What experience do you have in managing and maintaining different human resource information systems?

"During the ten years that I've been in the HR field, I have extensive working knowledge in the Kronos and Oracle systems. My experience with these systems was focused on the database, time management and employee interface sections of the systems. In my current role, I helped develop and customize the staff interfacing portion of the system and the roll out of that interface went over extremely well. I feel that I am very proficient in learning new systems and I would be a step ahead of my competitors for this position in that aspect. And while I don't have a lot of experience on the payroll and benefits side of the common HRIS systems, learning and becoming proficient in them would not be an issue with new clients."

If hired for this position with Alexander Mann Solutions, you will be working with many different organizations in an HR consulting role. As part of the duties of your job, you'll need to have an extensive working knowledge of different systems and your interviewer will be looking to gain insight to your experience here with this question. In talking about your experience with different systems, make sure that your interviewer gets the sense that you are proficient in learning new systems and that you fully understand that capabilities that HR information systems are capable of.

"Having been in the field for close to 20 years, I feel fortunate to have witnessed to progression of basic payroll systems to the sophisticated tools that modern HRIS systems have become today. Infor, SAP and Workday are the systems that I'm most familiar with. During my career, I've worked in just about every aspect of the systems and I feel very comfortable in my ability to speak to and work on any new system with your clients."

Our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions expect top notch work from our consultants. How do you ensure that your work is error free when conducting research and/or data analysis?

"For me, ensuring accurate data and error free work starts in the data collection process. I always make sure that they type of data collected is well defined to avoid unnecessary data in the analysis. Then, quality work comes down to organizing data in the best fashion possible and cleansing the data regularly. I know some analysts overlook these second two steps a lot of times, but the fact remains that these two steps are often the biggest hurdles to providing quality measurements to those that need it most."

While certainly an open ended question for you to talk about your detailed and thorough work, your interviewer is simply looking to hear that you have a plan for ensuring quality work each and every day you are on the job. Talk about the importance for providing accurate and reliable data and walk through any steps that you take to ensure that your work is error free. In the consulting world, the reputation of Alexander Mann Solutions will rely on the accuracy of your work.

"Organization is the main key to ensuring accurate and mistake free data analysis. My organization starts with setting a data collection strategy and asking the right questions to ensure that the data I am collecting is the right data. Oftentimes, analysts live and die by the idea that executing and getting things done as quickly as possible is the only way of data analysis. This couldn't be farther from the truth and as the old saying goes, proper planning prevents poor performance."

We value accountability at Alexander Mann Solutions. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

"I understand that Alexander Mann Solutions has put a lot of work into building these long-term client relationships. If one of your clients complained about my communication with them, I would take full responsibility for my actions and issue an apology. I would also be open to feedback to avoid future incidences. Rest assured, in my 15 years of employment, I have not had any clients complain to my employer about my work ethic or delivery of service."

Assure the interviewer that you are a person of integrity who will take responsibility for any shortcomings in the workplace. Briefly explain to the interviewer that you will handle Alexander Mann Solutions customers with great care.

"Constructive feedback is difficult to swallow at times, but it's helpful for me to remember that everyone receives constructive feedback from time to time. I will always do what is required of me to renew a client relationship."

We value diversity at Alexander Mann Solutions. When have you worked amongst a diverse group of people?

"I have worked with diverse groups of people most of my career, including my time in University. I am most comfortable, and happy, in this type of environment because it offers a great learning opportunity."

Are you accustomed to working with a very large or diverse team of individuals? Assure the interviewer that you can handle an environment that offers diversity.

"In my current role, I work alongside cross-functional teams regularly. Together, we manage our business and effectiveness. I enjoy the diversity component."

In our world here at Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?

"Working as a Financial Manager over the past 10 years, I have become very experienced and thorough in my use of KPI's to demonstrate key areas like gross profit margin, liquidity ratio and days in accounts receivables. For the clients I'd be working with here at Alexander Mann Solutions, I'd be able to use real data from their organization to help provide solutions that are customized to their needs. On top of KPI analyses, I'm very willing and open to using any other unique tools of the trade that the team here at Alexander Mann Solutions uses."

In the business consulting world, an organization like Alexander Mann Solutions is contracted to come in and help a business where they have usually failed in the past. With past failures comes the need for critical analysis of a business and/or process and your job will be to help facilitate this process. Prior to your interview, think about your experiences in data analysis you've had so far up to this point in your career and translate those experiences to helping the clients of Alexander Mann Solutions. Be sure to talk about the importance of different programs you have used to assist in data analysis and talk about the importance of communication in the data collection process.

"Coming from a software background, being analytical about implementing new systems and processes was vital to receive buy-in from other department that I worked with and my analytical skills in my current world would translate nicely into the consulting world. I have always had a creative mind in demonstrating how new and improved systems can impact workflow and production. I am very proficient in creating and presenting wireframing models, which are extremely analytical and important in this world here at Alexander Mann Solutions."

At Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you explain benchmark data to a client and its importance?

"In simple Layman's terms, I would explain benchmarking to clients by explaining that it is taking the best practice metrics from other peers within their industry using very quantitative measurements. In turn, I would explain that this benchmarking gives a starting point for their organization to set goals once internal metrics are obtained and compared to the benchmarked data."

Benchmarking data is often an overlooked piece of information for organizations to consider when factoring their performance against industry competition. In the end, businesses are in competition and to gain an edge over their rivals, proper benchmarking needs to be done to get a true comparison. As an expert consultant to their clients, the leadership team at Alexander Mann Solutions and your interviewer will expect you to know the importance of benchmarking.

"Far too many times during my career have I witnessed organizations that were hesitant to even look at benchmarked data for their industry. I first do my best to sell leaders on the importance of comparing apples to apples within their industry to get a true gauge for how their company is performing. Then, once I receive buy-in to the process, I can then move forward with gathering information from a client on what best benchmarking measures would be. This is a tedious but necessary process with any data analytics project."

How would you go about conducting a compensation analysis for executive level positions with our clients at Alexander Mann Solutions?

"My first step to conduct the compensation analysis for the position would be to speak with leaders from the client and learn more about the position and the goals for the position and the eventual hire. This would enable me to effectively compare this position to currently existing positions. Then, I'd use market research that I have access to or could find to have a comparable salary. Fully understanding that executive level positions can vary greatly from industry to industry, I would use every detail possible to get the best analysis and final salary number possible. This process, when detailed to clients, would pain a clear picture for them to gain belief in the process."

Due to the fact that a lot of organizations do not include executive level positions in their salary grades or ranges, this position with Alexander Mann Solutions may provide the need for you to conducts compensation analysis studies for clients. Talk to your interviewer about your experience in conducting compensation analyses during your career and walk through how you would do this executive level positions. In the end, reiterate the importance of how you would obtain buy-in on this process from the clients you would be working with.

Market research is very important to our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions. Talk about a time that you used market research to conduct an effective analysis.

"Earlier this year, I consulted with an online retailer that was looking to expand its product line into new health and beauty products that were all natural. To get as quick of a turnaround as possible on a limited budget, I started an online survey research campaign. After a meeting with leadership of the retailer, we targeted women in specific age categories and used specific social media and email channels to obtain survey responses. Within a month, the retailer had great data to work off of to launch products that would hit the market and take off quickly."

When a company is looking to launch a new product or dig into their consumers, market research is required and this position with Alexander Mann Solutions will likely require you to be a market research expert with their clients. Your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand when market research is a necessary step in the analysis process and that you know how run an effective research campaign. In your example, walk through the steps you took to gain insightful knowledge on consumers.

"During my time conducting market research, I have utilized many channels to conduct effective research. I've conducted focus group, utilized social media and have conducted phone surveys. One that comes to mind is a couple of years ago when I conducted focus groups for a new beverage that a large company wanted to release. I had a team of people finding people to participate in the groups. I started the focus group out with a blind taste testing to get initial feedback on the drink against its potential competition in the market. Then, I unveiled the product packaging and labeling to get feedback from the consumers. In the end, our client received great feedback that helped them tweak some things prior to the product launch."

For our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions that are working through a change management project, accountability is of utmost importance for the entire organization. How would you help ensure accountability from the leadership team?

"Having walked many organizations through some major change processes, one of my top priorities is always communication and transparency to staff. And you really hit the nail on the head with this question that both of these things lead to accountability for the organization. To help facilitate this process, my conversations with leadership would entail details on how to effectively communicate with staff and I'm a firm believer that this should happen from both the highest levels of leadership as well as from direct supervisors and managers of employees. I have experience developing communication strategies and actual presentations for leadership in this realm."

As a consultant to organizations in the midst of a change management process, accountability should be a priority for the leadership team and one of your tasks as the consultant is to help foster this with the entire staff. With accountability comes transparency, so be sure to focus on this aspect in your answer. Talk about why you feel that accountability and transparency are important and how you would make sure that the leaders you work with keep these things at the top of mind during their process.

"In my experience, accountability for an organization during a change process is a tricky line to walk. First, employees want to know what is happening and the reasoning behind it. Second, customers, stakeholder and the general public may desire information as well. Then, you have to factor in what information can be shared for legal and/or competitive reasons and walk the organization through best communicating the changes to everybody. I have a great deal of experience in walking through this process of holding an organization accountable and would love to help the clients of Alexander Mann Solutions do just this."

In the change management process, talk about the importance of providing a clear vision to staff of an organization. How do you think this is best done?

"As I've worked with organizations on their change management processes, I've always felt it was important that communications were clear from the start of a change process. When people are left in the dark, they naturally can't understand why changes are being implemented and they become defensive and resistant to change. Last year, I worked with a manufacturing company that was implementing new equipment that would reduce their staffing needs and change the jobs of many individuals. To roll this out to employees, I helped the leadership team prepare a detailed video and presentation that outlined the entire vision of the project. What really hit home with the staff was the dire need to take this direction based on competitors cost of goods and the fear of being driven out of the market."

