Loan Officer

Loan Officer interview questions:

Skilled candidates for the position of Loan Officer are more abundant than one might expect. While banking experience is valuable, the primary skill sought after for this role is sales experience. To attract exceptional loan originators, hiring managers might consider prioritizing sales skills over banking experience, thereby broadening the pool of qualified candidates from diverse industries.

For mid-career or top-performing loan officers, it’s advisable to focus on applicants with a background in mortgage lending. This may be described as ‘minimal mortgage,’ ‘hard money,’ or ‘minimum productions’ experience. Loan officers are typically employed by a variety of institutions, including commercial banks, mortgage companies, credit unions, and other financial entities.

To assess and hire new loan originators, these open-ended and situational questions can be valuable. However, when hiring experienced loan officers, it’s beneficial to include additional questions that delve into their sales and relationship-building capabilities. For example, inquiries about the number of realtors they currently collaborate with or their rank on their team’s sales performance can be informative. For optimal results, customize your questions to align with the specific work environment and skill level required. Generally, exceptional candidates will ask insightful and pertinent questions, demonstrate familiarity with your company, and have conducted prior research.

Operational and Situational questions:

• How do you generate new business in your current or previous workplace?
• Can you describe your approach and style when it comes to selling?
• What aspects of the mortgage business intrigue you the most?
• If you were to join our team, how would you familiarize yourself with our sales culture during your first week?
• Could you share the size of your client portfolio, and how many of those clients did you personally bring in?
• How would you guide a client through the loan process, ensuring they understand each step?
• Please provide insights into your experience with brokered loans.
• What do you typically do on days when you don’t have prospect appointments scheduled?
• How many prospect appointments did you manage to schedule for this week?
• If you were assigned to work alongside a challenging coworker on the same team, how would you handle the situation?
• Recount a particularly challenging sale you successfully closed.
• Tell me about a time when you had to resolve an issue with an upset client.
• What strategies do you employ to deliver excellent customer service to your clients?
• Share a specific instance when you turned a negative situation with a client into a positive one.