How to Spot a Great Manager in Your Interview

When thinking about a next step, most people are drawn to brands first.

However, having a great manager, whether to drive the trajectory of your career, help you to balance work with life or just to mentor you through new daunting challenges, is often the most crucial factor behind most people's happiness at work.

Trouble is you often don't know what your manager's going to be like when you're joining a new business.

Have a think about those qualities you have and haven't liked in previous bosses. If you're more of a lone wolf who prefers to work autonomously, a manager who prefers a more collaborative style might clash with you. Same thing if they come across as a micro-manager. It might work very, very well with their team currently but the chances are you won't gel.

Of course, your gut feel for someone is often not a bad place to start; If they seem distracted in the interviews, are maybe curt or don't offer you a drink to make you feel more comfortable... all these little things add up and might seem like little red flags to you.

In order to back up your feelings, try asking some direct questions.

Here are some thoughts on how you might get a fuller picture and ensure you're taking the right next steps in your career.

“Tell me about the employees you most love leading".

A thoughtful answer here tells you they have prepared for the question but you'll also see a reaction - someone who genuinely loves mentoring and coaching people will light up when discussing their team with you.

Someone who is engaging, passionate about development and who's got their team front of mind, will be easy to identify.

Have a think about those qualities you have and haven't liked in previous bosses. If you're more of a lone wolf who prefers to work autonomously, a manager who prefers a more collaborative style might clash with you. Same thing if they come across as a micro-manager. It might work very, very well with their team currently but the chances are you won't gel.

"When you don't work well with someone in your team, what tends to be the reason?"

Framing the question above slightly differently can often elicit a much more detailed response - it's not an antagonistic question but you've asked it in such a way that your interviewer will have to think and then give you a genuine answer on the spot... something that will add colour to the gut feel you have that we mention above.

"How has your team, and the company more widely, embraced Diversity & Inclusion?"

Particularly for female and minority candidates, this is something that needs to be addressed. Again, we'll resort to gut feel a bit here because you'll know whether the answer given is scripted, a party line or vague.

Maybe this manager doesn't play a day-to-day role in driving the D&I dialogue but they should be aware of how their company is tackling any issues.

"How have you and your team continued to collaborate in the post-Covid world?"

Most clients of ours are actively trying to get candidates into the office a bit more. They're FMCG businesses that tend to operate in categories like food and drink which are, in and of themselves, spaces where brands are built around socialising - having employees that mirror this is often quite useful.

That said, 90% of our clients are also open to some form of hybrid working... most were pre-Covid to be frank!

Finding out directly from your future manager about the successes, learnings and even pitfalls that have been uncovered since early 2020 will give you an idea of what to expect on a practical day-to-day basis.

"What role will you take in the onboarding process?"

Ask a potential boss what they feel like a good initiation process looks like. This will give you a great insight into how much support you will get, what your learning curve will need to be and whether you're setting yourself up to succeed.

It's a bit of a verbal agreement between both parties at this stage - if you are the type to just get stuck in, then you might love a hands-off approach. Should you need a bit more support for any reason, that same approach to onboarding won't do you any favours.

Some companies might expect you to come in fully prepared for the position, while others will allow you a couple of months to get up to speed.

Your recruiter will have prepped you on the business culture but every manager is different in approach so understanding what will be expected of you before you start and the 'deal' you're making with your manager will help.

"How do you feedback to your team about projects, opportunities and performance?"

Communication is king when it comes to most relationships - work is no different.

Having clear parameters from the outset and throughout your time in role will be crucial to your success.

How your potential manager talks about 'We' and 'I' will also indicate whether they're collaborative in-approach, more hands on and involved or a balance of both. You then need to match that up to your approach and determine whether you think you'll gel or clash.

As always, prepare for your interviews. Go armed with questions that cover off everything you need to know. Don't leave anything up in the air.

For more help with interviews, finding your next step or just advice on the marketplace right now, get in touch with POET here or email james@wearepoet.com.