Construct Validity
Construct validity relates to whether a particular psychometric assessment...
PAGE CONTENTS
section one
5 Interview Questions for Hiring Human Resources Professionals
Lead consultant at Test Partnership, Ben Schwencke, explains why interviewing human resource professionals is essential.
Human resources departments are often so engrossed in managing recruitment for the wider organisation that they forgot to formalise the process for themselves. Consequently, in many organisations human resources professionals are recruited in a relatively unstructured, ad-hoc way, especially in smaller organisations.
Human resources departments often struggle to identify top talent in ways which other departments may not, to the detriment of the organisation as whole.
In this article, we will provide five useful interview questions for assessing human resources professionals. They are targeted mostly at HR generalists, rather than any specialised function, making them more widely applicable.
Can you talk about a time when you had to make a persuasive argument to convince someone of something?
Will include a specific situation where the candidate used their persuasion skills to convince someone to accept their viewpoint or to take a desired action. They should describe their strategy, the approach they took, and their understanding of the audience. The outcome isn't as important as the process in this scenario; however, the candidate should be able to reflect on what they learned, indicating growth and self-awareness.
May lack a detailed scenario or overlook the strategy they used for persuasion, indicating a lack of preparation or understanding. If the candidate can't articulate what they learned from the situation, it could imply a lack of self-awareness or a tendency not to learn from their experiences.
- 1. What was the situation, and what was the goal of your persuasion?
- 2. How did you prepare and present your argument?
- 3. What was the outcome and what did you learn from it?
If you were tasked with generating leads for our product/service, how would you approach it?
Will demonstrate the candidate's understanding of lead generation and their ability to be proactive and persistent. They should be able to outline a strategic approach to identifying and reaching out to potential leads, showing their knowledge of research and communication methods. An excellent response will also illustrate resilience and a positive attitude towards rejection, which is crucial in outbound lead generation.
May lack a clear strategy or understanding of lead generation, indicating that the candidate has not adequately prepared or lacks a fundamental understanding of the role. If they seem to take rejection personally or lack persistence, it could indicate a potential challenge in the outbound lead generation role.
- 1. How would you research and identify potential leads?
- 2. What methods would you use to reach out to these leads?
- 3. How would you handle rejection or lack of responses?
How would you handle a situation where you've exhausted your list of leads without achieving your target?
Should indicate resilience, initiative, and problem-solving abilities. The candidate should describe strategies for re-engaging unresponsive leads and methods for sourcing new ones. They should also show a willingness to learn from their experiences and make necessary changes to improve their success rate, indicating an adaptable and growth-oriented mindset.
May show a lack of resilience or problem-solving skills if the candidate seems to give up easily. If they fail to provide strategies for re-engaging unresponsive leads or sourcing new ones, it might indicate a lack of understanding or creativity. Lack of reflection on how to improve their future success could also suggest a fixed mindset.
- 1. What strategies would you use to try and engage unresponsive leads?
- 2. How would you source new leads?
- 3. What steps would you take to improve your success rate in the future?
Describe a time when you had to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. How did you prioritize and ensure everything got done?
Will give a specific example demonstrating the candidate's ability to manage their time effectively and handle multiple tasks at once. They should explain their method for prioritizing tasks, indicating a logical and thoughtful approach. Whether or not they were able to complete all tasks, the important aspect is how they managed the situation and what they learned from it.
May lack specifics or suggest that the candidate struggles with time management or prioritization. If they demonstrate a lack of strategy in handling multiple tasks, or if they seem to crumble under pressure, it may suggest that they might struggle in a fast-paced, target-driven environment like sales.
- 1. What were the tasks, and why was it challenging to handle them all at once?
- 2. How did you decide which tasks to prioritize?
- 3. Were you able to complete all tasks on time, and if not, how did you manage the situation?
How do you handle negative feedback, and can you share an instance where you used feedback to improve?
Should show that the candidate is open to feedback and has a growth mindset. They should provide a specific instance where they received negative feedback, honestly discuss their initial reaction, and explain how they processed it constructively. They should also describe the actions they took in response to the feedback and how it led to improvement, indicating their ability to learn and grow.
Might suggest that the candidate takes negative feedback personally, indicating a lack of emotional maturity or resilience. If they can't provide a concrete example where they used feedback to improve, it might suggest that they don't see feedback as a learning opportunity. Or if their reaction to feedback seems defensive, it could indicate potential challenges with adaptability or continuous learning.
- 1. What was the feedback, and how did it initially make you feel?
- 2. How did you process this feedback and decide on your next steps?
- 3. What actions did you take based on the feedback, and what was the outcome?
section two
Limitations of interview-only recruitment processes for business development reps
Interviews are an essential component of any BDR recruitment process, but they should never be used in isolation, and for three key reasons. Firstly, interviews simply do not scale well, requiring considerable time, effort, and expense from the employing organization to conduct. Moreover, managing interviews doesn't get easier with volume, and conducting 100 interviews is literally just 100 times the work of conducting one interview. With sufficient volume, interviewing every applicant becomes unsustainable, requiring additional tools to protect the validity of the screening process.
Additionally, interviews only reliably measure social and interpersonal skills and are entirely unable to capture other soft skills such as adaptability, resilience, work ethic, and determination. Naturally, a skilled interviewee could convince their interviewer that they are adaptable, resilient, determined, etc., but only because they are especially skilled at interviews, not because of their actual levels of these traits.
Lastly, BDRs typically have little to no relevant work experience behind them, as this is often an entry-level position. This limits the interview's potential as a screening tool, as many candidates simply won't have meaningful responses to "Tell me about a time..." style questions.
The use of psychometric assessments and online ability tests is the solution to all three of these problems. Online assessments scale very well, allowing HR teams to invite thousands of applicants at the click of a button. Additionally, a wide range of traits, skills, aptitudes, and characteristics can be measured using online assessments, significantly improving the effectiveness of the recruitment process and thus the ultimate quality of hire. Lastly, no experience is required to complete these assessments, as they measure innate psychological characteristics and abilities that all human beings have. For more information on our suite of assessments, please contact us directly or register for a free trial.
