How To Interview For A Management Position

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The best leaders inspire and empower those around them, strengthening the organization with confidence and humility. When youre recruiting for management and leadership positions, its important to take a focused approach that considers a candidates drive and demeanor. Monster understands what separates great leaders from the rest and can help you find them without busting your budget. Find out how you can get started with a free Monster job posting today.

Questions About Your Qualifications

Employers will likely ask questions targeted at assessing whether you have the specific hard and soft skills to perform the job. Review the job description before to get a clear understanding of their expectations, and be prepared to provide examples of how you have previously used those skills with successful results.

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Whats Your Preferred Project Management Methodology

There are almost as many ways to manage a project as there are projects. From traditional methods like waterfall to hybrid methodologies, you want a project manager who understands the many ways to work. And more importantly, can they use the project management methodology that best suits the work at hand?

Tell Me About A Rockstar Employee You Had On Your Team

This should be a direct reflection of the expectations that this person holds not only for the rockstar on the team, but for the entire team.

Plus, it’s also good to note the candidate’s demeanor in their response. Observe the pride they exude when speaking highly of someone on their team. If it’s not there, the candidate may not care enough about the position or restaurant.

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I Like What Im Hearing But Weve Got A Ton Of Great Candidates Why Should We Hire You

An easy question to answer well with one caveat dont slam your fellow interviewees. On the one hand, you have an opportunity to really stand out from the pack. Alternatively, You shouldnt assume the skills of other applicants. Focus on your own strengths, and if the interviewer hasnt given you an opportunity to mention that one slam dunk quality about yourself, now would be the time.

Is there a wrong way to answer this question? Consider the responses below:

• I really need a job right now
• I need the money
• Your office is really close to my house
• Ive always been interested in what you guys do

Notice any commonality here? All of these answers demonstrate a benefit to you. While every employer assumes that these sorts of things play in on some level, these are not the reasons they are going to hire you.

In summation, clearly illustrate what in specific has made you a good employee, and how you envision yourself contributing to and benefiting the company.

Share Some Examples Of The Ways In Which Youve Impacted Worker Safety

What They Want to Know: Occupational health and safety is a major concern of employers, especially in high-hazard workplaces like factories, chemical labs, and construction sites. Describing how youve positively impacted worker safety is a good way to add value to the impression youre providing of your management skillset.

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Have You Worked In This Industry Before

Does the candidate have project management experience in your industry? Thats important because they might excel at the project management methods your company uses, or may have the right risk management skills to manage your projects. If they dont, its not a game-closer. Much of project management is the same from industry to industry. Perhaps they have strong project management skills that relate to your industry, such as project management software skills even if they dont have direct experience. However, if they do have experience in your field, thats a plus, so ask how those relevant projects panned out. Note how confidently they answer behavioral interview questions. You want an authentic person who is comfortable in the position.

Prepping For The Battle Ahead

Yes, we said battle, but before you start polishing your cosplay armor and trying to figure out how to fit a siege machine in your office, were talking mental battlenot physical battle. Regardless, you need to both prep and strategize how youre going to tackle this new challenge.

The first thing you need to do is realize that the types of questions youll be getting are not all the same sort of questions youd be getting in a traditional job interview. Whereas before you were asked questions about your specific skills and experiences as an employee, your questions now will be more focused on your ability to get results from the teams youll be leading.

Speaking of leading teams, dealing with diverse personalities is another aspect of project management, so expect some questions regarding leadership roles and conflict resolution.

Finally, be prepared to answer some traditional interview questions as well. Areas that are likely to be covered include your long-term goals, your ongoing role with the company, and where you see yourself down the road.

Now that weve gone over what to expect, lets focus on building your answer arsenal so youre ready for the actual interview.

Much like the behavioral questions weve gone over time and time again in other blogs, project manager interview questions should always be accompanied by concrete examples from your past. Your goal is to demonstrate to your interviewer that youre not just knowledgeable, but that youre experienced .

