Why Does HR Handle the First Interview Round Instead of the Technical Team?

I recently appeared in an interview where the HR Head asked me why the HR person conducts the first round of interviews before the candidate moves on to the second round with a Technical Person. Why can't the technical person handle both responsibilities? Why do we arrange the first meeting with an HR person? I had no reply to this question.

Please help me.

Fahim Khan

The main reason why HR takes the first round is because:

1. HR should analyze where the candidates match the expected job profile. Have set marks defined for all questions asked and based on the percentage which he/she gets in the HR round, he/she should be forwarded for the Technical Round.

2. Should have some verifications with respect to the organizations that he/she has worked for.

3. Analyze where the candidate can be an asset or a liability to the organization.

4. Whether he/she matches the monetary budget.

5. Do prior verification to check if the candidate is not a fake.

These various aspects wouldn't be considered by the technical interviewer since his core focus will be technical and work-related responsibilities only. Also, this information has to be checked prior so that only the right candidates are forwarded for further rounds.

I completely agree, Meenal. And, over and above, it will save the time of the hiring manager as he does not have "interviewing" as the only work. Then, it would really make no difference if we are in the system. What would be a recruiter's business then? Only sourcing and explaining the salary annexure? Not right! :D

Regards, Meera

Meera,

It's strange the way people/employees perceive HR as just the ones who hand over these three letters:
1. Offer letter
2. Appointment Letter
3. Exit/Relieving Letter.

There is a huge gamut of activities that the Smart HR Managers are playing today.

Regards,
Meenal Thakkar

Hi,

The first round with HR is to make the candidate feel at ease with questions already known to him, like "Tell me about yourself" and work experience, etc.

In this round, there are many aspects that an HR judges, such as communication skills, eye contact, body language, thought flow, expressions, and mainly, we would get to know about the attitude of that person.

A person with the desired qualifications (i.e., the best fit with required experience having all the above parameters along with logical and analytical ability) is sent to the next round as he satisfies the basic requirement for the given post, apart from technical skills.

Your question as to why not the technical recruiter takes the initial round: A technical person has sound knowledge about technical work aspects but may not excel in all the other areas. However, an HR person need not have complete technical knowledge but must have all the other abilities to judge the candidate.

Hence, a person specialized in every aspect is termed as an HR, who reflects the image of the company and the people working in it.

Cheers,
Sandhya

Any type of industry/organization/establishment is run by humans. Therefore, effective utilization of manpower is key to the success of any industry. Selecting and deploying the right person for the right job is one of the key activities of personnel management, which personnel managers focus on. Assessing candidates' psychology involves asking questions about personal and social backgrounds by HR professionals. This is why personnel professionals ask questions initially to evaluate candidates' psychological factors and their interest in joining the organization. Determining a candidate's eligibility concerning qualifications, experience, age, and issuing appointment letters are tasks of HR departments, not HR managers who are responsible for conducting interviews.

Hi,

While I agree with all that is said above, I feel that the first and the most important reason why the first round is taken by HR is so that the attitude of the candidate is scanned, as attitude is the most crucial point to be tested.

Regards,
Archana

Hi,

I appreciate the different views expressed above. One point I would like to add is that in today's business scenario, the most important quality that organizations look for in their employees is how they face challenges and cope with difficult situations, apart from their domain knowledge.

In such situations, the HR round of the interview is helpful because only HR can read an individual's psychology and judge whether the person gets demotivated due to work pressure or can handle tough situations in the organization. Thus, the HR round is conducted at the initial stage to scrutinize the candidates properly, ensuring that the right candidates are shortlisted for the next level. This process helps in reducing recruitment costs and time.

