When you’re interviewing for positions in your human resources department like Recruiter, 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.

Interview Questions to Ask Your Recruiter Job Candidates

Based on the qualifications you’re looking for, your Recruiter interview questions should be open-ended but also 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 Recruiter 

A recruiter specializes in the hiring and selection of open positions within an organization. This role serves as a project manager of sorts maintaining a number of open job listings or requisitions that the organization is hiring for. Recruiters may source although their role is largely managing and selecting the most qualified candidates for an open position from job seekers who applied for a position through a company’s career site and applicant tracking system. The recruiter most commonly works with candidates and hiring managers. Depending on the organization size and industry, a recruiter can specialize in a certain area, region, division such as serving as a technical recruiter, diversity, recruiter for the central region, or a sales recruiter. The type of candidate you select for the recruiting role is critical especially if they specialize in an area as mentioned above. The position is normally an exempt level or contract role within the HR organizational team structure.

Interview Questions to Ask Recruiter Job Candidates 

Below are a list of Interview questions for Recruiter and Recruiting positions 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 how you like to be managed, and the best relationship you’ve had with a previous boss.

3) What top attributes do you look for when screening and interviewing candidates? How did you identify them?

4) Describe the perfect relationship between a company recruiter and its hiring managers?

5) How do you use data to help you recruit? What are the metrics you find most useful?

6) Tell me about a time where you had to sell a candidate on a job at your company. 

7) Describe a situation where you failed to fill an open position.

8) How does candidate experience factor into a recruiter’s role and the employer brand?

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

10) Has your perception of this opportunity changed based on our interview?

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