Benefits Specialist Interview Questions and Answers

Updated on: April 6, 2018

There is no getting out of the interview process so you might as well prepare for it.

No employer is going to hire you based only on scanning your resume and cover letter.

These are just ways of getting into the office of an employer. The real test begins with the interview.

For a benefits specialist position, the following set of interview questions and answers will help you prepare for the event:

 

Benefits Specialist Interview Questions and Answers

As a benefits specialist, what has been your principal duties in the past?
While working as a benefits specialist, I have been responsible for the careful planning and implementation of benefits programs, such as pension, retirement, profit-sharing and stock ownership. Specifically speaking, my work involves researching and analyzing healthcare plans, designing comprehensive benefits packages to meet the needs of a dynamic workforce, and advising management on issues related to benefits programs.

What specific personal skills do you think one requires to be able to work in this arena?
The core of working at the position of a benefits specialist is knowledge of the benefits system. Apart from this, it is imperative to be an excellent communicator, possess exceptional attention to detail, be a good leader, have it in you to be able to handle crises situations involving benefits plans reversal, and possess the capability to think analytically, and rationally.

What is your modus operandi to handle crises associated with benefits programs?
Where crises are concerned, I’m always one step ahead. I make sure that problems do not turn into crises at all. When they do, I look at their cause and try to eliminate it, so that it does not cause issues again.

What is the one thing that you don’t like about working as a benefits specialist?
To be perfectly honest, I love my work. And I do not feel any resentment for any part of it.

As far as hiring and developing your team of benefits administrators and officers is concerned, how do you manage?
Since I have a degree in human resources and have worked in an HR capacity as well, hiring and training the right people for the job is not something that is alien to me. I am aware of all the specifics of determining the right people for the job and then developing their skills to meet the specific needs of the position for which they are being hired.

Where do you want your career to take you from here?
Ideally, I would like to have trained enough to be positioned as a director of the benefits department eventually.