Hi,
I am looking for suggestions in which areas to prepare for when going for a first management position interview. I'm currently in a technical IT role and have been looking to move into a management role to advance my career.
I've listened to the "how to answer the leadership style question" podcast and am interested to know other questions which might be asked in a management interview, particularly when interviewing candidates that have not been in such a role previously (such as myself).
Also any other tips for preparation would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Most Often...
Most often you'll be asked the "What do you want to do?" and "Where do you want to do it?" questions. "Tell me about yourself." or "Tell me a bit about your background." are also common. These are key questions from recruiters that tell them in just a couple of minutes if you're prepared to answer the meaty interview questions.
Following the Leadership Style question will be "Tell me about an accomplishment that demonstrates your leadership style." If the recruiter is pleased with your answers to these questions you'll probably get passed on to the hiring manager. You should also expect the weakness question, "Tell me about your greatest weakness."
Most hiring managers will ask questions about your experience with the technologies they're using or want to use. You're on your own for these. Good hiring managers will ask behavioral questions too. "Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer with an unreasonable request. How did you respond? Be specific." That's a favorite question of mine and you'd be surprised how many times the response demonstrates the candidate's ability to polarize a situation and really anger a customer!
Similar to what you heard in the Leadership podcast, you'll want to have a prepared answer that you can march through. You need to be so comfortable with your answer that you can deliver it in an energetic, conversational manner.
I can't end without recommending the Interviewing Series from Manager-Tools. You can find it under the Products menu. It gives good explanations and examples of the standard questions that teach you how to structure answers to other interview questions.
Beyond that, Google "interview questions" You'll get a laundry list of examples. Good luck!
--Michael
Hi, Thanks for that great
Hi,
Thanks for that great reply. I am a premium subscriber (paid yearly) are there any podcasts you can recommend i listen to? The "Hand Shake" podcast was a good one i think.
I'm interested in the question you bought up regarding dealing with an unreasonable customer. Personally i would pick an example that showed i held the customers request as an important and an example where i was to busy to address the issue myself and delegated the resolution to one of my peers who was best suited to resolve the issue in the quickest time frame. Obviously the example would need to also include follow ups with the customer and my peer team member to ensure they are happy with the progress of their concern. In most cases I find that customers often respond better and are more accomodating once they know their issues are being addressed and have some sort of updates along the way.
Correct me if I am off base with my response though.
Thanks for your help.
Second the Interviewing Series
I also have to recommend the Interviewing Series. I held off on it due to the price for quite a while but it's really an investment that yields huge returns if you're going to interview. M&M recommend you start far in advance of your interview but I used it to prep within seven days and got the job. Good luck in your interviews.
--Steve
(DiSC 5435)
Unreasonable Customer Answer
MSCHIPPER,
Not a bad response, but I think there's a little room for improvement. I'd refine the portion of the response about being too busy to address the issue yourself. While it may be true, your customer will feel more love believing that your purpose in delegating the issue is based solely on their needs.
--Michael