So the management position you’ve been dreaming about has finally become vacant. It’s your time to shine!
The manager job interview is a pivotal moment in your career. We’ve been there so we know how important this is to you, therefore we put together this guide to help you begin your leadership journey.
I. Before the interview
Introspection
Do some soul searching to determine whether this next step in your career is the right one for you. I have seen new managers rise and fall. I have seen managers grow resentful of their new role. The life of a manager is not easy, it comes with a lot of challenges and a ton of stress.
Here are some of the most important questions that you need to ask yourself before attending the interview:
Why do you want to become a manager?
What would you love and hate about the job?
How will your life change if you get the job?
Attire
Attire is a big topic. Keep this in mind: don’t overdo it! The way you dress is important, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
Show respect to the job and the interviewers, but be yourself. The interview will be stressful, so don’t add to the level of discomfort by wearing clothes that don’t represent you. A smart-casual attire will usually do the job!
In the end, the interviewers should pick you for your brains, not for your clothes!
II. The interview
Q: Tell us about yourself.
Talk about your professional life only. The interviewers will not be interested in your personal achievements.
Do a brief presentation of your professional history with an emphasis on your achievements and specific qualities that make you fit for the manager role.
Bring up specific situations from your past where you demonstrated:
- Competence at your job
- Your ability to be assertive
- Your interest in helping your peers
- Your resilience to stress and ability to tackle unexpected issues
Here’s an acronym to remember these more easily:
C – Competence
A – Assertiveness
P – Peers
S – Stress
Make sure that you are clear and concise when answering this question – be thorough, but leave out non-essential information.
Be aware that the interviewers will use this opportunity to also measure your communication skills: your fluency and ability to present information in an organized fashion, and your capacity to be concise and to the point.
Q: Why did you apply for this job?
There is no perfect answer to this question. Just be honest with the interviewers. You prepared for this question pre-interview, so tell them what is your motivation behind applying to the job.
Also, mention how you would change the business for the better. Be sure to have prepared an action plan beforehand.
State your specific goal, for example “I’ll improve the team’s productivity by 20%”, then go over the actual actions that you’ll exercise in order to move towards that goal.
What the interviewers will check here is whether your personality fits the job and if you have a plan that may bring more value to the business.
Q: What would you do in your first week?
Again, a great opportunity for you to show them that you thought this through, that you have a plan and are in control.
In your first week you need to focus on 3 elements:
L – Learning
T – Team
C – Connections
Regarding the learning element, you need to act as a sponge, ask as many questions as possible, do research and TAKE NOTES. Your duty is to learn as much as possible in the shortest time.
The team is also very important. You need to get to know the team that you are leading. Study their performance and hold the introductory 1-2-1 meetings.
Making connections is vital. And when I say “Connections” I’m referring to department leaders that you’ll have to interact with. Take a few minutes to introduce yourself, get to know them and schedule a recurring monthly meeting to discuss interdepartmental issues.
And start making a list with names to remember who leads what department!
Q: How will you fix low performance?
We have already created a blog post on this topic, so please check it out for an in-depth view.
Long story short, you need to listen carefully, determine the root cause and be committed to fixing it.
Q: How would you manage a remote team?
Remote work is more common than ever, so a manager needs to adapt their approach to meet this challenge.
There’s a lot to say about this as well, but to keep it short, a manager needs to do their best to imitate the normal work environment.
So, you need to:
- Hold a daily team huddle in the morning, every morning – keep them up to date
- Do regular check-ups to ensure the team is working properly – jump in if they ever need help
- Schedule a weekly social meeting
Always keep your camera on! And encourage your team members to do the same.
Basically, you would want the team to see you as a present leader.
Q: Do you have any questions for us?
Write down 3 to 5 questions that you want to ask. Remember that you should only ask job-related questions, don’t ask the interviewers about their pets – just bringing it up because it happened to me….several times.
A great idea would be to ask the interviewers why the last manager left. Maybe the last manager was right to leave, no one wants to work in a toxic environment.
Another good question is to ask them to describe a day in the life of the manager they’re planning to hire. This will give you a better idea about what’s to come and help you decide if the job fits your personality.
Also, ask them about the long-term goals for that department, and about how the new manager will fit in their plan. Will the new manager make a difference or just act as a puppet to upper management?