The change management process is often most difficult for front-line staff at an organization. A big reason for resistance to change is that people aren't seeing the big picture, or reasons, for the change and what positive outcomes will happen with the change. Explain to your interviewer why you feel that providing a vision is important and talk about the need for it to come from leadership within the organization. Then, give any examples of providing a vision that you've been a part of during your career.

"Humans are curious and change is only accepted when people understand why change is happening and what the end result will be with the change. For one particular employer that I spent time with, a good portion of five years was spent acquiring smaller businesses and expansion in both product line and region size was happening rapidly. Upon working with our senior leadership, I helped develop a vision document and accompanying slide show to show the future state of the organization ten years down the road. When staff saw the aggressive growth plans of the organization and the potential great things we all could accomplish, buy-in became much more clear from everyone."

How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?

"I really pride myself on my ability to multitask and my ability to stay organized in key in multitasking. For me personally, organization starts with using technology to my advantage and I do this through the use of my Outlook calendar and tasks functions. I take time each day to update my tasks and project work and use my ability to prioritize tasks to ensure that the right things are being worked on. In looking to bring these skills to long-term project work with your clients, staying organized and on task will be extremely important for the success of both Alexander Mann Solutions and your clients."

Working for Alexander Mann Solutions in the role you are interviewing for will require an innate ability to manage projects from conception to final implementation. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you have the ability to maintain organization to meet deadlines and customer expectations. Talk about your personal methods for organizing project work and give any examples that you have of your methods being successful. In the consulting and advisory industry, customer satisfaction and word of mouth are integral to success and growth of a business and effective project management is key in satisfaction.

"In my work, the ability to stay organized and on track comes down to having a plan of attack for each project and keeping track of the plan as milestones are hit. If you are familiar with the program Trello, it really helps me organize all of the components of the projects that I work on and give me the ability to track who is doing what, what deadlines are coming and what milestones have been hit. But even with a great program like this, I always have the ability to re-prioritize due dates and new tasks as needed with any project."

A key component to success here at Alexander Mann Solutions is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?

"I am a firm believer that success in any role I've played in my career was due in part to the relationships that I've built in those roles. Whenever I have the chance to work with a new colleague or a new customer, my approach is to create an initial connection with them to build trust. After that point, my interpersonal skills take over through active listening. I use my listening skills to learn about the motivating factors and needs of the person that I will be working with and this helps mold that respect and trust between us even more. I think this approach would be very critical in working with new clients on a regular basis here at Alexander Mann Solutions and I'd love the opportunity to bring these skills to the table for you."

The fast paced world of business consulting requires the ability to build relationship after relationship with all of the clients that you will potentially be working with. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you build relationships with new people from the first time you interact with them. In your answer, talk about how you gain and build trust with new people and explain how the little things in your initial interactions go a long way toward building long lasting working relationships.

How would you solicit feedback from people during the change management process and why is obtaining feedback important?

"Front line employees are the catalysts for change with just about any organization and I make a point to seek their feedback during the implementation of change processes. Last year, I was working with a large regional retailer that was rolling out new branding and customer service processes. In the weeks following the rollout of the changes, I spend a few days on the road visiting stores and talking to customer service associates. I ensured that the conversations were confidential and frank, making sure that employees knew that any feedback was good feedback. With some of the things I learned, we were able to put forth a couple of important post-implementation change activities. If hired for this position, this would be an important follow-up step with any client that I work with."

Reinforcement is an important factor during the change management process that is often overlooked. Communication is key and while you as the champion of change need to communicate in an effective manner, your collection and analysis of feedback from others is also very important. Explain to your interview why obtaining feedback from others is important and discuss ways that you have done this in the past. Express that this would always be an important process as you work with the clients of Alexander Mann Solutions.

"In my work consulting through change management processes, it is important to solicit feedback from employees both prior to starting a project and during implementation of a project. I have found that soliciting feedback through conversation and/or surveys helps lead to get employees to believe in and feel a part of change management processes. Front-line employees know the processes and how change will impact their processes."

As a consultant here at Alexander Mann Solutions, helping our clients set growth strategies through both short-term and long-term goals is important. Give an example of a time that you set both short and long-term goals for a growth strategy.

"A couple of years ago, I helped a healthcare organization on the west coast develop a growth plan that entailed building one new hospital and three new clinic locations over the course of five years. As the liaison for the entire plan, I knew that goal was aggressive, yet very achievable, if the right short term goals were set. In working with high level leadership and then with specific department leaders, goals and timelines were set for obtaining funding, building permits, staffing plans and ribbon cutting from the start. Even to this day, I stay in contact with the leaders on a consultative basis to ensure that any hiccups in the short-term goals help meet the long-term goals. In the end, the success of a long-term goal is always reliant on many smaller short-term goals."

