What questions do hiring managers ask at the end of an interview?

General & Housekeeping Questions

Everyone knows it’s important to prepare for a job interview and focus on commonly asked questions.  Often, candidates prepare for the common questions, the tough questions, and the behavioral competency questions.  However, do you prepare for the general or housekeeping questions?

We think it’s worth mentioning some key questions the hiring managers or HR Recruiter always ask candidates.  These questions have proved extremely useful over the last decade and have saved time later in the process.

We like to call these housekeeping questions – because they are about tidying up – it’s also about managing expectations. Candidates will have an idea of what salary and remuneration package they seek – most have a very clear idea.

We wrote this blog for recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates alike. 

Candidate

Most candidates will be looking for an increase in their last salary. This is normally a reasonable request.  Some candidates may settle for the same salary depending on the reasons for leaving the last job or reasons for wanting the next job.  There are candidates that will also be looking to add the annual increases they didn’t get.  Yes, I’ve interviewed candidates that haven’t had a salary increase for a while due to the Global crisis or pandemic.

They will be looking at the cost of living, their rent or mortgage, or their personal situation – married, children, etc. Some of these factors are none of the employer’s business or concern when it comes to working out the right job offer.

• Current or Last salary
• Lack of salary increases in the past
• What they feel they are worth
• Mortgage
• Rent
• Cost of Living
• Financial Commitments
• Family situation – children, schooling, etc.

Managers

Employers are considering salary levels against market norms, salaries of equivalent employees in their existing teams, so internal comparisons, and of course budget constraints.

Therefore, it’s best to get clear on both sides before progressing through the interview process.

• Budgets & Headcount Allocations
• Internal Comparisons
• External Market Comparisons
• The salary level for the job role

Questions

Current Salary & Benefits?

It’s important to find out what your benefits are worth in terms of monetary value.  We’ve interviewed candidates before with very generous pension contributions from their employer and this needs to be covered in the candidate’s calculations of salary expectations.

For example, if you are receiving a 10% pension contribution from your employer, work out the cash value and make sure you are not ‘selling’ yourself short in terms of total remuneration.  If the new job has a pension contribution of less than 10% you can ask for a little more basic salary to compensate.  The company might not agree to the increase in basic, however, you’ve demonstrated your reasons for asking.  It’s always important to present the information logically.

Salary Expectations?

Be wary of candidates wanting to accept a significant pay decrease.  They might have genuine reasons however this needs to be carefully addressed otherwise the moment the market changes in the candidate’s favour they’ll be off to the next higher-paid job!

Here’s how to Negotiation Your Salary Successfully!

Notice Period or Availability?

What’s your notice period?  What’s your availability to start work?

These are not the same – check when the candidate can start. We have been caught out before if candidates have had extended holidays booked or they have committed to volunteering for the Olympics for six weeks!  Or they have a honeymoon booked and paid for well in advance.  Of course, a good employer will want to honour these bookings and events.  From a hiring manager’s point of view, it’s good to have this information to plan ahead.

Holidays booked?

Again, it’s worth asking if they have extended holidays booked and paid for and if they don’t want to lose them.  They may even have a holiday during the recruitment process.  You’ll need to know this when organizing the second stage interview.  I remember when I was interviewing for a job in a corporate bank near St Paul’s Cathedral.

I had one interview in their office near Liverpool Street and then had a holiday in Turkey before being invited to the second interview.  Little did I know my future boss was married to a Turkish lady and visited Turkey regularly to see his partner’s family.  That might have influenced the final decision!  It was definitely a great opportunity to build rapport and have an informal conversation.

Are you eligible to work in the UK?

Make sure you ask every candidate this question and not just candidates you think are not eligible – otherwise you are increasing your risk of discriminating.

There are lots of different types of visas that enable people to work legally in the UK.

Always check the documentation and don’t just take the candidate’s word or rely on the last employer to have done the proper checks.

For useful information go to the UKBA website.