How to Interview and Hire Your Next Manager

A manager is a person who oversees the activities and employees of an organization. The role of a manager is to make sure an organization functions efficiently and achieves the financial goals. It helps to develop a written talent assessment strategy for your next hire. What interview questions will be asked?  What pre-employment assessments will be used?  A comprehensive job description is needed to find qualified manager candidates. A manager job description includes a brief summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required competencies and skills for the position.  When you are hiring a manager for your business, you need to first decide what the education requirements, job experience requirements and the key duties will be.  Here is an example:

• Supervise and lead company operations and employees
• Create business opportunities and expand into new markets
• Hire, train, and evaluate new employees
• Carry out performance evaluations
• Prepare and update a job description for each job that is posted
• Manage day-to-day financial planning
• Manage revenue, budgets and costs
• Implement marketing initiatives and campaigns
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration
• Three or more years of manager work experience
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and leadership skills
• Strong negotiation and persuasion skills

Interviewing Manager Candidates

To hire a competent manager, asking open-ended interview questions will help you understand the candidate’s knowledge and skills. Strong candidates for manager positions will be confident when answering a wide variety of questions.  Here are a few interview questions to consider asking: 

• Ask the manager what motivates them?
• What critical skills or competencies do they bring to their team?
• Do they speak well of their previous team? (Competent managers are excited about the success and growth of the people they work with.)
• Can they describe specific results that they have obtained?
• Can they tell work stories providing specific examples where they inspired others or created trust?
• Ask them what success as a manager looks like for them? (Do they describe personal success or team success?)
• How do they prioritize their time each week?
• Ask them to provide examples of how they provide actionable feedback to their employees.
• Tell me about the last time you disagreed with your boss or the business owner?
• Who was the last person who changed your mind about something? How did they do it?
• Provide some examples of how you have supported diversity and inclusion?
• What do you know about our business?
• Why do you want to work with us?
• If hired, what would you do in the first 90 days?
• What are your salary expectations?
• What special talents do you have?
• Tell me about a time when you failed as a manager?
• What is your least favorite task or responsibility as a manager?
• How do you manage conflicts between team members or co-workers?
• Describe your management style?
• How do you approach an underperforming employee?
• What does being a team player mean to you?
• How do you prepare for an important meeting?
• How do you handle stress?
• How do you approach terminating an employee?
• How would you motivate your employees?

Pre-employment Assessments of Manager Candidates

Pre-employment assessments of your manager candidates will help you narrow down a list of applicants based on their job fit. Cognitive Ability (IQ) assessments and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) assessments can show specific manager strengths and weaknesses.  You can also improve your interviews by identifying where a candidate has poor job fit. Often these assessments will generate additional interview questions that focus on the key job fit concerns. This will help you focus your interview questions. Knowing a candidate’s job fit helps you reduce the likelihood of a poor hire. Knowing a candidate’s job fit will help your lower turnover rates in that position.

Contact us for assistance in developing your interview and talent assessment strategy to hire your next manager.