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Showcase Your Ability To Stay Calm & Collected

Part of being a manager is multi-tasking with ease and displaying a sense of calm control during times of uncertainty. This is important to both your future direct reports as well as your boss-to-be. The employer will want a candidate who is low maintenance and who doesnt come with a lot of office politics and baggage, says executive coach and career transition expert Cynthia Corsetti. Its important to use examples in your answers that demonstrate that you remain positive and focused on the results as well as building trusting relationships with co-workers, supervisors, and clients.

Often times, this courage under fire comes down to what many people call emotional intelligence or EQ. Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are important management skills, adds Corsetti. It would behoove a candidate to have examples of times when they were self-aware and were able to influence others by using excellent communication skills.

What Is Your Favorite Technology And/or Digital Tool And Why How Has It Supported Your Goals As A Manager

Why It Works: With today’s ever-evolving technology landscape, including AI, social media, etc., it is important to assess a manager’s touchpoints in these areas.

How managers at your organization interview candidates matters and will show up in company reviews. To get involved in the conversation on Glassdoor and start managing and promoting your employer brand reputation, unlock your Free Employer Profile today.

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How Would You Handle Underperforming Employees

This question can give the interviewer an idea of how you approach the tougher aspects of managing a team. It can be difficult to tell an employee they are not meeting expectations, and how you do this as a manager can allow the interviewer to gauge your potential efficiency working for their company.

You might answer with an example of your past experience, or you can highlight how you would discuss underperformance with your team members.

Example:“I’ve been fortunate to have managed productive and hard-working teams. If I had to approach an employee who wasn’t meeting expectations or was generally underperforming, I’d first describe the ways they have met expectations, then offer to develop an improvement plan that outlines the steps my employee would need to take to improve their performance.”

Highlight Scenarios When You Have Led A Team In The Past

While you may not have had the title of manager in your previous roles, the best way to show recruiters and hiring managers that you are able to take this jump is to demonstrate how you have exercised leadership in other areas of your life.

Leadership experience doesn’t always need to come from your everyday job, says AWeber recruiter Bill Kennedy. Many military veterans have relevant leadership skills. Have you coached a sports team? Do you belong to an organization in which you help organize and lead events? Include those as examples of times where youve led a group, team or project.

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Walk Me Through A Project You Led And What Made It Successful

When asking this question, interviewers are looking for your knowledge of people and project management as well as communication skills. It should be easy for you to think of the most impactful project you led to answer this question, but a story will truly demonstrate your abilities. Saying something like, We had a goal to acquire 3,000 new customers by March and we hit it, reveals a great win, but no leadership skills. Your answer, like the story in the last section, needs to spell out what you specifically did to influence the successful outcome. The more specifics you include, the better able the interviewer will be able to see your talent and impact.

Heres an example answer:

Lastly, we agreed that if someone was falling short of their deadlines, they needed to let the rest of the team know through our project management software and we could discuss the best way to proceed from there. Because we were all so clear on what needed to get done, who was doing what, and where they were in the process, we managed to accomplish our first set of goals ahead of schedule and the campaign ultimately exceeded our original sales goal by over 10%. It really helped me see that being thorough and deliberate about my expectations, making tough but realistic choices about what we could accomplish, and outlining priorities and clear goals were tremendously effective strategies.

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Every week, we at Cheeky Scientist scour the Internet for the best articles on topics that help in the search for the Best of Transition: PhD Job Search in the industry. Our two consultants independently search for the most informative articles in the categories of networking, CVs/resumes, interviews, transferable skills, academic blues, industry positions, and business acumen. Our consultants vote on a top article for each category and a top overall article for the week if its a recent article that can help readers find and acquire PhD jobs, then we want to include it in this weekly digest.

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How Do You Delegate Responsibilities

When managing, the ability to identify the team member best suited to a task is essential. In your response, show the interviewer how you recognize your teams talents and assign tasks accordingly.

