If you’re interviewing for HR Coordinator jobs or other similar HR jobs, you’ve come to the right place.
We’re going to look at the top HR Coordinator interview questions and how to answer them to get hired!
Let’s get started…
Top HR Coordinator Interview Questions to Practice:
1. Questions About Why You Want to Work in HR
You’ll hear questions like, “why are you applying for this position?” and, “why do you want this job?” in any interview, and HR job interviews are no different.
And if you’re already in HR while looking for a new HR job, they might ask, “Why did you choose this career?” or “what do you enjoy about working in HR?”
They’re going to want to know that you’ve done your research, read the job description carefully, and have specific reasons for why you want this.
There’s no “right” answer for why you want to be an HR coordinator but you do need some type of reason.
You could say a friend works in HR and said it’s a great career.
Or you can say you enjoy working with people and you’ve always been good at listening to others, coming up with solutions, working with a variety of different personalities, etc.
You could also say a former boss, colleague, or mentor recommended it.
Just make sure you have something prepared to say for this type of HR interview question.
2. Questions About Your Job Search Overall
You should be ready to show the employer that you’re applying for multiple HR jobs, not just one.
This will put their mind at ease and show them that HR is really what you want to be doing!
Their main fear here is that you don’t know much about what an HR coordinator job involves, and will not like it (and leave quickly after being hired).
For example, if you’ve applied for 10 marketing jobs and just one HR Coordinator job, they’re really going to wonder if this is something you want to do, and why you applied.
Employers love to ask, “what other jobs are you applying for?” or “what other companies are you interviewing at?” to diagnose this and see if you really know what you’re getting into!
So be ready to show that you’re really looking for HR Coordinator positions in particular.
Hiring and training you costs a lot of money, so expect multiple questions about this topic in any HR Coordinator interview.
3. Questions About HR Coordinator Job Requirements
Another way employers see if you really know what you’re getting into, and check whether you are really going to like this job and stay, is to ask about the job requirements.
They might say, “why do you feel you’d do well in this position?”
They might ask about the job description directly, with a question like, “what on the job description made you think you’d be a good fit?”
Stay calm and don’t panic here. This DOESN’T mean they think you’re a bad fit. It just means they want to know what you saw and what you think!
Be confident and be ready to show them you know what the job involves and are ready to put in the effort to succeed.
Study the job description before going into any HR Coordinator interview so you can talk about specific points you read in the job description (and how you fit those points).
That’s a great way to stand out and show employers you are truly prepared, and that you didn’t just apply to 100 jobs without looking (that’s not going to make an employer feel like you really care about their job, right?)
4. Questions About Your Communication Skills/Personality
You should expect HR Coordinator interview questions about how you communicate, and your personality overall.
Examples of interview questions:
- Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
- Tell me about a time you solved a conflict by communicating
- How would your friends and family describe you?
- How would you describe yourself?
- How would you describe your communication style?
- How do you make decisions?
Don’t feel pressure to be fake or dishonest, but do make it sound like you enjoy working with others.
Otherwise, you’re really not going to enjoy an HR job anyway. There’s often a lot of communication involved, whether it’s on the phone or in-person (most HR jobs involve a lot of in-person).
Try to give examples of how you’ve communicated effectively with different types of people, too. Show how you’ve used clear communication to solve problems in past jobs.
5. Questions About How You Handle Deadlines
Next, employers will want to know how you handle deadlines.
This is very important for an interviewer to know before hiring you for an HR Coordinator role (or any coordinator role).
Being a coordinator for a department can be stressful and you’ll often have multiple projects, each with a deadline.
So you want to show employers that you’re battle-tested and you’ve worked under tight deadlines before.
Be ready to talk about how you’ve juggled multiple projects, prioritized tasks, communicated clearly with multiple people/groups… all to get a great outcome or result on the project!
Ideally, try to have one or two specific examples ready from past jobs. If you’re looking for a job with no work experience, come up with an example from your academic work.
6. Questions About Your Career Goals/Aspirations
Since HR Coordinator is an entry-level job typically, or near entry-level, employers will want to know where you see yourself in a few years, too.
Most companies want to hire people who are eager to learn and grow with the organization.
So be ready for questions like, “where do you see yourself in 5 years? (or 2 years, 3 years, etc.)
Be prepared to show them you want to progress and grow, and that you don’t plan on being an HR Coordinator forever.
You can say your goal is to learn HR and then advance to a higher level role in the company, still within HR.
If you’re already in HR you can say your goal is to build out your HR skills further and then advance in the future.
7. Learn the Most Common Questions for ANY Interview
Along with the HR Coordinator interview questions above, there are some questions all employer love to ask… no matter what type of job you’re interviewing for.
You always want to be ready to answer:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why did you leave your last job?
- What’s your greatest professional achievement?
- What motivates you?
- What do you think you need to improve?
- What do you know about our company?
And be sure you have great questions to ask the interviewer, too. That’s just as important as your answers to their questions.
If you don’t ask good questions, the employer will think that you don’t really care what type of job you get, and they will NOT want to hire you.
HR Coordinator Interview Questions and Preparation Tips – Recap
- Expect interview questions about why you want to work as an HR Coordinator
- Expect questions about what other types of jobs you’re looking for, and why
- Be ready to show you read the job description and know exactly what it means to be an HR Coordinator in their company
- Be ready for interview questions about your communication skills, and be ready to give examples of how you’ve used communication to solve problems and disagreements in the past
- Expect questions about how you’ve handled tight deadlines and your ability to work under pressure
- Be ready to answer interview questions about your long-term career goals and aspirations
- Prepare for the very common interview questions like: “tell me about yourself,” “what motivates you?” and “why did you leave your last employer?”
- Prepare great questions to ask the interviewer at the end of your HR Coordinator interview. This matters more than most job seekers realize!
