Back into recruitment after 10 years – Most difficult questions to expect

Welcome back to the recruitment field! It’s completely normal to feel a bit out of practice after a decade. Here are some potential questions you might encounter during your interviews, divided into direct questions and some curveballs.

Direct Questions:

1. What motivated you to return to recruitment after ten years?
2. How do you think the recruitment landscape has changed since you last worked in the field?
3. Can you describe your most successful placement and what made it successful?
4. What tools and technologies have you used in recruitment, and how are you adapting to any new platforms?
5. How do you prioritize candidates when managing multiple roles?
6. What is your approach to building relationships with hiring managers and candidates?
7. How do you handle difficult candidates or challenging hiring managers?
8. What techniques do you use to source passive candidates?
9. What are your strategies for improving diversity and inclusion in recruitment?
10. Can you provide an example of a time you had to adapt your recruitment strategy?

Curveball Questions:

1. If you could be any recruitment tool or platform, which one would you choose and why?
2. How would you convince a hiring manager to consider a candidate who doesn’t meet all their criteria but has great potential?
3. What do you believe is the biggest misconception about recruitment?
4. If you were given an unlimited budget for a recruitment campaign, what would you do differently?
5. How do you envisage the role of AI and automation in recruitment evolving over the next few years?
6. How would you explain your ten-year gap in recruitment to a skeptical hiring manager?
7. If your favorite recruiting method suddenly became obsolete, how would you adapt?
8. Describe a time when you made a mistake in recruitment. What did you learn from it?
9. How would you handle a situation where a candidate you highly recommended was unsuccessful after the interview?
10. What would you do if a hiring manager rejected all your candidates without a clear reason?

Remember, while preparation is crucial, flexibility and authenticity go a long way in interviews. Good luck!