Key competency interview questions for HR interviews

Key competency interview questions for HR interviews
Key competency interview questions for HR interviews

posted 16 Nov 22

Search Editorial Team

All that is standing in the way of your next HR job is the interview.

When interviewing for a HR role, no matter what level, you’re bound to be asked some competency-based questions. With years of experience specialising in HR recruitment, our HR team have prepared a list of the most frequently asked competency-based questions in HR interviews.

Our favourite competency-based interview questions for HR

  1. Tell me about an instance when you have had a negative reaction from one of the procedures and policies you have implemented. What did you do to rectify the situation?
  2. Give an example of a time you have dealt with a conflict between employees. What did you do in this situation?

  3. Tell me about a time when you have dealt with a complex Employee Relations case. What was the outcome?

  4. Tell me about a time you have had a difficult conversation with a manager.

  5. Tell me about a time when you have had to influence a manager round to your way of thinking.

  6. Tell me about a time when you have had to manage a busy workload and meet expectations on delivery.

  7. Tell me about a time when you have helped another group entity in a consultative way to shape a proposal or decide on an issue.

  8. How do you measure HR’s actions, and how do they influence a commercial outcome?

  9. Tell me about a time when you have had to negotiate a salary change with a manager. What was the outcome?

How to answer competency-based interview questions

To answer any of the above competency-based questions, we recommend you approach them by following the 4-step STAR technique.

The STAR technique is a tried and tested effective method for answering competency-based interview questions. If you’re familiar with it, please treat the below as a refresher. If you’re hearing about it for the first time, the below is priceless weaponry for your armoury.

STAR is used to structure your answers into four core steps:

S - Situation

Describe the situation. Set the scene. Tell you interviewer what was happening and how the problem arose.

T - Task

Place yourself in the scene you’ve just created. What was your task? What were YOU responsible for?

A – Action

What did you do to attempt to resolve the situation? What action(s) did YOU take in order to influence the outcome?

R – Results

What happened? Bring the story to a close by explaining the outcome of your actions and the final position.

Need further advice to prepare for your next interview?

So now you have the competency-based interview questions for your HR interview nailed. But what about the rest of the interview? Preparing people for interviews is something that we do every day. With this in mind, we thought we’d share our top tips for how to prepare for a job interview and give yourself the best possible chance of landing your dream job.

For more advice on preparing for your next job interview, access your free copy of our Career Toolkit.

Are you now ready to put those polished interview skills to the test? Check out our wide range of available HR roles.