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Ask good questions.
- What will you miss about the (outgoing manager’s name)?
- What works well in this department, and what could be better?
- What are your hopes for this transition?
- What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the new manager?
Interviewing for a management position? Even if you’ve never been a manager before, you’ll want to clearly demonstrate to the interviewers your managerial skills and leadership philosophy.
This article will reveal 10 questions you should reflect on and be prepared to answer in your interview for a management role (in addition to other common interview questions). Even if your prospective employers don’t ask every one of these, preparing to answer them will help you gain clarity on your strengths and the way you approach management and leadership—so you can communicate your capabilities with ease no matter what question you’re answering.
In my role as an executive coach and organizational consultant for mission-driven companies, I’ve helped many managers and leaders showcase their talents and knowledge in interviews for jobs and with media outlets. And if I’ve learned one thing, it’s the power of telling a good story to show the talent of a current or potential manager or leader through action, instead of asking possible employers to take their word for it.
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Often the best interview questions are ones that ask for stories from the candidates work history. “Tell me about a time that you faced a challenge dealing with a co-worker” will tell you a lot about how this particular candidate views her workplace relationships, and whether she can bring a level of maturity to tricky situations at the office. “Describe a situation in which you couldnt complete a project your boss asked you to carry out” should let you know whether your candidate can admit to mistakes and learn from them.
Ask the candidate to summarize her relationship with her previous boss. What youre looking for here is not just the bland, generic answer that many candidates will come up with; youre looking for a genuine sense of warmth and collegial respect that indicates the interviewee is capable of forming close working relationships.
You want the person whos working with you to have some drive and ambition, so ask about where she sees herself in five years time. Look for an answer that talks about the accomplishments and skills she wants to acquire, rather than a response that indicates shes just someone whos interested in climbing the greasy pole. Look for someone who values professional development over acquiring titles.
Going into a candidate search, be very clear about the job description of the position youre hiring for. Having this certain in your own mind will make it much easier to spot the perfect candidate. Form a defined idea of the hard skills you need from your candidate, and ask technical questions to elicit her knowledge in those areas.
Youll make a better hire if you get a true sense of the candidates personality. Thats easier to see if you allow her to relax during at least some of the interview. When youre past the tough questions and you think this might be the one, spend some time asking more low-key questions, or probe her opinions to see if the real person will emerge. Just be careful not to stray into anything too personal, which can be problematic in a professional situation.
As a manager, your leadership skills are going to be tested often, so you can expect some behavioral interview questions about your interaction with subordinates and how you deal with conflict in the workplace. Answer any of these type of questions carefully.
No matter how you traditionally manage, you need to make sure you sound like a fair and loving boss. You should not talk like you are wiser or more experienced. Instead, share a story about calm and measured disagreement, what you learned, and how the company benefitted. Or, if you caught an employee doing something illegal or slacking off, you can talk about that disagreement as well.
This doesn’t really make you look like an outstanding boss. No story that ends with you getting your way just because you’re the boss is a good story.
Once you’ve reached management level, there is a good chance you have several years of work experience that the interviewer can ask you about. That is why management interviews often have a lot of behavioral questions.
This is a disagreement, but only in the beginning. By the end of the story you have shared a tale that makes you look like someone that recognizes brilliance and communicates well with subordinates. These kinds of stories are much better for your employment chances.
What to Know Before Your Management Interview
Before we get to the common questions for management interviews, let’s start with a few things you should know going in.
You Should Be Ready to Tell Stories
Once, while preparing a mid-level manager to interview for a managing director role, I asked her, “Which acts of leadership are you most proud of?” Her first instinct was to answer generically: “We’ll, we’ve met almost every deadline for three years in a row.” But when I pressed her for specifics about how she’d succeeded as a leader of people, she had a much more compelling and informative answer:
“I once had this really talented direct report who was always late. Timeliness is one of our company’s core values, and the employee and I discussed and tried to troubleshoot the issue many times. He would improve, maybe for a week. Senior management noticed when he arrived late twice to company-wide meetings. I didn’t know what to do. The thought of firing him really upset me, because he was talented.
“Then, I had an idea. I asked him to take charge of the morning staff meetings: to review and organize the agendas the night before, introduce the main topic and structure, and manage the time at the meeting. It was risky to reward someone who wasn’t following the rules, but frankly, no one else wanted the job. He embraced it and showed up on time religiously, knowing that the team was depending on him.”
This manager’s story revealed her ingenuity in dealing with people, playing to their strengths, problem-solving, and working with a team. The ability to convey so many details to your prospective employers is why storytelling is the most powerful tool in your interview kit.
As you prepare for a management interview, mine your work experience for management and leadership wins. Even if you haven’t been a manager before, you’ve still demonstrated leadership in training others, managing projects, motivating colleagues, contributing ideas, thinking strategically, and holding others accountable. Take some time to reflect on your work experience and jot down significant moments when you led. These are the basis for your stories, which should reveal one or all of the following:
FAQ
How do you deal with a difficult subordinate interview question?
- What’s your management style?
- How do you see a manager’s role on a team?
- How do you motivate a team?
- Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult employee.
- How would your colleagues describe you?
- Describe how you delegate tasks to team members.
- Other frequently asked interview questions.
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers for managers?
Should subordinates interview their boss?
- Why do you think you would be a good supervisor? …
- How would you describe your management skills? …
- What three factors improve teamwork and success? …
- What is your management style? …
- Describe the toughest challenge you’ve faced at work and how you overcame it.
What kind of questions are asked in a supervisor interview?
- Why do you think you would be a good supervisor? …
- How would you describe your management skills? …
- What three factors improve teamwork and success? …
- What is your management style? …
- Describe the toughest challenge you’ve faced at work and how you overcame it.
