Choosing the right candidate for a managerial role is one of the most important decisions businesses ever have to make. Managers are responsible for 70% of variance in employee engagement—and that means without great managers you’ll always struggle to maintain productive, satisfied teams who stick around long term.

The challenge is, it’s not always obvious who will make a good manager. We can all recognize examples of top talent who thrive at their own tasks but might not (yet) have the skills to manage and develop those they may need to supervise. Identifying those job candidates who would (or wouldn’t) be great management material might seem impossible—but asking the right interview questions from the start can make a big difference in a high-quality hire.

Identifying the Ideal Managerial Skillset

Managers have to wear many hats—motivational coaching, career development, and project management skills can often all be required in the space of a day. So, interview questions should cover these different skillsets. Hiring managers should seek candidates who possess the necessary skills for effective leadership, rather than those solely motivated by status or authority.

 

At the same time, all recruiters know that being able to talk the talk doesn’t necessarily mean a candidate will thrive in a managerial role. A candidate simply saying they understand the significance of different aspects of management is great—but more important is being able to prove it.

New vs. Experienced Managers

If you’re interviewing a candidate who is already a manager, it makes your job easier—but you’ll want evidence to prove that they excel in their management capacity. How have they managed employees with poor performance or disciplinary issues? Have they ever had to implement company policies they didn’t agree with? Do they manage to balance long-term planning with day-to-day productivity? Does the candidate rely on gut-instinct or are they more of a planner? Are they hungry for praise or happy for their team to take the plaudits?

With candidates who haven’t managed a team before, interviewers face a tougher challenge. It’s important to dig deep to discover evidence of leadership skills and emotional maturity in their job history, even if they’ve never technically supervised anyone. The solution to this challenge: great interview questions that uncover the character of a candidate and offer a glimpse into whether they have the potential to step up into a management role.

Assessing Managerial Styles

Of course, a manager can be experienced and successful without being perfect. It’s a tough job, and inevitably all managers have strengths and weaknesses. So, companies need to decide what managerial styles fit company and team cultures. If employee engagement is low, it might be a good idea to find a motivator-type. But if a team routinely focuses on big, complex projects, finding a details-oriented manager might be the best path forward.

The aim should be to find a candidate who has a managerial philosophy that is compatible with the workplace. Company culture is important anywhere, but it can come in different forms—for instance, short-term success might take priority; elsewhere, close collaboration with colleagues could be essential to getting things done.

Identifying a candidate who ticks all the right boxes isn’t easy, but without asking the right questions you won’t have a chance at finding a great fit.

 

Common Mistakes in Hiring Managers

 

• Not having a clear idea of the role. Before you start interviewing candidates, it’s important to have a clear idea of the role you’re trying to fill. What are the responsibilities of the position? What are the skills and experience required? What are the key qualities you’re looking for in a candidate?
• Not asking the right questions. Once you have a clear idea of the role, you need to develop a set of interview questions that will help you assess whether a candidate is a good fit. These questions should be designed to elicit information about the candidate’s skills, experience, and personality.
• Not having a structured interview process. A structured interview process is one in which all candidates are asked the same questions in the same order. This helps to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.
• Not making a decision based on the data. Once you have interviewed all the candidates, it’s important to decide on the perfect hire based on the actual data you have collected. Don’t just go with your gut feeling.
• Not following up with all candidates. Regardless of the outcome, following up with every candidate you interview is a mark of professionalism and respect, and reflects well on your company’s brand.

 

How Important is Industry Experience for a Management Role?

The importance of industry experience for a management role depends on the specific role. For some roles, industry experience is essential. For example, if you are hiring a manager for an auto manufacturing plant, you will likely want to hire someone with experience in that specific industry.

For other roles, industry experience is likely not as important. For example, if you’re hiring a manager for a call center team, you may be more interested in the candidate’s leadership skills and customer service experience than their industry experience.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to require industry experience for a management role should be made on a case-by-case basis.

 

How Do You Assess a Candidate’s Fit with Company Culture?

There are a few things you can do to assess a candidate’s fit with your company’s culture:

• Ask questions about the candidate’s values. What are the candidate’s most important values? How do these values align with the guiding principles of your company?
• Ask questions about the candidate’s work style. How does the candidate like to work? Do they prefer to work independently or as part of a team?
• Use behavioral interviewing questions. Behavioral interviewing questions are questions that ask the candidate to describe specific situations in which they have used the skills and experience that are required for the job. This can help you to get a better sense of how the candidate would behave in similar situations in your company.

Additional Tips for Hiring Managers

• Use a variety of interview formats. In addition to traditional one-on-one interviews, you may also want to consider using group interviews, panel interviews, or video interviews.
• Get feedback from other team members. Ask other team members to interview the candidates and provide you with their feedback.
• Do your research. Before you interview a candidate, do your research on their background and experience.
• Be prepared to answer questions. Be prepared to answer questions about the company, the role, and the interview process.

Get Manager Interview Questions

Finding interview questions to ask managers can be tough. To help businesses out, we’ve created a selection of sample questions to get you started. Use the questions as they are, or customize them to fit your industry, company, and the role you’re hiring for.