If you are moving up the ranks into a management role in your field, your interview will have a few new questions for you. Breaking into management-level roles will require new responsibilities, and they want to make sure you can handle them.

Here Are 2 Important Questions You Should Be Ready To Answer In Your Interview:

Why do you think you can manage a team without any prior managerial experience?

Everyone who has ever moved up into management had to do so with no experience. They want to know how you will go about making this transition? Walk them through your process:

“I think that a successful manager is someone who has a strong work ethic, strong communication skills, and wants the best for the company as well as for their employees. That means they are willing to train and mentor others, lifting people up and helping them develop, and removing obstacles that keep them from success. I’m that kind of person. Let me give you some examples…”

Your examples should show that you exhibited those character traits in a couple of different situations.

Maybe you’ve been in a situation where you had to motivate someone, but you had no authority over them. This is an ideal example, because great managers are not dictators—they are leaders.

Probably, you’ve been on a team where you took on the role of leader and got the team to a goal. This is a great story. Talk about what obstacles you faced as a team (or within the team) and how you resolved them. Most importantly, talk about the results of that project or team goal.

This is an ideal time to introduce your 30/60/90-day plan, so you can show how you would approach this job. You’ll demonstrate your strategic thinking in how you set priorities and goals. It’s the perfect way to demonstrate that you have the ability to do a job you’ve never done before.

How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?

Some new managers want to charge in to their new role and immediately begin changing things, because they believe it makes them seem smarter and more powerful. In reality, charging forward without assessing the situation first can make a lot of people angry and cause a lot of mistakes.

Establishing credibility in any situation requires that you start by asking smart questions that help you understand what’s really going on. When you have evidence, you can make stronger, better decisions.

So, in your answer, you’d say something that may include, “I would start by getting to know the people under me, and seeing where they are and what they believe their biggest challenges are. With that information, I could begin making decisions that will get us to our goals. No one will work harder than me, and I will lead by example.”

This is another instance where showing the interviewer your 90-day plan (or longer) is a great interview response. You say, “That’s a great question. I put together an outline of what I think I should take action on in the first three months, and I’d like to talk it over with you.” Your plan would show how you would get to know everyone, gather information, and educate yourself on everything necessary to perform in your new role.

Your plan and accompanying discussion will show that you are ready to buckle down and execute on those things that would help you establish credibility and be a productive leader.

About the author

Career Coach – Peggy McKee is an expert resource and a dedicated advocate for job seekers. Known as the Sales Recruiter from Career Confidential, her years of experience as a nationally-known recruiter for sales and marketing jobs give her a unique perspective and advantage in developing the tools and strategies that help job seekers stand head and shoulders above the competition. Peggy has been named #1 on the list of the Top 25 Most Influential Online Recruiters by HR Examiner, and has been quoted in articles from CNN, CAP TODAY, Yahoo! HotJobs, and the Denver Examiner.

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