An effective growth strategy has a long-term plan, but the success of the long-term plan is reliant on short-term, tiered goals that help build towards the long-term goals of the plan. In your answer, explain that you know the importance of goal setting and the fact that short-term goals are important in the process. Then, discuss a time where you developed and met goals when helping an organization move toward strategic success.

"During my time in manufacturing, I've quickly learned the importance of both short-term and long-term goals in achieving growth goals over time. Hitting short-term goals leads to success in the long-term and I utilize both long and short-term goals when developing growth strategies. This is best shown with my current organization when we developed a fiscal growth strategy to increase overall revenue by 25% over the course of three years. We looked in many directions to help this, but our main focuses were in increased production and reduced waste. By casting such a wide net here, short term goals for each aspect of the project were vital to the end result of increasing by revenue by over 35% in that time frame. What a success!"

When we work with our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, an important part of receiving buy-in from them is attained through business diagrams and charts. What experience do you have in creating and presenting business diagrams and charts?

"In my current role, I regularly create and present process flowcharts and activity diagrams to our staff. I recently created an activity diagram that outlined a production process in our facility. I am very proficient in using Visio to create these and my presentation was very eye opening to the staff that I presented to. In the hour long presentation and meeting, many key areas of focus were brought to the attention of leadership for focus on future improvement. If hired for this role, I'd be very comfortable in working with clients on effective charting and presentation to them in this area."

In a consulting role with Alexander Mann Solutions, analysts are required to have the ability to present data and information to clients in an easy to understand manner. In this role, you will be working with employees from all different levels of the organization that you consult and putting information into layman's terms is extremely important. One effective way to do this is through the use of business diagrams and charts and for this question, your interviewer is looking to find out what type of experience you have in diagramming and charting. Talk about your experience with things like flowcharts and activity diagrams and explain why visuals are important for stakeholders.

"With a background in quality, I am very familiar with swimlane flowcharting and I've used this many times with my current organization to highlight where different departments interact and crossover in processes. While I've most often relied on the administrative assistant in my department in the creation of these, I am very comfortable in learning how to create them with my solid technical skills. My forte definitely lies with presenting and explaining processes to stakeholders."

Talk about a time that you used data to your advantage during the recruitment process. How did this data lead to success?

"A couple of years ago, I was working with large general contracting company that was having trouble recruiting project managers in their region. Knowing the industry quite well, I wanted to really delve into where past successful hires had been sourced from and use that to the companies advantage in where they'd spend advertising dollars. Unfortunately, they had an archaic system for applicants because paper applications were housed in the finance office back at their corporate office. I took time to dig through files to see where recent project manager hires had found out about the jobs. With that in mind, we focused recruitment efforts on college construction program career fairs and two industry specific publications. These efforts had never been looked into in the past and they helped lead to two great hires in a short amount of time."

Year after year, data is becoming more readily available to HR and recruiting professionals and your interviewer is looking to hear that you are resourceful in utilizing data to your advantage in recruitment efforts. Think of a time where you used data to help improve a recruitment campaign or effort and be sure to explain why the data was important to helping in the success of the recruitment effort. Make sure your interviewer walks away knowing that you are a resourceful consultant that can be unique and creative with their clients at Alexander Mann Solutions.

"Based on my current organization's low acceptance rate of offers, I approached our senior leadership team on the main reasons why offers were being declined. Based on data, I was tasked with doing market research for competing jobs to help ensure that our offers were fair compared to our competition in the job market. As well, we wrote new recruitment procedures for both hiring managers and our recruitment staff to ensure clear communication to candidates on expectations for jobs. In the end, the senior leadership team ended up approving new pay scales for several positions and an increase in the total benefits package. To this day, we are seeing a much higher acceptance rate just due to becoming more competitive and more clear in our job expectations."

Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

"Probably the aspect that I love the most about my current job is being the lead for training new hires into our department. Because of my years of experience and my innate ability to effectively orientate new employees, my director asked me to take this duty about four years ago. My approach with any new hire is to customize their training based on their knowledge and experience so the training is effective for them. What works for one person may not work for another and I always need to be fluid with this. I also prioritize the need to make orientation and training a hands on experience for the new hire because classroom learning can only take a person so far in the learning process."

The role that you are interviewing for with Alexander Mann Solutions will likely involve providing education to clients in your area of expertise. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable and effective in providing education by having you talk about a time that you have done so. In the example that you provide, try to point out some key items to making business education successful like developing a plan/goals, respecting differing viewpoints/opinions, making it hands on and making it fun.

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last seven years working in the corporate tax field. While in this job, I worked very independently for a private organization, so I've been out of the training and education side for a while now. During my first job out of college as a CPA though, I was very adept at providing education to the clients that I worked with on a daily basis. What I learned in that experience was the importance of putting material out there in a manner that the person being trained understood. As well, talking to clients and understanding my client's wants and needs were very important for me to be able to best educate them. I really believe that these skills would enable me to hit the ground running with Alexander Mann Solutions and your clients would benefit greatly."

