Hiring is an expensive and risky undertaking—which is why internal recruiting can seem like such an appealing option. Internal recruiting mitigates the risk that comes with external hiring. Not only do you know an internal candidates strengths and weaknesses, but they also know your business.
Plus, research suggests that internal hires are more likely to succeed. A study of more than 109,000 commissioned salespeople by the University of Minnesota found that employees who are hired from within are more likely to be good at their jobs and stay for a long time.
By asking the right questions during an internal job interview, you can show current employees that you care about their growth and keep them interested, whether you hire someone from inside or outside the company.
Find out the best questions to ask in an internal interview and the best ways to run an internal job interview below.
A lot of employers don’t want to interview their own employees because they don’t think they’re qualified for the job. This is a big mistake.
Internal hiring can be an effective way to reap the fruit of your employee development efforts. Not only does this save you money on hiring new people, but good employee development also lets you fill more positions with people who have already been trained.
Internal mobility, which means letting employees switch roles within a company, can be very good for business in many ways, such as:
If you treat your employees fairly, you can show that your company is willing to invest in their growth and recognize their progress, even if the internal candidate doesn’t get the job.
The key is to make sure that your internal interview questions only cover the most important parts of the job and the career path that comes with it. Remember, honest consideration can fuel engagement among your employees.
Interviewing at BambooHR? You’ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we breakdown BambooHR’s top 15 most commonly asked interview questions.
Whether you’re interviewing for a customer support engineering, sales or other role at BambooHR, acing the interview questions is key to getting the job. We’ll explain what interviewers want to hear from your answers while providing sample responses to each question. Read on to learn how to prepare for a BambooHR interview.
Why BambooHR Asks These Interview Questions
As a leading HR software provider for small and medium businesses, BambooHR looks for candidates that exemplify their core values of
- Be Real – Be authentic, honest and transparent
- Solve Big Problems – Make a meaningful impact
- Build Together – Collaborate with empathy
- Keep Learning – Be open and grow continuously
The company’s interview questions aim to assess which candidates will thrive in BambooHR’s collaborative yet fast-paced work environment. Interviewers want to make sure you have the necessary hard and soft skills. They also want to see you express genuine interest in BambooHR’s mission of making work and life better for the world’s workforce.
How to Answer BambooHR Interview Questions
To ace your BambooHR interview, keep the following tips in mind when crafting your responses:
1. Show don’t tell. Use real examples and anecdotes to demonstrate you have the skills and experience to succeed in the role. Help the interviewers picture you tackling responsibilities listed in the job description.
2. Align with core values. Draw connections between your work style, motivations and BambooHR’s values. Share relevant stories that showcase you embodying these values.
3. Know BambooHR’s products and mission. Do your research beforehand on the company’s culture, products, clients and the HR industry landscape. Speaking knowledgeably will make a great impression.
4. Practice responding out loud. Rehearse answering questions aloud to polish your delivery. Time yourself to keep responses concise while hitting key points.
5. Ask smart questions. The interview is a two-way conversation, so prepare thoughtful questions that show your interest in and understanding of the company.
Now let’s get into the 15 most frequently asked BambooHR interview questions:
1. Why do you want to work at BambooHR?
BambooHR asks this to assess your interest in the company and desire to work on HR technology products. Demonstrate you’ve done your homework on the company and the role by sharing relevant facts. For example:
“I’m excited to work at BambooHR for a few reasons. First, your focus on SMBs matches my background of helping small businesses adopt HR solutions. Also, your values around transparency and collaboration align with my strengths in communication and relationship-building. And your rapid growth tells me this is an opportunity to take on meaty challenges as the company scales.”
2. What makes you the best fit for this position?
With this question, show how your skills and experience directly match the job requirements. Pick 2-3 top qualifications from the job description and walk through why you’re a standout match.
“With over 5 years experience in customer education programs, I have the right background to make an immediate impact in your training manager role. Specifically, my track record of improving customer retention by 15% and my knowledge of adult learning techniques perfectly align with key elements you’re looking for.”
3. Why do you want to work in the HR technology industry?
For this question, share your interest in and knowledge of the HR tech space. Convey how you’re motivated to help HR practitioners be more efficient, effective and empowered through great software tools like BambooHR’s.
“I’m passionate about HR technology because I’ve seen firsthand the challenges HR teams face, especially at resource-strapped small companies. I want to leverage software to make HR processes intuitive, consistent and elevated. After researching BambooHR, I’m inspired by your vision to create a powerful yet simple employee experience through your products.”
4. Tell me about a time you partnered with Engineering on a project.
For technical roles like product managers or designers, expect scenarios like this one. Use the STAR method to describe a specific project. Explain the situation, task, actions you took and results delivered. Emphasize how you collaborated closely with engineers to achieve shared goals.
“In my last PM role, I partnered with Engineering to redesign our mobile app notifications. First, I gathered user research to define problems with our notifications. Then I worked closely with engineers to brainstorm solutions given our tech constraints. We agreed to move quickly testing with prototypes. This cycle of collaborating to ideate, test and iterate led to a 300% increase in notification engagement.”
5. Describe a time you had a conflict with a coworker. How did you handle it?
With this behavioral interview question, BambooHR assesses your communication, conflict management and empathy skills. Share a real workplace story highlighting these abilities. Focus on the actions you took and the positive resolution.