Thanks & Regards,

Harsha Nathwani
MPM-II
Indira Institute of Management

Hi,

I agree with all of you for reasons of first screening done by HR. I would like to add upon:
1) We do initial screening to know if the resume we have shortlisted is at par with the candidate (Verification of CVs).
2) Definitely, as mentioned by one of the members - to know about the candidates' ATTITUDE.
3) Certain details like CTC - which a technical person wouldn't know. Basically, HR screening also helps in knowing the monetary expectations of the candidate, and depending upon the company's budget, HR can decide to take the call further or not.
4) Also, the communication skills which help in screening by HR, if the position demands lots of interactions/discussions.
5) Essentially, HR interviews help in saving time as well involved in hiring a candidate by doing initial screening. Maybe there is a lot more... which our experience can tell.

Regards,
Shalini

The main reason why HR takes the first round is because:

1. HR should analyze where the candidates match the expected job profile. Have set marks defined for all questions asked and based on the percentage which he/she gets in the HR round, he/she should be forwarded for Technical Round.
2. Should have some verifications with respect to the organizations that he/she has worked.
3. Analyze where the candidate can be an asset or a liability to the organization.
4. Whether he/she matches the monetary budget.
5. Do prior verification to check if the candidate is not a fake.

These various aspects wouldn't be considered by the technical interviewer since their core focus will be technical and work-related responsibilities only. Also, this information has to be checked prior so that only the right candidates are forwarded for further rounds.

!~! BUT I DON'T AGREE TO THIS !~!

Apart from agreeing with all that is related to your post, I feel the most important reason for the 1st HR round is because the HR exec is the person who knows their organization better than anyone else in the company. He/she is the right person to judge if the said candidate to be interviewed can fit into the culture of their organization and if the organization can rely on the candidate to get the job done. However, most of the HR execs forget this prime objective and end up formalizing the secondary objectives mentioned above.

Regards,
Rupesh

So, effectively, HR screening helps the organization to save time, cost, and overall smoothness. HR is the backbone of any organization!!!!

Hi Shaliniamit,

You said, "HR is the backbone of any organization." I don't agree.

In terms of functionality, especially in a startup, it would be like this:

Organization's face: customer service / sales / marketing

Organization's backbone: Administration

Organization's circulatory system: Finance / Legal

Organization's brain: strategic team / top management

Organization's cleaning system: internal audit / quality

Organization's heart: HR

As you can see, I have drawn a parallel to the human body. All of the above have to work as a team; otherwise, I don't need to specify more, do I?

Now, to the topic under discussion -

HR takes the first round to assess (some points are repeated here):

1) communication skills

2) Attitude

3) Team working

4) PASSION

5) Basic job aptitude

6) Personality suitable for the job.

All this can be done only through using Behavioral Interviewing Techniques. Psychometric tests are available, but are not absolute indicators of possible performance - though the DISC inventory comes quite close.

Unless an HR is aware of or has studied technical stuff in his academic career, only then is he qualified to take a technical assessment.

Now the other question - why doesn't a technical person assess the above six areas? Again, unless there is exposure to understanding and working in these specific areas, only then can the tech person give feedback on this. HR folks are supposed to have studied and understood these "soft skills" enough to be able to assess them in interviews. The sad truth is that this skill comes only with lots of practice in taking interviews. And many HR people (2-3 yrs exp) have no real idea about how to assess these traits. However, I have had technical people give me feedback on communication, attitude, and personality which was good enough to be used in the final selection.

It is quite subjective.

Regards,

Ryan

Trait and personality have been defined in the chapter "Types of Leadership." Those with an MBA/HRM qualification can locate the chapter and find the definitions/differences. Those without qualifications have to differentiate between trait and personality based on their own perception and in-depth knowledge of social engineering. A leader possesses both traits and personality. A leader with good personality but lacking traits is less successful compared to a leader with more traits than personality. It is important to differentiate between "hit" and "fit." Sometimes, a hero with less personality and talent but possessing traits can become more popular than a hero with a good personality but lacking traits. Personality is developed through in-depth knowledge and talent, not solely based on physical posture. Dear friends, please elaborate more on this topic so we can gain a better understanding of traits and personalities.

