Talent Acquisition Manager Interview Preparation Guide

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How they apply. Don’t just apply for a job because you can’t stand your current job, so you’re running from something or feel like you’ll just take anything to escape. It’s really about the candidate and job match, especially now. The workforce is opening up more than it was in 2008/2009. It’s becoming a candidate or job seekers market. When there are a lot of jobs but not a lot of qualified seekers, that’s when a candidate has more choices, and they shouldn’t feel powerless like they don’t have anything to contribute.

Also, target your job search. When you’re aligned with the job and the organization’s mission, your resume and cover letter are aligned, too. I’ve seen resumes where they cut and paste from the job posting and embed keywords into a resume. That’s not authentic and doesn’t demonstrate your unique talents.

I wouldn’t say that we research candidates using social media because that can get very sticky. We use social media to present job opportunities. I’m searching LinkedIn and I see you might be qualified for a position, I’ll share a link to the job. But you have to be careful on how deeply you probe. Information you discover might be protected information.

That you have to be a clinician to work in healthcare. We have IT, fundraising, marketing, PR, finance, HR, we have sales and business development.

A large part of a sales manager’s job is to hire a staff of high performing sales reps. What constitutes a high performing rep can vary from company to company based on the product they’re selling, as well as the mission and values of the organization. This question can give you great insight into the candidate’s hiring abilities. You’ll get an idea of what they value in a sales rep, whether or not their management style is a fit for your company, and perhaps even a foreshadowing of what kind of sales team they’ll end up building.

This may seem like an odd question, but it can give you great insight into what traits the candidate values. By asking them to describe someone they know personally, you’ll be more likely to get a genuine answer. Ask for specificity. Answers to this will vary, but you are looking for a candidate who values the same traits you and your company value. Do you have a great method for identifying the best candidates to lead your sales team? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

This question will be 90 percent of my evaluation. I want candidates to walk me through, in detail, the steps they take to alert the stakeholder and make a plan to get the project back on track. Hitting deadlines is the most important issue in my industry. In fact, it’s the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth most important thing.

The candidates that use critical thinking as opposed to dismissing the question as silly are the ones you want to keep around. I once had a candidate jump up to the whiteboard and mathematically find his way to an answer that was within 100 feet. Needless to say, he was the type of person that we wanted on our team.

Many of my past managers and clients have been high-powered, busy individuals who needed me to be attentive, intuitive, on-time and meticulous about keeping commitments. I keep a tight calendar with planned appointments and meetings. In the past I have also made it a habit to schedule regular meetings or phone calls with clients to build the consultant-client relationship and stay up-to-date on their talent acquisition needs. I also make myself available after working hours when needed, and I have a self-imposed two-hour response time whenever possible for phone calls and emails.

In a recent position, I helped my company implement talent acquisition efforts through social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. This initiative helped increase the hiring of young, driven and technologically savvy employees and helped us research potential employees more thoroughly before conducting interviews. I am also very interested in the growing interest in remote work and believe that there are great possibilities and benefits for business to be found in hiring remote workers.

There’s no need to spend too much time looking for the hiring manager’s name.
And sometimes, I get packages with resumes, raised font, and brochures after they’ve applied for a job. I can’t even look at it. I have to toss it. They did a lot of work to put that together, but because of the legality giving preference to someone doing work above and beyond what most job seekers might be able to do, I have to put it aside. For an organization of our size, it’s a waste of time. Spend your time on conveying your personal brand through a cover letter, resume, and by networking.

Go above and beyond when you’re an actual candidate. If you are brought in for an interview, and you want to bring something in like a project, presentation or other visuals to demonstrate your ability to do the job, I highly recommend that.