Useful tips for freshers to clear HR Interviews
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HR Interview preparation guide
Are you one of those candidates who tend to downplay the preparation for a HR Interview round? If yes, then this is for you. After reading this preparation guide for HR interviews, you will know exactly why it is important to prepare for this round after clearing the technical or functional interview rounds.
Note : This post is for freshers with no experience or job seekers with entry level experience as you will read about the preparation for HR interviews.
In this HR interview preparation guide, I will explain to you in detail on why organizations have HR interview round, how you should prepare, some of the common questions and the mistakes that you should avoid while responding to the questions.
What is assessed in a HR interview?
How to prepare for a HR Round?
Common HR Interview questions and answers for freshers
Mistakes to avoid during the HR Round
Why do we have a HR round?
HR round generally happens to be the last round as part of the interview process. To understand the importance of HR Interview, it is essential to know why we have HR interviews in the first place.
With so little to separate the technical skills of job seekers during campus interviews, it is imperative that HR interviews are conducted to assess your key differentiators. Also, any organization would expect and require both hard skills and soft skills from the employees.
What is assessed in a HR interview?
Having understood why HR rounds exist and the importance to prepare for them, let us see some of the parameters that you will be assessed during HR round.
1. Soft skills
Verbal communication and Body language are two key parameters of soft skills in which the HR will try to assess you.
When you respond to a question, you need to answer loud and clear that will showcase your confidence. However, grammatically correct language alone will not be enough to clear the HR interview. You need to be attentive and listen to the entire question without interrupting before providing a response. You also need to relax, maintain eye contact and not be fidgety.
2. Company Fitment
During your technical interview, you will get questions typically from your projects and hard skills. With a bit of preparation like how to explain project in interview or your additional activities like paper presentations and seminars, you will be able to easily answer the technical interview questions for freshers.
HR Interviews, on the other hand, will focus more on the company values and processes. They will try to get some insight on whether you will fit into organization culture and support its values. For example, a response to a question on salary expectation can give an indication on whether you would prefer to work long term in the organization.
3. Adaptability & Attitude
There is a world of difference between being a student and a working professional. An HR will try to assess if you have the willingness and positive attitude to adapt with this change. Also, you will get questions to understand whether you have the potential to learn from job and eventually, train others based on your learning.
How to prepare for a HR Round?
By now, you should have realized that HR screening is primarily on non-technical skills. You need to prepare and practice answering the common interview questions.
Some general tips for preparation:
Understand the job position and description prior to interview. If this is not possible, you can always seek this information during your technical round
Research on the organization as it will give you insight into the company culture and values
Sign up for mock interviews, reach out to an interview coach if you require some professional assistance to prepare for some tough questions
Common HR Interview questions and answers for freshers
Based on our research, we have collated more than 100 common interview questions. You will be able to get this information by opting for our interview coaching package. Five of the most common HR interview questions are provided below:
1. Tell me about yourself
This is the first question that you will typically receive in any job interview, especially in a HR round. You need to prepare your escalator pitch for this question. Watch our youtube video for a winning template to answer the question "tell me about yourself"
2. What are your strengths?
You should always prepare for more than one strength to answer this question as there could always be a follow-up on your secondary strength. Always try to explain using STAR technique. Learn more about STAR techniques in this video
3. What are your weaknesses?
Be honest while responding to this question. However, you need to articulate how you became aware of the weakness and what you are doing to address the weakness. A template to answer this question is available in this video
4. What are your salary expectations?
Though you probably will have little scope to negotiate on salary as a fresher, you will still be asked about your salary expectation. This will give an idea on whether you are fine with what the company has to offer or if you would make a quick switch after feeling your feet. Learn all about answering this question in our video
5. Do you have any questions?
The only wrong answer to this question is to say that you don’t have any questions. You can use this question to understand any queries that you have, but unable to find on the internet. Our video provides you with some pointers on how to answer this question
Mistakes to avoid during the HR Round
There are some mistakes repeated by freshers during HR interview. Here are some examples that you need to avoid during your HR interview.
1. Not allowing the interviewer to finish a question
Always allow the interviewer to complete the question before you start with your answer. A better option would be to paraphrase the question to ensure you have a correct understanding.
2. Argumentative discussion rather than a meaningful discussion
An interview is not a place where you want to prove yourself right every single time. Everyone is entitled to a point of view and if the interviewer differs from yours, refrain from starting a debate.
3. Poor body language
Relax and stay confident. Avoid being on either side of the spectrum by being overconfident or showing nervousness. Don’t fiddle with anything or avoid eye contact when answering questions.
Conclusion
Every interview round is a building block of the interview process. HR round holds it’s own significance in this overall process. Do not consider as a formality to give you an offer letter. Give due importance during preparation and while attending the interview.
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With perfect preparation and our HR interview preparation guide, you will be ready to clear the HR interview.
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