The Importance Of Impressing Your HR Manager

Interviews are an integral part of the job seeking process. It is important that you understand the interview process and practice the sort of questions that you are going to be asked. But there is one crucial thing that many job seekers don’t consider: Who is going to interview them?

When most people prepare for interviews, they do so without specifically thinking who is going to interview them. Whilst you may be interviewed by the manager of your prospective department in your first interview, if you reach the final stages of interview there will almost certainly be another person in the interview asking you questions, the company’s HR manager.

Why Does The HR Manager Get Involved In Interviews?

Quite simply because it is their job to do so. It is their job to strategically recruit and manage people as business resources. This means that they have to have the final say in the recruitment process.

The second reason is that they are experts in recruitment. Recruitment is one of the most difficult and most expensive things that any business can do. This is the reason why it is essential to have an expert involved to ensure that the right sort of people are recruited and expensive mistakes aren’t made.

If you’re applying for a job in a company’s IT department, the manager of that department will undoubtedly be an expert in information technology, but they won’t be experts in the complex rules and regulations of recruitment.

What Is the HR Manager’s Role in an Interview?

Usually, your two interviewers will take on different roles in an interview. The department manager will almost certainly ask you more technical style questions. The HR Manager will be there to ask the more general questions.

They will be trying to understand what your personality is like. Therefore, during an interview, it’s not just important to impress your prospective manager. It’s just as crucial to ensure you come across as a well-rounded individual who will fit in with the company, its aims and its ethos.

Regulatory Requirements

The other crucial part the HR manager will play in the recruitment process will be with regards to the more regulatory requirements of recruitment. This may involve checking your references, doing a DBS check and checking on your right to work in the UK. This final point will become particularly more important as we enter into a ‘post-Brexit’ world. Therefore it’s crucial that you have all of your references and other documents up-to-date because if they are not, it could prevent you securing the job.

When preparing for your next interview, don’t just focus on preparing to impress your prospective manager or director. The final say is with the HR manager so also ensure that you prepare to impress them too. If you do, you might just find yourself securing that dream job.