Knowing the most common interview questions for the post of an assistant manager is helpful when preparing for an interview, if you have applied for this position. Here are some questions to help you prepare and know what to expect at the interview…
The primary duty of an assistant manager is to help the manager in several operations of the company. When the interview is for recruiting a helper of the manager, it is definitely going to be a tough task. An assistant manager, most significantly, should have good leadership, strategic planning, business communication, and interpersonal skills in order to be able to shoulder all necessary responsibilities given to him. At the same time, he/she should be comfortable reporting to someone and have high accountability. An individual who is about to face an interview for the position of an assistant manager is required to be well-prepared with the answers that he needs to provide to the interviewers or the human resource management personnel.
List of Assistant Manager Interview Questions
Tell us about yourself.
This is a typical question that is asked in almost all kinds of job interviews. However, when it is regarding an interview for assistant manager, you need not answer this question in the conventional manner. You need to say how efficient you are in your assignments, and how good your interpersonal skills are. You need to tell that you give a lot of importance to teamwork, and are a good leader who has the ability to understand the requirements of his/her subordinates. Also tell them that you can work under pressure for achieving targets, and are undeterred by changes and different kinds of work challenges.
What, according to you, are the responsibilities of an assistant manager?
If you are facing this kind of interview for the first time, you need to study the job responsibilities well in advance, before the actual interview takes place. But if you already have the relevant work experience, you would be knowing most of the responsibilities that they expect as an answer. The main function of this job position is to aid the senior manager in the everyday assignments of the company. Mention that the responsibilities include making sure that the promised services have been rendered to the client, and participating in employee training. Acting as a liaison between the senior manager and other staff executives is also an important responsibility of an assistant manager. Likewise, there are many other job responsibilities that you would come across in due course of your research and preparation.
Tell us about some challenging tasks you were assigned in your previous job and how you tackled it.
The interviewer would ask this question to assess how skilled you are at taking up professional challenges. Do not exaggerate about your performance and stick to the main points. If you really were outstanding, a simple description would more than suffice. Start from the basic duties and then state the advanced ones. Mention all the duties clearly, and ensure that you highlight those duties that, you think, would be corresponding to those in the prospective company.
Was your performance ever criticized? If so, then would you mind telling us exactly what happened?
Here, you need to be very careful in answering as the interviewers may catch your weak points. Indeed, this question is meant to gage your weaknesses and how they might interfere with your ability to work in your new capacity. Mention a genuine situation in which you tried your best to deliver a particular project on time, but, due to inevitable reasons, the deliverables were delayed, and everyone criticized you. After you mention this, do not miss out on stating the experience and learning that you gained during that difficult time.
Why do you want to work as an assistant manager?
Here, your research for this job description would really come to your aid insomuch as you would be able to mold your answer to highlight your personal attributes and professional interests in such a way that you would come across as the perfect candidate for the position. How well you are able to pull it off is all up to you. Be creative in crafting your answer but not insincere or flattering.
Tell us about your academic background and how it has helped you in your professional career so far.
Start with your latest academic achievements and go backwards. Don’t fail to mention any milestone or winning moment that adorns your academic career. Mention all extracurricular activities you participated in and also tell the interviewer(s) about any volunteering or philanthropic work that you did. These details will mark you as a good leader and a person who is comfortable taking initiatives and who doesn’t shy away from hard work.
The following questions would be hurled at you for evaluating your leadership skills, workplace communication skills, and decision-making abilities.
- Give me few examples of strategic thinking in your previous assignments.
- Did you ever try to review old work processes?
- How do you take important decisions in general, if the essential facts are not available?
- How do you normally provide a resolution to a problem?
- Give instances where your suggested ideas were implemented and proved to be of great help to the company management.
- How do you manage change in the workplace?
- How do you prioritize everyday work and handle heavy work pressure?
- Give examples where you turned failures into successes.
- On what basis will you hire or fire an employee?
- On what basis will you assign work to your juniors and subordinates?
While the above are some typical questions that can be expected in an interview to fill the vacancy of an assistant manager, you should not restrict yourself to preparing for these alone. The questions can change and be modified if the interviewers think that the discussion is turning out to be interesting. There could be some questions about the company itself, just to see how well you’ve done your homework to familiarize yourself with the company’s vision, its history, its business ethics and line of business. Leave no stone unturned to prepare for the interview and be confident about yourself. Wish you all the best for your interview!
