The Human Resources interview is often the first step in the job interview process.

Its also one of the steps that job searchers tend to look at as being unimportant. Job searchers who treat the HR interview as being unimportant risk losing out on jobs.

Ive lost count of how many times Ive been helping a job candidate prepare for a job interview and have had to convince them that the Human Resources interview that they are preparing for is one that they actually need to take seriously.

Many people seem to think that they are smarter than the HR person they are going to interview with and think that they can confuse them with technical jargon and bluff their way past HR to get to the hiring manager.

If you are not making it past the HR interview stage for various jobs you are applying for, you need to understand the differences between interviewing with an HR interviewer and the hiring manager.

HR is brought into the interview process to represent the company and to determine whether or not you are a fit for the organization.

Here are some things you should consider when preparing for a Human Resources interview.

1. Human Resources can prevent you from getting hired.

Ive seen cases where the HR representative prevents the hiring manager from hiring someone who the hiring manager wanted. HR can have significant input into the hiring process in some companies and in some cases can be the final say as to whether or not you get hired regardless of whether you interview with them first or last and regardless of how badly the hiring manager wants you.

2. The Human Resources interview will assess your suitability to join the company.

Before a company invests potentially tens of thousands of dollars (or more) by hiring you, they are going to ensure you will fit within the organization. If you cant answer questions about yourself, why you want to join the company and other HR-type questions why would they hire you? The questions may seem trivial to you but they arent to the HR person interviewing you, trust me.

3. Understand how Human Resources can help you get the job.

Ive seen some HR reps who tell me on the phone that they particularly like one candidate over another and basically tell me that they are going to try to steer the hiring manager towards that candidate and away from the one they dont like as much. They arent necessarily playing favorites, theyve simply decided that one candidate suits the company better than another. HR can be your advocate if you take them seriously.

4. People hire people who they like.

All things being equal, a company will someone they like over someone who they dont like as much. When two candidates are equal in all areas, a company will hire the person that they feel will be a better fit in their organization. Its really that simple. Performing well during the Human Resources interview can only help your chances at getting the job.

5. Dont assume the HR rep doesnt know what you know.

Unless you know the Human Resources person interviewing you or unless youve seen a copy of their resume, how you can tell what they know and what they dont know? Dont assume that they wont understand your business or profession or that youll confuse them by using technical jargon. For all you know, they may have done your job in the past and be very familiar with your job. They may interview people with your skills regularly so believing that you can confuse them by mentioning technical terms and phrases might end up costing you when they see right through it.

Carl Mueller

My name is Carl Mueller and I'd like to thank you for learning a bit more about me!

I feel that I have numerous relevant experiences during my career that come in useful when helping people with their careers:

I know what it?s like to work internationally, having worked overseas (in New Zealand, from 1994-1998).

I've survived several corporate downsizings while many of my colleagues were being laid off.

I have also experienced being laid off twice myself during corporate downsizings.

I know what it?s like to be self-employed.

I've helped many people find better jobs. I started to work as a professional recruiter in 2000 first as an Information Technology (IT) recruiter and then in general recruitment across many industries including IT, manufacturing and marketing. Since this time, I have helped many people find their dream career and it?s a great feeling.

I experienced one of the slowest hiring periods in recent memory especially during the general hiring slowdown that followed the Y2K frenzy in 1999, the bursting of the dot com bubble in early 2000, and then the employment market bottoming out following September 11, 2001.

These were certainly not great times to be a job searcher in most industries nor was it a particularly good time to be a recruiter.

Following this, I began running the day to day operations of an Internet-based company in early 2003 that focused on developing online software and subscription-based websites for consumers. It was then that I fully realized the power, usefulness and potential of the Internet which really spurred me to set up my own website which you can view in my Personal URL section below this bio.

I?m also a Platinum Ezine Articles Expert as recognized by EzineArticles.com, one of the most visited websites on the Internet. This special designation is earned by having consistently high-quality articles published and viewed on their website. All of my submissions are related to helping you find your dream career and many of my articles get reproduced on other websites by their webmasters.

Good luck with your career and I hope I have been of assistance to you!