What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Alexander Mann Solutions?

"At this point in my career, I feel like I have really maxed out my capabilities in my current role as the IT Director with my current organization. Over the past two or three years, I've found so much fulfillment in my work when I've been helping others and providing education to them that I've narrowed my job search down to the IT consulting field. The prospect of helping other IT departments grow and become more efficient under my consultation is an adventure that I would love to embark on here at Alexander Mann Solutions!"

Anytime the question regarding why you want to join the company is asked, it is very important to do your research on the organization and the position you are interviewing for so you can match your skills and desires to the job. In your answer here, be sure that you also speak to the potential move to a consultative type role if this will be the first time for you with a consulting organization. Be sure to highlight your qualities that make you an ideal fit for the job.

"As I've grown in my role in the Training & Education department with my current employer, I've gravitated toward leadership development and succession planning with my organization and I'd like to bring these skills to work here at Alexander Mann Solutions as this position fits right in that mold. Using my experience and knowledge, you'll quickly find that I have a great ability to work alongside and train the top level executives with your clients in a manner that is professional and effective at the same time. My experiences in both healthcare and manufacturing sound like they'd fit well with your client base as well."

Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

"In my current role, I have a customer that flies off the handle very easily if things don't happen just right and I learned this from my first interactions with him. In seeing this happen from the start, I have always maintained a calm demeanor when he was upset and showed empathy by asking questions about his expectations and how to fix situations for him. To this day, I expect difficulty from him when we work together and the years we've had a working relationship together have better prepared me for more clients like him in the future."

At some point in any person's career, they have to work with a colleague or customer who is extremely difficult. Rather than looking to hear the fine details as to why this person was difficult, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you personally handled the situation and others like it to ensure that a sound relationship was fostered even when you faced difficult circumstances. In your answer, some key things to focus on are your ability to be tolerant, understanding and a great communicator in these situations.

"A couple of years ago, a close colleague of mine had a very abrupt turnaround in her attitude and performance on the job. She was very curt and abrasive in conversations when she was normally very talkative and friendly on the job. After noticing some concerns in her work, I approached her with an open mind and asked her what was going on to cause these things to change. I showed concern and approached her as a friend and this approach prompted her to tell me about some issues happening in her personal life. By taking this approach, rather than getting upset or even made with her, I showed her that I cared and valued her as a person and my approach helped her open up and turn her life at work back around to the positive side."

Why is data validation important in your work and how do you make sure that you do it?

"Thoroughness in data analysis is extremely important and an important piece in being as detailed as possible is data validation. My customers are reliant on the fact that data I provide is accurate and a true representation of what we are measuring. To ensure my data is valid, I have written scripts utilizing Python and I have also used the simple steps in Excel even to validate data. While sometimes time consuming, this is a necessary step in any data analysis and is not something that I take lightly."

Data validation can quickly be summed up as 'garbage in equals garbage out.' In essence, any good data analyst needs to ensure that the data they use is functional and relevant to what is being measured so be sure to reiterate that to your interview. Then, explain the ways that you have gone about validating data in the project work that you've done throughout your career. The clients at Alexander Mann Solutions will need to rely on the fact that data is valid and important to the work that you will be doing with them.

What types of challenges have you faced in your career with mangers/leaders when faced with a difficult recruitment effort? Do you see this experience helping you in a consulting role?

"In my current job, I work with large healthcare corporations recruiting C-Suite executives to join their operations. Last year, I was working with a large health system out west that had experienced some bad turnover of their CFO and COO position within weeks of each other. As always, my first order of business with a new client is to conduct an intake session where I interview key stakeholders that will work with the position I am recruiting for. Upon doing this, it became evidently clear that the culture among the group was shattered because of the actions of the CEO of the organization. Being an outside consultant, I began preparing necessary feedback from the stakeholders that I felt impacted the ability to be forthright with candidates that we would have for the position. I used this information to have a direct conversation with the CEO, who I would be working side by side with during the recruitment of both positions. While the initial conversations were difficult at first, she really opened up to me about her leadership style and we used a lot of her style to talk about during screening and interview processes. This ended up with the group making two great hires."

In this role with Alexander Mann Solutions, you will be consulting directors, managers and high level leaders on recruiting new talent into their organization and at times, you will be working with difficult leaders. Dig back on your experience to talk about a time or two where you had to use your knowledge and expertise to convince someone of a process or procedure that would be beneficial and talk about the great results it achieved. Your interviewer will be looking to hear that you can pull from past experiences to work with their clients moving forward successfully.

"During my years doing executive recruitment, the biggest challenges that stuck with me throughout my career were the times that I had to play mediator during the job posting, pre-screening and interview times of recruitment efforts. Many times, when working with high level leaders, opinions can differ greatly and I took it as my responsibility for groups to remain focused on the job description and key qualities of candidates that were desired. I have a knack for mediating groups at that level and would look forward to doing so in consulting here at Alexander Mann Solutions."

