Credit controller interview questions

Once you a have a number of candidates for a position as credit controller, you’ll need to get “behind the mask” of each interviewee with some key questions. Use our document to ensure you cover the same ground with each potential recruit.

Two key areas

Split your notes from your review of candidates’ CVs into the two key areas you want information about them on, that is:

• technical skills/professional qualifications
• current employer, role and customer base. It's useful to prepare a checklist of questions you may wish to ask.

The interviews

During the interview stage ask candidates to demonstrate their knowledge of any relevant skills or techniques through real-life examples from their own work experience. This could include their collection methods, telephone techniques and sales ledger management disciplines. In order to allow you to compare workloads between their company and yours, ask them to put frequencies (how often?), volumes (how many?) and values (how much?) on what they say they do.

Ask them to explain how the credit control function fits into the overall structure of their current employer’s business. In this way, you will be able to draw parallels and conclude if that experience is relevant to you. Overall, do they come across as the organised person you need who will fit in with other members of your company?

When it comes to qualifications, the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) qualification is highly respected. However, there are many successful credit controllers who have never taken the ICM qualification. By experience, these people have developed many of the skills that are required for effective credit management so you shouldn’t necessarily make the ICM a pre-requisite.

Use our Credit Controller Interview Questions to establish whether each candidate’s technical skills and experience are compatible with your company’s needs. Get them to explain how the credit control function fits into the overall structure of their current employer’s business.