Preparing for a Managerial Interview: Free Ultimate Guide (2022)

When answering this question your focus should be on sharing challenges you faced and how you overcame them. This shows your:

• Self-awareness,
• Honesty, and
• Ability to handle difficult situations.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #1

“My greatest challenges as a manager have surrounded supporting underperforming individuals and determining when it’s time to let someone go before they become problematic.

As a metrics-driven manager it’s easy for me to see when a team member is consistently underperforming. In the past I’ve struggled determining why someone is underperforming in a role compared to their direct colleagues.

In one case where I was hired into the managerial role I discovered the underperforming individual received no training. So, I helped them reset by formally training them which resulted in significant improvement.

In another case I had someone who would focus on tasks that were not the top priority. As a result the team suffered as a whole. When I spoke with the individual I sensed they didn’t care about the quality of their work.

While I sensed this I didn’t want to jump to conclusions so I tried everything to motivate them. I scheduled one-on-one time to problem-solve, got them into the company’s mentoring problem, had them shadow top performers, created opportunities for them to ask questions formally and informally, and more. Despite all the support they received they continued to underperform.

After exhausting resources and seeing them continually bring the team down I had to go through the formal HR to terminate them.

The challenges taught me to rely on metrics to measure performance but to also have a measurable system to support underperformers. A measurable system to support underperforms ensures everyone has the same chance to be supported while not allowing bad apples take advantage – wasting time and resources.”

An impressive answer to this question involves:

• Assessing your leadership style, and 
• Providing examples of your leadership style. 

When preparing to answer this question, think about what kind of leader you are and what type of leader you aspire to be. Assess your leadership style by looking at your experience and skills but also considering what kind of people would work best under your leadership.       

Think about the day-to-day responsibilities you have carried out as a manager or in another position (if you’re interviewing for a managerial position for the first time) and how you approached them. Are you someone that delegates often? Do you prefer to coach team members hands on? Or are you someone who gives feedback frequently or only when necessary?

Whatever your leadership style may be, be honest in your answer. This will set you up for success. If you are not honest you may end up in a work environment completely opposite of your leadership style which can result in having to completely adapt how you work. In extreme cases this can result in failure.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #2

“I would say that I tend to approach leadership as a coach. I like to help draw-out attributes like a sense of ownership and purpose, communication, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. 

 

I do this by creating systems to facilitate efficiency and consistently measure outcomes. Having systems and processes in place gives people space to be trusted to contribute their best independently while ensuring they never feel unsupported.

I know if my leadership style is working by measuring how well the processes and systems work. In my last role, my leadership style resulted in a 63% increase in my team’s productivity, 100% employee retention in the 23 months I managed by team of 22, and a savings of $121,000 in overtime expenses – no overtime was needed because the team was so efficient.”

When answering this question you want to provide the interviewer concrete examples of situations where you displayed traits of a good manager, such as the ability to:

• Clearly communicate with entry-level roles and senior managers
• Present difficult information to others
• Help an underperforming team or individual overcome challenges and improve performance through feedback, hands-on help, etc.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #3

“In my previous managerial role, my team generated 48% more profit than any other team. They also had the highest employee satisfaction rating. The team of 30 rated their satisfaction and work happiness at 96% compared to the company’s average of 72%. In addition, I was able to generate these results while decreasing supplemental spending on resources by 20%, saving my department $34,000.00.

I pride myself in building systems and processes that help everyone thrive and using metrics to proactively identify if someone is falling behind. These methods ensure my team is in sync and individuals are always supported.

I believe my approach to managing others and the results I’ve produced show that I am a good manager and that I’d be able to excel in this position.”

It is easy to understand from the interview answer example above how the person is a good manager. The metrics provided in their answer reflect their ability to communicate with all roles, work with others, and support their team.

An effective answer to this question would involve:

• Stating your “theory” of how to best motivate a team, and 
• Providing examples that support your theory.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #4

“I like to motivate my team by setting clear expectations with goals, objectives, and success metrics for all projects and ensuring that each team member knows how the work they do contributes to the bigger picture. This gives everyone direction and purpose.

To keep people motivated I believe in doing regular check-ins so that everyone knows how they are performing against the established expectations and to ensure they feel supported and valued.

As a project kicks off and begins to hit milestones I make sure to publicly recognize and praise team members. I also empower team members to praise and recognize each other.

Depending on the project I may ask the team to come up with an additional project goal that would result in a “grand slam” outcome. If I do this I also ask the team to come up with an incentive they’d like if the team “hits a grand slam.”

In my last role my motivation style resulted in my team surpassing 96.4% of goals and increasing company profit by 26%.”