With your experience as a Human Resources professional, do you have any niche areas of the field that you'd be most interested in providing consultative services in?

"As you can see from my resume, I have many years of experience as an HR Generalist and Manager where I developed a very broad spectrum of experience across payroll, hiring, performance and HR administration. In the recent four years, I have had a majority of focus in recruitment and retention for management level positions. If I were lucky enough to join the team here at Alexander Mann Solutions, my best areas to work with your clients on would be recruitment and retention of staff. On top of those areas, I still have a great interest in performance management and I bring a great deal of experience in that realm."

As an organization that provides consulting services in Human Resources across many different industries, Alexander Mann Solutions is looking to build a diverse pool of consultants to help clients in the many different areas of HR. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to get a sense of both where most of your experience has been in the field and also where your personal interest falls. Speak openly about both for your interviewer so they can have the best sense possible about where you fit among the needs of the company and their clients.

"Having been an HR professional for over ten years, I feel like I would bring a great amount of experience and knowledge to your clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions. My preferred niche to work in is total rewards, including comp and benefits. I have a multitude of experience in the administration of benefit plans, payroll systems and new compensation policy implementation. I think that this experience would pay off well for clients that are in need of a reset in these areas."

At Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients are looking for us to come in and provide sound leadership in their strategic planning and growth planning processes. What leadership style would you bring to our clients?

"Having worked with and led large teams in the development of formal growth plans for organization, I see my role as a consultant and my leadership with clients as being team-based and collaborative. My job is to lead transformational change within the organization because we will ultimately be trying something new with them and implementing change into the future. From my style of leadership comes improvement through a team based effort and I really think the clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions would benefit greatly from my style."

As a consultant at Alexander Mann Solutions, an expectation from clients is for you to bring a sound leadership style to their team and a working knowledge of effective growth and strategic planning processes. While trying to avoid formal labels, talk about your leadership style as a consultant and explain why your style would most benefit clients. Try to focus on keywords that your leadership style brings, like collaboration and support.

"As a consultant, I'd definitely employ a very democratic approach with your clients. They will be looking for me to provide the blueprint and the road map for success for them and then I would look to delegate and leave responsibility for implementing on them. My approach would be educational, resourceful and would preach teamwork among the entire project team. When I've utilized this approach in the past, it was very well received and helped lead to the success of several large projects."

For many of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, the ability to effectively negotiate executive compensation is key. What negotiating skills will you bring to our clients and what would you say your overall philosophy is regarding negotiating sa

"As an HR professional that has sat at the negotiating table of offers to CEO's, Presidents and other high level executive position, I'd bring a strong working knowledge of executive compensation to your clients. My negotiating are most often predicated on the total rewards package. Many high levels executives get lost in the one number surrounding yearly salary when benefits like pension, travel expenses and healthcare coverage get overlooked. These benefits can also be deal breakers so I always include details on these benefits in compensation conversations and negotiations."

The process of handling the executive compensation process often involves negotiating. As Alexander Mann Solutions gets called upon to consult with their clients, the negotiation process is likely to be a key talking point for you with clients. Talk about the skills you have developed through your career and explain how these skills would be beneficial for the clients of Alexander Mann Solutions. As well, talk at a high level about your philosophy and practice regarding high level salary negotiation.

"The approach I've always taken with C-Suite executive offers is to make it a win-win situation for both the candidate and the organization. In the eyes of executive level candidates, the importance of fair compensation is important so market comp research is something I prioritize. Then, I know how to fairly negotiate for extra skills, abilities and duties that my candidate may be doing above and beyond others in a similar position. This enable me to paint the clear picture that an offer is fair and balanced for both the candidate and the organization."

With a lot of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, we introduce them to new and innovative sourcing strategies to help them hire and retain top talent in their industries. What sourcing strategies are you familiar with and most successful with?

"During my career, I've utilized many sourcing strategies. These have included email blasts to competitors, attending industry events and re-branding to help recruit. But to me, the importance of uniqueness in sourcing is what truly sets an organization apart to attracting top talent. My current organization was having trouble recruiting engineering staff for many years. We attended events, we discretely contacted high profile engineers from across the country and sent out recruitment postcards to members of one of the engineering societies and none of those strategies work. Basing off of past experience, we started a networking campaign among our current engineering staff by doing some recruitment training for them over the course of a couple team meetings. We also approached executive leadership about creating a referral bonus for the engineering staff. Based on the great job satisfaction of our staff, the networking campaign led to four hires within the first six months and truly showed me how powerful expert to expert networking could be."