Example: I aim to identify my team members personal strengths first. Once I understand the group as a network of individuals, I can then delegate the tasks in order to build an efficient team. In my last position, I met with each member of my department once a month to talk about their progress, issues they may have been experiencing and any opportunities they wanted to pursue. One employee felt that her strengths were not being fully utilized. I found some more challenging responsibilities for her, and our entire departments productivity increased as a result.

Tell Me About A Decision That Was Difficult To Make Did You Consult With Anyone

Managers are always making decisions, including really tough ones like firing employees who arent working out, redistributing work when someone falls ill, making budget cuts, reporting to upper management that a project has failed, or promoting one person over another, to name a few. Interviewers want to see that youre up to the task.

Its also useful for hiring managers to see that you include others in your decision-making, rather than trying to make all the decisions by yourself. Work cultures are trending away from an overly hierarchical, top-down, command-and-control style of leadership. And a leader who relies on the input and expertise of subordinates and others in decision-making, also known as a collaborative leader, is often more effective and inclusive than those who do not.

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How To Prepare For The Best Answer

• You may want to work on your self-awareness to know your style of working.

• If unsure, talk to a confidant or a close colleague and take their feedback. At such a moment, an outside perspective will hold great weightage.Listen to their feedback with an open mind.

• After that, critically analyze yourself and chart out those weaknesses and work on them. Sharpen your strengths too.

• Watch out for your behavior and how it impacts the team.

• Improve your body language and tone of voice. This will help a lot in achieving half of the work already.

• Dress for the part. Groom yourself. Look at the part and smell the part.

• Have confidence and smile while you answer. This is your best opportunity to tell you are a significant impact on the people you have worked with So this is a joyful moment. Express that in your whole demeanor.

What Do You Know About Our Business

The candidates answer to this question should indicate some prior knowledge about your business. They may have conducted research to find the information they need. They may have first-hand experience as a customer, client, or even competitor.

Either way, any detailed response reveals that the potential managerial hire likes what your business has to offer and is motivated to be a part of it.

If they know nothing about your company, other than that they want a job, they havent done their due diligence and shouldnt be high on your shortlist of possible hires.

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Behavioral Store Manager Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions require you to use the STAR Technique to properly answer. Be ready with good examples for the following typical store manager or retail manager interview questions.

1. Describe a recent incident where you had to handle an angry customer

In your store manager interview answer focus on:

• actively listening to the customer and ensuring you understand the problem through careful questions
• the steps you took to fix the problem
• taking responsibility for the customer’s satisfaction

2. How have you resolved a conflict situation between staff members?

Conflict is a fact of life and managing it is part of your job. Focus on the techniques you use to diffuse conflict including:

• finding out and understanding the issues underlying the conflict by asking questions and listening
• dealing with the situation objectively and not proportioning blame
• getting agreement from the parties involved to a way forward

3. How have you managed an under performing staff member?

Store manager interview questions will evaluate your ability to effectively manage employee performance. Focus on the following in your interview answer

• immediately dealing with the issue
• finding out the reason for the poor performance
• agreeing on solutions and specific performance improvement objectives
• providing resources for improvement
• agreeing on how performance improvement will be tracked

4. Tell me about a time you had to discipline a staff member for poor behavior

• punctuality

How To Answer Management

In a position that relies on managing multiple people, a hiring manager will want to gauge your management style and leadership skills. As a result, its important that you present yourself as an experienced leader.

As mentioned previously, its vital that you strategize before going into the interview, so you arent caught off guard by a question and dont have to think of examples off the top of your head.

Additionally, because there is a wide range of relevant questions you could be asked, you should focus on good, managerial traits you have that you can highlight while answering them.

Good traits to focus your answers on are positivity, prioritization, empathy, honesty, accountability, decisiveness, and flexibility.

All of these are excellent traits for a leader to have, so you should keep them in mind when answering leadership-related questions.

In addition, accentuating these traits will help you when answering behavioral interview questions, as the hiring manager will likely expect you to give examples that show your value from a past situation.

The hiring manager does this because they want to hear specific, personal examples from your previous work experience that highlight how and why youre a good manager.

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