It is important to be prepared with an answer to this question because it leads into other interview questions such as:

• What did you do to achieve success in your last role?
• How would you define success for yourself and others at our company?

When this managerial interview question comes up, use it as an opportunity to paint a picture for the interviewer!

A good answer includes three key components:

• A definition of success
• Having clear long-term goals
• Preparing for challenges/roadblocks along the way

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #5

 

“I consider myself successful when I am surpassing, not just hitting, goals and simultaneously learning new skills or pitching in on other projects.

 

This is success to me because it demonstrates my mastery of my job and my freedom to stretch myself to help others or learn new things.

 

My five-year career goal is to make partner. Viewing success in this way helps keep me focused, excelling, and growing. It also ensures that if I ever find myself not surpassing goals that I find resources to help. In general these resources have included online courses, mentorship, and shadowing other top performers.

Success to me is surpassing not just hitting goals.”

It is important to think about how you will answer the question “Why should I hire you?” before it is asked because it can lead into other questions such as:

• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• What would your former coworkers say about you?

You want to present a list of your best skills and traits, and also provide an explanation as to why you are a good fit for the role.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #6

 

“I am passionate about the software development industry.

 

I want to find a position at a company that is building software that helps others where I can contribute my experiences and achievements.

 

I understand that this position requires scaling the project management team.

 

I previously scaled a team of project managers from 2 – 18 this achieved an increase in company revenue of 87% generating $14.8 Million in profit.

 

If hired I would apply the skills I’ve learned to achieve similar results by implementing a metrics-driven equitable hiring and training process to hire and retain the best.

 

I also see that this position requires profit and loss management.

 

I previously managed a project management departmental budget of $6 million and generated a 3X return on spend this achieved an increase in revenue of over $18 million..

 

If hired I would feel comfortable working with the team to identify processes that need to be evolved to maximize efficiency, outcomes, and team happiness. Together we’d be able to set and surpass project and profit goals.

 

The position also requires representing the company at conferences.

 

I previously represented companies at conferences and have given 48 keynote and panel presentations that increased brand recognition and helped the companies attract new talent.

 

If hired I would be able to quickly collaborate with others to learn existing systems to begin to hit milestones, measure success, and use learnings to generate an assessment and plan to yield maximum departmental results.

 

As someone who has a growth mindset I welcome opportunities to learn skills and approach challenges with a positive attitude. This position would give me an opportunity to support the COO and CPO with board reporting.

 

My previous employer and team can provide additional reasons why you should hire me. I’m happy to put you in touch with them. Would you like me to make an introduction to them?”

If you need help answering this managerial interview question use our Why should I hire you? Interview Answer Creator.

Interviewers often ask this question because it’s an opportunity for you to highlight how you demonstrate leadership skills on a day-to-day basis. The “question” helps them understand your personality and performance in past roles, while seeing how well you can communicate with others at all levels.

When preparing for a managerial interview it is important to reflect on, and prepare, times when you led by example.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #7

“I have always been very passionate about leadership, so whenever I have the opportunity to be a leader I will take it. Recently, due to an unexpected family emergency my manager was out-of-the-office for two weeks.

Because her being out-of-the-office was unexpected no plans were in place to ensure her duties were completed. Not wanting her to come back to a mess after dealing with a family emergency I took on her responsibilities.

While she was out I held 1:1s with team members to ensure they felt supported and that their projects were being completed successfully. This serendipitously allowed me to grow my management skills.

When she returned everything was running smoothly. In fact, projects were ahead of schedule. It was this experience that brought me here today. I’m ready to, and capable of, taking on more responsibility.”

In every job, there are tasks and duties we like to do and others we don’t like to do that we may even procrastinate on.

When asking this question the interviewer very directly wants to know if you are able to step up and take charge of projects, regardless if you like them or not.

It is important you communicate to the interviewer that you are willing to do what it takes, even when the duties required of you aren’t glamorous, ideal, or interesting.

Example Interview Answer for
Managerial Interview Question #8

“I have a tendency to take charge of projects that my teammates aren’t excited about. I’m willing to do what needs to be done in order for us to finish our work on time. Whether it’s work related to my own job description or work that needs to get done by my team.

An example of this is a time the company’s internet was running slow. It was slow because it was being hosted on company servers. I finished a project a few days ahead of schedule and asked to take on the project of speeding up the company’s servers.

It wasn’t a glamorous project and quite challenging but I knew how much of an impact it was having on everyone in the company. So I dove in and managed to successfully configure the servers to reduce latency.

I could’ve just played it cool and not done anything for a few days like some of my colleagues do when they finish projects ahead of schedule. But that’s not my style. I’d rather take on the project no one else wants to touch.”