, and then give us a description of how you think it relates to our current opening.

2) Describe a process or system that you improved so internal customers/employees would be better served.

3) Describe your experience working with highly confidential information. How would you handle an employee who requests “confidential” information from you?

4) Based on what you know about our organization, how would you describe our company culture?

5) What do you think would be the biggest challenge for you in this role?

6) Can you tell us about your experience in creating or implementing new company policies or programs? Given the opportunity, would you have done anything differently?

7) When faced with a challenge like improving employee morale, what’s the first step you would take in developing a strategy to do so?

8) In your past experience, what top attributes did you look for when screening or interviewing candidates? How did you identify them?

9) Can you tell us about your experience with collecting data and creating reports on staff performance?

10) After learning about this opportunity, what made you take the next step and apply for the job?

Once the interviews for the job are completed, it’s up to you and your team to decide on which of your top prospects is the one that you are going to offer the job. The key when interviewing and selecting HR Specialist candidates is to be sure of the job requirements and most important skills and abilities to ensure you are selecting the most qualified and capable person for the human resources assistant job you have an opening for.

Grab our downloadable HR Specialist Interview Guide along with a handful of other helpful human resources interview questions guides to help staff up your HR team.

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