Manager Interview Questions

Introduction
Manager Interview Questions

Introduction

The position of a Manager is a role of responsibility and, this role might have a large amount of competition too. 

Let us look at some of the common Manager interview questions and how to answer them! 

Manager Interview Questions

1. What is your style of Management? 

Firstly, This question is asked to understand how efficiently you will be able to lead the team and your ability to understand the needs of your team.

You might have worked with different kinds of managers in your career and think about their qualities when they managed you. Explain the qualities that made you perform better and also increase your productivity. This will help you set up an outline for your answer. Also, keep in mind the certain qualities of managers that did not make you feel productive, or you did not feel motivated. Know those qualities too. Once you have looked at the qualities of other managers, now it’s time to look at the qualities you already have and the skills that make you a good manager. The answer to this could be – leadership skills, communication skills, and so on. You could talk about this by mentioning experiences where you played certain roles. 

Next, it is necessary that you not only know the skills that make you a good manager. But also general skills that can make a person a good manager. Skills like Problem-solving, time management, and so on. When you mention the skills of a good manager, it helps build an understanding of what you believe the managerial skills are and will help you become a better manager. After you have made a note of all your skills, understand what your management style is. It is important to remember any style that describes you. You should be able to back it up with examples to prove credibility. 

Let us look at a few management styles and what exactly they mean and, how to answer the style you fit in: 

• Transformational Management style – includes skills to encourage your employees or the team, problem-solving, innovating, pushing employees to their maximum potential. 

Talk about how you managed an employee by having belief in them that they could do it and pushed them to their maximum potential. Mention any issues/problems you resolved for the employees that were reducing their productivity. Also, mention instances where you managed to motivate and encourage employees during tough times or deadlines. 

• Visionary Management style – includes skills like clearly stating goals (communication skills) and explaining the vision to the team, skills where you encourage the team but do not micromanage them continuously. 

Talk about instances that explain your good communication skills- both speaking and listening. Explain instances where you built the vision, but let the team brainstorm ideas on strategy and design. And how that helped you come up with the best results. 

• Democratic Management style – Teamwork skills are the main skill of the democratic management style.

Talk about instances where you collaborated with your team closely and brainstormed ideas together. Speak about cases in which you built strong relations with the team members, leading to ideas that were impossible to come up with if you were working alone. Explain how you encouraged them to speak their ideas and opinions. 

• Mentoring or Training Management style – This is about being a mentor more, like having leadership skills and supporting your team members. Identifying the needs of employees and resolving their problems which will, in turn, increase productivity

Talk about instances on how you reward your team for doing the best work and how you motivate them when they fail. Talk about how you solved various concerns regarding a project and also brought in clarity. 

• Laissez-faire Management style – It is believing in your employees and letting them make decisions. This kind of management style requires belief and trust. It is allowing employees to work individually but is available. 

Mention instances where you allowed employees to work individually and provided guidance when needed and how that helped you get the best results. Explain instances where you trusted your employees to contact clients instead of you as the middle person directly. Which helped them gain more clarity, and also how you offered guidance in situations. 

Keeping all the above-mentioned details in mind, prepare yourself an answer with various examples and skills. So that when this question is thrown at you, you aren’t blank.

Also Read: What is the importance of leadership in organizational growth

2. Tell me about a situation or time where you had to deal with a difficult employee. 

Managers are supposed to stay calm in various situations and often deal with employees that are extremely different. This question is asked to understand how you deal with difficult situations and how you manage to handle them.

To answer this question, explain about a time when you handled employees or colleagues with different personalities and also talk about your opinions on things that make a workplace problematic and how you would deal with situations and people like these. Use the STAR approach to answer this question.

Since we have identified your management style in the previous question, use your management style to back upon how you deal with difficult employees. Explain the situation, your task in the situation, your actions, and lastly the results. In this answer explain your calmness to the employee in tough situations. Talk about how you addressed the issues of employees in the right manner and did not ignore the problem. Mention instances of giving feedback to such employees and also, mention the skills that helped you do it. Explain how you talked to the person regarding their behaviour by making them understand the importance of teamwork rather than screaming or shouting. Mention instances where you explained to the employee the part they played in the team and managed to understand their concerns too and solved the issue effectively. 

3. How do you motivate your employees or your team? 

When answering this question make sure you have various strategies since every employee is different. This question is asked to understand how you will interact with different employees and make sure they achieve their goals. 

It is necessary that you mention instances where you understood your employees before making any decision. Mention an instance where you understood the person, their needs, and preferences and worked out a strategy to keep them motivated. Do mention when you recognized a person through awards, incentives, or bonuses. Follow an approach where you first mention the situation you were in, the action you took, and then explain the result of your action. It could be instances where you had a one-on-one discussion with your team members during layoffs or rewarding them based on their performance. Talking about their role’s purpose and taking in their observations and opinions is the best way to motivate employees because when they feel heard, they are known to be motivated. Keep in mind various motivational strategies before answering this question. 

4. What is your biggest success so far? 

This question is about your biggest achievement or what you are more proud of. When answering this question, keep in mind that you have to talk about your success but not brag about it. 

Choose the accomplishment based on the requirement of the interview. Because what you answer to this question to some extent might determine your fitness for the role. Talk about results or your growth and transformations. In this question, always talk about your best story, and it doesn’t have to be recent (but not too old). Provide specific details to the interviewer (do not make it extremely long or short). Mention details that will give a good enough idea to the interviewer. Your achievement should be something that has made an impact, like closing a huge deal, launching a new product, and so on. When talking about this story, maintain confidence and sound passionate about what you have done. 

5. Expected Salary 

This might not be a sure question, but you must stay prepared with the answer. It is important to keep in mind that you don’t ask too much or too little, skill-wise. Identify the salaries of those working in your role and your industry. Also, look at your current salary and then quote what seems the most suitable. 

6. How do you avoid miscommunication with your team? 

Firstly, this is a question to test your behaviour. It is to know whether you understand the importance of communication and resolve issues that arise due to miscommunication. 

When answering this question, make sure you provide relevant details and end the answer with a positive result. Talk about instances of miscommunication on email or when working from home. Explain an instance where the miscommunication happened and could have led to bigger problems, but how you managed to resolve it and make sure this did not happen again. Also, talk about your understanding of clear communication and explain how you always try to avoid miscommunication, but sometimes it happens, and then talk about how you tackled it. 

The above questions are a few questions that are often asked in a manager interview. Some of the other questions that could be asked are: 

1. How would your co-workers define you? Talk about the level of comfort, the strong relationships you have with them. It could be goal-oriented, dedicated, and so on. Make sure what you speak is the truth. 
2. What would you do if you were offered the job? Answer this question on how you would first understand the team and learn the company’s priorities before laying down your plan of action. 
3. Some other questions – tell me about yourself, talk about your experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, and so on. 

A Manager interview is not very tough, and often, there is no right or wrong answer. It is only to understand whether you have the relevant experience and the skills to be a part of the company. Also, remember that you must always go prepared with common questions and instances that can help you back your answers. 

All the best!