The HR person checks whether the candidate suits the entire system.

The technical panel tests his competency based on a particular project or job profile.

Hi Friends,

According to me, the HR round is taken first because the most important thing, which is undoubtedly more important than judging the technical knowledge, is judging the attitude and behavior of the candidate, which can be understood no better than by HR. If a candidate is technically sound but has attitude problems such as not listening to his boss or always feeling that he is right, such people generally are neither good team members nor good team leaders.

Just a few days back, I conducted an interview and asked the candidate why he wants to leave his present company. He replied that it's because his boss is not technically sound and he is unable to grow under his guidance. When I inquired about why he left his previous company, the answer was the same. It shows that either the candidate considers himself very intelligent and cannot work under anybody or his behavior is problematic. If people have this complaint that their bosses lack knowledge, let me tell these individuals that it's not your boss who will make you knowledgeable; it's only you who can upgrade your knowledge. Your boss will only motivate you, keep your spirit alive, bring integrity to the team, and manage behaviors like yours in the team.

What do you say?

Why does HR conduct a preliminary round of interviews?

1. In order to keep the recruitment process organized.
2. To assess behavioral traits.
3. Verifying details such as experience, salary, etc.
4. To provide a warm-up session for the candidate so that they can perform their best.

Regards,
Yogita

Thank you for providing valuable information. I agree that only HR professionals can accurately assess candidates' attitudes and competencies. It is essential to ensure that the benefits are within the budget. Additionally, we must conduct thorough reference and background checks.

Thank you.

I agree with all the above comments. One thing to note is that if you segregate the percentage of the interview, only 30-40% will be allocated for technical aspects/knowledge. The remaining percentage is for evaluating your personality, candidate's seating positions, body language, communication skills, analytical thinking, and most importantly, their background. These are the key factors that only a HR person can assess in a candidate.

Regards,

Hi all,

Above, what is mentioned is all correct. I want to add a few more:

1) Attitude
2) Responsiveness
3) Communication Skills
4) Knowledge
5) Stability

And many more...

Thanks & Regards,
Prathima

Dear Meenal,

I firmly agree with what you have said. Furthermore, it will save the time and cost of the company if HR identifies the differences between the exact requirements and unsolicited portfolios. Great explanation!

Praloy Bhar
HR Department - Corporate Office
Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Ahmedabad
(M) 98256 50504

Hi Everyone,

I'm working in a 1000-seater call center where competition is very high. This month, I'll apply for the Internal Job Posting (I.J.P.) of Team Leader. In our company, the interview process is very rigorous, which is why I'm looking for help from outside. The final round of the interview is a one-on-one with the President of the company. I have no idea about it and am very confused. I would appreciate it if you could share your past experience or, if you were the interviewer, what you would ask the agent and what you would look for in the agent to determine their leadership skills and possibly other aspects concerning their responsibilities as a team leader. A list of questions is welcome and will help me a lot to understand.

Thank you.

Hello,

The candidate should be interviewed by HR first - since HR can find out whether the candidate is suitable for the position from the point of view of attitude and energy level, as well as whether the candidate will fit in culturally. The first interview, therefore, can also include a psychometric test to analyze the motivation and psychology of the candidate.

HR interviews can help to get some idea about the salary expectations and to what extent the salary structure of the company will be able to meet these expectations. Most of the above issues cannot be handled by a functional head from other functions unless specifically trained. Therefore, it is better to evaluate the candidate for these aspects, and when HR finds that the person is suitable, then they can be interviewed by the technical/functional head.

Some of the psychometric tests provide very specific suggestions on what to ask in the interview - so even before the HR interview, this test should be done.

Hope this adds value.

Regards

The recruitment strategy used to be "Recruit talent and develop attitude." But it has changed now. The strategy now is "Recruit attitude and develop talent."

So the first thing to note in a candidate is whether he fits the expected characteristics of the job profile. That's a reason why HR takes the first round of the interview.