“When a new process I spearheaded caused extra work for a teammate, he became frustrated and confrontational in meetings. I approached him 1-on-1 to understand his concerns. I acknowledged where he was coming from and we agreed on an interim solution. We ultimately adjusted the process to alleviate his workload. This improved our working relationship and helped the project succeed.”
6. What do you consider your biggest professional failure? What did you learn from it?
Don’t be afraid to share a real failure here in your response. Focus on showing resilience, accountability and ability to grow. Explain the actions you took at the time to mitigate the situation. Share how you gained important skills that you apply today.
“Early in my career, I led a product demo that totally bombed because I didn’t spend enough time understanding our largest customer’s needs. I learned I needed to talk to users more frequently throughout product development, not just at the beginning and end. Now I regularly check in with customers to ensure we’re solving their real problems.”
7. How do you prioritize work when everything is a high priority?
This situational interview question tests your analytical and communication skills. Walk through how you’d tackle urgent competing priorities. Demonstrate you stay calm under pressure. Outline how you’d partner cross-functionally to identify the most time-sensitive tasks.
“When all projects feel urgent, I pause to consult with key stakeholders and my manager to align on top priorities based on overall business goals. I’ll summarize competing needs in a brief document to facilitate discussion. This helps our team thoughtfully decide what to tackle first and communicate timeline adjustments.”
8. If you were interviewing someone for this role, what would you look for?
With this question, BambooHR wants to see you can evaluate what makes someone successful in the job. Identify 2-3 must-have qualities backed by evidence of strong job performance. Show you understand the role deeply.
“For this customer education role, I’d look for somebody with proven skills delivering virtual training and content. I’d want to see examples they’ve developed compelling learning materials that elevated customers’ product knowledge. I’d also look for someone who asks thoughtful questions, showing their curiosity and commitment to improving our customer experience.”
9. Tell me about a time you influenced a team without formal authority.
Behavioral questions like this assess soft skills crucial for individual contributors like sales development reps, engineers, designers and more. Avoid just describing the situation. Emphasize persuasive actions you took and positive results achieved.
“When I joined the sales team, I noticed low awareness of our product’s top differentiators. I prepared a training deck on our key competitive advantages and approached sales leadership about presenting it. My manager agreed so I delivered the training to the full sales team. This drove a major uptick in our win rates against top competitors.”
10. How do you stay productive in a remote work environment?
Since COVID-19, BambooHR has become a remote-first company. For remote roles, expect questions like this one to understand your work habits. Share tactics you use personally to stay organized, motivated and connected while working from home.
“To stay productive remotely, I create and stick to specific routines that differentiate work time from personal time, like getting fully ready in the morning before logging on. I minimize distractions by blocking time without meetings for focused work. I also overcommunicate with my manager and colleagues to ensure alignment.”
11. Tell me about yourself.
While this open-ended prompt can throw some candidates off, it’s actually a great opportunity. Keep your answer concise while touching on 3 key points:
- A quick background summary
- Your most relevant strengths and achievements
- Why you’re passionate about the company and role
“I’m a customer education professional with over 5 years experience at mid-sized tech companies. I spearheaded training programs that drove double-digit increases in customer retention. I’m passionate about your product education manager role because I’m eager to empower BambooHR’s customers with an excellent learning experience that helps them succeed.”
12. What are your greatest strengths?
With this common question, share strengths that align with
Create a seamless hiring experience from application to offer letter.
BambooHR helps you manage and personalize every candidates experience. Plus, our Hiring Mobile App helps busy recruiting teams collaborate together and keep top candidates engaged.
The 30+ Best Questions for an Internal Interview
When you ask questions in an internal interview, make sure they are about these four important “soft skills”:
- Leadership
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Time Management
Below, you’ll find a list of internal job interview questions which will cover these four core development areas. There will also be questions in each category to find out why the employee wants to make the change and if they will stay with the company if they don’t get the new job. Take these considerations into account as you select your internal interview questions.
Remember that any questions you ask in an interview should be open questions, which means they need more than one answer.
Questions to Ask in an Interview – Top Interview Tips for Job Seekers, Managers and HR | BambooHR
How can BambooHR help you improve your hiring experience?
The key is to narrow your internal interview questions to focus on the most important aspects required of the role and its career path. Remember, honest consideration can fuel engagement among your employees. Create a seamless hiring experience from application to offer letter. BambooHR helps you manage and personalize every candidate’s experience.
How does BambooHR work?
BambooHR helps you build an effective onboarding process with customizable onboarding checklists, welcome emails, and new hire packets—so every new hire feels welcome on day one. How can you tell if a candidate is “right”? Here are 35 interview questions to ask candidates to find top talent, plus what not to ask.
How does BambooHR offboarding® work?
With BambooHR Offboarding®, you can navigate exit interviews more easily. Our tools will help you end employee relationships on a positive note while ensuring that your business is professional, proactive, and compliant. Learn more today! What Is An Exit Interview? An exit interview is held with an employee who is about to leave an organization.
Why should you use BambooHR?
It often leads to validation and praise for a great candidate, but it can also prompt them to share red flags. Create better first days. BambooHR helps you build an effective onboarding process with customizable onboarding checklists, welcome emails, and new hire packets—so every new hire feels welcome on day one.