In the business industry, consultants are often called upon when organizations have exhausted all internal options to get the job done. On the recruitment side of things, you as a consultant must be able to thing outside of the box to come up with new and creative ways to help clients hire new talent into their organization. To gauge how you will do this, your interviewer will be looking to hear about the sourcing strategies you have utilized that are creative and unique and have worked with success. This will allow them insight as to how you will work with potential clients if hired at Alexander Mann Solutions.

"As you are probably aware, the use of different social media platforms as recruitment tools has sure become a game changer in recent years across every industry. Over the past five years, I've tried to really delve into this sourcing strategy and have seen some great successes utilizing sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Slack. With my experience, I really think I could help your clients tap into new passive candidates for their open jobs."

HR is a continually changing field in every industry. If hired here at Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you ensure that you stay up on new trends in the field to best help our clients that span across multiple industries?

"As you can see from my resume, my career in HR has been centered around the customer service and retails industries and I fully realize that this opportunity will have me working with clients in a wide plethora of industries. As an active member of SHRM and a regular attendee of local and national HR conferences, I have built a great network of colleagues across many industries that I could use as a resource to get me up to speed on a new industry like manufacturing. I also subscribe and also have been a contributor to HR Magazine and I know that will be a great resource as well as I look to learn and grow in new industries in this role."

Human Resources job duties and functions can have different nuances based on the industry that HR professionals work in. As you look to transition into a role on the consulting side of the business, you will need to be adaptive and up to speed on trends for each particular industry. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are able to use different resources to ensure that you can just as effective in your consulting to the healthcare field as you can be to the manufacturing industry. As well, your interviewer will be paying close attention to your openness to learning the HR side of industries that you haven't worked with in the past.

"With my experience in the healthcare and mining industries on the east coast, I feel like I would come to Alexander Mann Solutions with a very well-rounded knowledge and experience base to succeed in this role from the start. Knowing I would have to be a continual learner in this role, I would jump at any opportunity for continuing education to help me stay on top of new happenings in the HR field. Up to this point in my career, continuing ed credits have been vital to helping me gain more knowledge that I've used on the job."

Being successful in the consulting industry requires adaptability and the ability to learn a business fast. What would be your approach to help you learn the ins and outs of a new client?

"As you can see from my resume, I've been in corporate training and education for over ten years. In my current role, I have to use similar techniques working with different departments to try and tailor programs that meet their specific needs. I feel that my current approach of hosting an intake meeting with leaders would be effective in a consulting role with external customers. The current intake meetings that I lead are an opportunity for me to ask questions and learn as much as I can about my customers. In turn, it is an opportunity for me to lay the groundwork for the project and set expectations. Do you see this as an effective approach for this role?"

Alexander Mann Solutions contracts with businesses in different industries for their services and it is likely that your job would require you to learn the fine details of each business that you would work with. Demonstrate your ability to be flexible by giving examples of times you've had to do this during your career. As well, describe the approach that you would take to get the know the businesses you would be working with so you can apply your knowledge and expertise toward helping them.

"Having worked in quality roles for most of my career in both the private and public sectors, I think my career experiences have shaped me well for this role. Transitioning to a consultative role would definitely be a transition for me and the biggest transition will be this need to work in many different industries. For me, researching clients, their business and their industry will be the first step to my approach in learning about them. I want to make a great first impression when I am face to face with a new client and that first impression starts with my knowledge. Then, my openness and ability to communicate would take over when I am working directly with clients. I know the right questions to ask for laying out quality initiative projects and I know the right things to educate clients on."

At Alexander Mann Solutions, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

"In my current role, I work directly under our Chief Financial Officer and sit on a couple of different committees that our Chief Executive Officer is on. Under the direction of my CFO, we have a great working relationship. I am comfortable approaching him at any moment with questions or to bring forward new ideas. He is aware of my strengths and respects my opinions on matters in my wheelhouse, so he never hesitates to come to me with important things. I think the keys to our strong relationship are the respect we show for each other and our open lines of communication."

As a business advisory and consulting firm, Alexander Mann Solutions works with Managers, Directors, CEO's, CFO's, CAO's and leaders with other titles on all of our projects. Your role will likely involve working closely with these leaders. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable in working with the leadership team of the organization's clients by having you talk about your experience. Make sure that the examples you provide include some details on how you worked effectively to get the job done with the leaders you worked with.

"Throughout my career, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with employees at all levels of the organizations that I've worked with. To me, working effectively with anyone requires a personal touch and a respectful approach. Whether I work with front line sales staff or members of the C-Suite, I take the time to get to know the person, their job and how I can best be of help to them in my role. This approach really helped me build a relationship with a Sales Executive that a few of my colleagues had struck out with in recent interactions."

