Tell me about a time when you were unsuccessful in filling a job order. How did you handle the situation?

Temp recruiters work with tight deadlines, important client needs, unreliable candidates (at times!), and a variety of circumstances out of their control. In this high-pressure, fast-paced environment, the interviewer wants to know how you react when failures occur or you fall short. Nobody is perfect. Show the interviewer that you get back up and try again, never giving up in the face of perceived failure. The best temp recruiters have grit, and the interviewer wants to see that this is a characteristic you possess.

"Just last month I had a client give me 24 hours to fill ten warehouse picker openings. I was able to fill eight of the ten; however, the morning of their shift start, two of the temps did not show up. I was not thrilled with this 60% success rate; however, rather than becoming too discouraged, I picked up the phone and started calling. I had the four open spots filled by the end of the day and my client was thrilled."