Alexander Mann Solutions Interview Questions

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1. What experience do you have in managing and maintaining different human resource information systems?
2. Our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions expect top notch work from our consultants. How do you ensure that your work is error free when conducting research and/or data analysis?
3. We value accountability at Alexander Mann Solutions. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?
4. We value diversity at Alexander Mann Solutions. When have you worked amongst a diverse group of people?
5. In our world here at Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?
6. At Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you explain benchmark data to a client and its importance?
7. How would you go about conducting a compensation analysis for executive level positions with our clients at Alexander Mann Solutions?
8. Market research is very important to our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions. Talk about a time that you used market research to conduct an effective analysis.
9. For our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions that are working through a change management project, accountability is of utmost importance for the entire organization. How would you help ensure accountability from the leadership team?
10. In the change management process, talk about the importance of providing a clear vision to staff of an organization. How do you think this is best done?
11. How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?
12. A key component to success here at Alexander Mann Solutions is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?
13. How would you solicit feedback from people during the change management process and why is obtaining feedback important?
14. As a consultant here at Alexander Mann Solutions, helping our clients set growth strategies through both short-term and long-term goals is important. Give an example of a time that you set both short and long-term goals for a growth strategy.
15. When we work with our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, an important part of receiving buy-in from them is attained through business diagrams and charts. What experience do you have in creating and presenting business diagrams and charts?
16. Talk about a time that you used data to your advantage during the recruitment process. How did this data lead to success?
17. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?
18. What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Alexander Mann Solutions?
19. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
20. Why is data validation important in your work and how do you make sure that you do it?
21. What types of challenges have you faced in your career with mangers/leaders when faced with a difficult recruitment effort? Do you see this experience helping you in a consulting role?
22. With your experience as a Human Resources professional, do you have any niche areas of the field that you'd be most interested in providing consultative services in?
23. At Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients are looking for us to come in and provide sound leadership in their strategic planning and growth planning processes. What leadership style would you bring to our clients?
24. For many of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, the ability to effectively negotiate executive compensation is key. What negotiating skills will you bring to our clients and what would you say your overall philosophy is regarding negotiating sa
25. With a lot of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, we introduce them to new and innovative sourcing strategies to help them hire and retain top talent in their industries. What sourcing strategies are you familiar with and most successful with?
26. HR is a continually changing field in every industry. If hired here at Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you ensure that you stay up on new trends in the field to best help our clients that span across multiple industries?
27. Being successful in the consulting industry requires adaptability and the ability to learn a business fast. What would be your approach to help you learn the ins and outs of a new client?
28. At Alexander Mann Solutions, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

Alexander Mann Solutions Interview Questions

1. What experience do you have in managing and maintaining different human resource information systems?

2. Our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions expect top notch work from our consultants. How do you ensure that your work is error free when conducting research and/or data analysis?

3. We value accountability at Alexander Mann Solutions. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

4. We value diversity at Alexander Mann Solutions. When have you worked amongst a diverse group of people?

5. In our world here at Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?

6. At Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you explain benchmark data to a client and its importance?

7. How would you go about conducting a compensation analysis for executive level positions with our clients at Alexander Mann Solutions?

8. Market research is very important to our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions. Talk about a time that you used market research to conduct an effective analysis.

9. For our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions that are working through a change management project, accountability is of utmost importance for the entire organization. How would you help ensure accountability from the leadership team?

10. In the change management process, talk about the importance of providing a clear vision to staff of an organization. How do you think this is best done?

11. How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?

12. A key component to success here at Alexander Mann Solutions is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship?

13. How would you solicit feedback from people during the change management process and why is obtaining feedback important?

14. As a consultant here at Alexander Mann Solutions, helping our clients set growth strategies through both short-term and long-term goals is important. Give an example of a time that you set both short and long-term goals for a growth strategy.

15. When we work with our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, an important part of receiving buy-in from them is attained through business diagrams and charts. What experience do you have in creating and presenting business diagrams and charts?

16. Talk about a time that you used data to your advantage during the recruitment process. How did this data lead to success?

17. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

18. What interests you in joining the business consulting world here at Alexander Mann Solutions?

19. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

20. Why is data validation important in your work and how do you make sure that you do it?

21. What types of challenges have you faced in your career with mangers/leaders when faced with a difficult recruitment effort? Do you see this experience helping you in a consulting role?

22. With your experience as a Human Resources professional, do you have any niche areas of the field that you'd be most interested in providing consultative services in?

23. At Alexander Mann Solutions, our clients are looking for us to come in and provide sound leadership in their strategic planning and growth planning processes. What leadership style would you bring to our clients?

24. For many of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, the ability to effectively negotiate executive compensation is key. What negotiating skills will you bring to our clients and what would you say your overall philosophy is regarding negotiating sa

25. With a lot of our clients here at Alexander Mann Solutions, we introduce them to new and innovative sourcing strategies to help them hire and retain top talent in their industries. What sourcing strategies are you familiar with and most successful with?

26. HR is a continually changing field in every industry. If hired here at Alexander Mann Solutions, how would you ensure that you stay up on new trends in the field to best help our clients that span across multiple industries?

27. Being successful in the consulting industry requires adaptability and the ability to learn a business fast. What would be your approach to help you learn the ins and outs of a new client?

28. At Alexander Mann Solutions, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?