Ace Your Senior Client Manager Interview: 7 Must-Know Questions and Answers

When interviewing people for senior management jobs, employers look for people who can make decisions and lead others well enough to steward a business to success.

This article will talk about the most common senior management interview questions and the best ways to answer them to show that you are good at these important skills.

Additional Senior Manager Interview Questions for Employers

• How did you use change management strategies that worked in your previous jobs, and what were the biggest problems you had to deal with?
• Can you talk about a time when you had to deal with a lot of rules and regulations? How did you make sure you followed the rules while still meeting business goals?
• In what ways have you used data analysis to help you make strategic decisions? What tools or methods work best for you in this process?
• How have you led teams through tough times of growth or reorganization? What ideas or methods have worked best for keeping morale high and getting work done?
• What types of changes have you made to promote diversity, fairness, and inclusion at work, and how can you measure their success?
• How have you successfully managed big projects, making sure they were delivered on time and on budget while also identifying and reducing possible risks?
• Could you talk about a time when you had to deal with a tough or sensitive HR issue, like an argument between employees or harassment? What steps did you take to keep company values and policies in mind?
• What strategies have you used to manage and divide up resources like money, people, and time in a way that led to successful project outcomes?

20 Senior Manager Interview Questions and Answers

• Tell me about yourself. This question is often asked at the beginning of an interview to break the ice. You should highlight your relevant skills and qualifications. Any personal details should relate back to the position. As an example, I’ve been a senior manager for more than 12 years and have a history of leading high-performing teams, getting things done, and going above and beyond. I’ve had a lot of different jobs and led teams in areas like operations, project management, and business development over the course of my career. I love being a leader, and I believe in giving my team members the freedom to take charge and get things done. I’m excited about the chance to help this organization with my skills and knowledge.
• People often ask, “Why should we hire you?” for the same reason. You should list your most impressive achievements and skills and make the case for why you are the best person for the job. Example Answer: The jobs I’ve had in the past have given me the skills I need to lead high-performing teams and get great results. I’ve been in charge of budgets and projects worth up to $10 million, and I’ve made process improvements that saved a lot of money and made things run more smoothly. I’m really interested in always getting better and I’m fully committed to continuing to learn and grow. I think I’m a good candidate for the job because of my experience, leadership style, and desire to make things better.
• What is the most important thing for senior managers to have? The several best answers each say something different about how you run your business. Some important traits for senior managers are the ability to work with others, think critically, and solve problems. For example, it’s important for senior managers to know how to put together good teams. You can do anything if you help them improve their skills and point them in the right direction.
• How do you know when you’ve done something great? Hiring managers ask this question to see which candidate values personal growth and bonuses more: results and value created for the company, or personal growth and bonuses. The key is to align yourself with the latter and give an answer that shows you focus on results. Answer Example: I judge my own success by how well the company does. I always try to finish projects that go above and beyond what the client wants and add a lot of value to the business.
• What can employees learn from you? This is a clever question meant to find out a lot about you, like your positive traits, your ability to influence team members, and your level of self-awareness. Make sure to talk about all three of these things in your answer, and don’t forget to be humble. Many former employees have told me that my positive attitude has pushed them to do well, even when things were bad. In order to set a good example for my team, I always try to work hard no matter what.
• How do you deal with employees who aren’t doing their jobs? It can be hard to be a good manager because you have to use your own judgment to decide whether to train, talk to, or fire an employee. Show that you are careful in your answer by taking the hiring manager through your process, preferably with a real-life example. Example answer: When I was a senior manager before, I had two employees who weren’t doing their jobs well even after three months on the job. A face-to-face meeting was set up with them to figure out what should be done. I decided to give them another chance because I could tell they were really committed to the job. We talked at length about the problems they were having at work and came up with a plan to help them get better. By checking in on them from time to time and giving them advice, I was able to turn them into two of the best employees on the team.
• How would you describe our company? It’s a big red flag if someone applying for a job in executive management hasn’t done any research on the company itself. Still, that doesn’t mean your answer has to be very creative. Just make sure to talk about a few of the company’s most important values and unique qualities. Example: I see [Company Name] as a leader in X that is always coming up with new ideas and has a lot of room to grow in the future.
• Another common question is “Why do you want to be a leader at this company?” This is meant to see if your professional values match those of the company. Example answer: Your goal to make home appliances that are better for the environment really inspires me, and I want to use my skills to help you reach that goal.
• How do you reward your team members for doing great work? Knowing how to properly motivate workers is important for getting the most out of them. When it comes to individuals who go above and beyond, I would praise them in front of the team. I often offer incentives, like letting them leave early on Fridays or buying them lunch, to get everyone on the team to work hard.
• What do you think are the most important metrics to use when reviewing an employee’s work? As a leader, you need to show that you can build your team. It is important to know how to do good performance reviews and promote the right people as part of this process. As an example, I put a lot of weight on raw productivity and measurable results. I then look at traits like optimism and leadership.
• How do you get your teams to agree with your ideas? Good leaders don’t just tell their teams what to do; they talk to them so that everyone is focused on the goal. As an example, I put together presentations and talk to my team to help them see how an idea can help them. I also ask questions to make sure that every worker understands and agrees on the company’s goals.
• What do you do when your plans don’t work out? Every executive manager fails sometimes, no matter how good they are at their job. It’s very important that you can figure out why something failed and change things to fix the problem. The STAR method is a great way to answer this open-ended question by talking about a real-life event in your career. Example answer: I would carefully look into what went wrong to figure out why it happened. Then I would look at the choices I had and change my plan based on what I found. Yes, this is exactly what I did as a senior manager at Costco when our efforts to expand into Oregon weren’t bringing in enough sales by 2013. I immediately put together a group of experts to look over our operations. I looked over their report and found problems with how we were displaying different items in our stores. I then used that information to come up with a new plan. Because of this, we exceeded our quarterly sales targets in the region by 2017%.
• What are your methods for making the workplace a good place to be? There are many leadership styles you could use. As long as we learn from our mistakes, the most important thing is to let all of your employees know that they are allowed to make them. This makes it possible for team members to try new things and share their thoughts.
• How do you handle complaints from employees? As a leader, you need to learn how to take criticism and use it to make yourself and your team better. When hiring people, hiring managers look for signs that a person is self-aware and willing to learn. Example answer: When employees complain, I always take them very seriously and think about them a lot. If something could be better, I’m always quick to make the right changes.
• Question: What makes you happiest when you’re in charge? This is a common open-ended question meant to find out more about you and your values. Example answer: I love the feeling of setting big goals and working hard to come up with plans and teams to reach them.
• What kinds of leadership roles do you have outside of work? The hiring manager wants to know if leadership is more than just a job title for you. Example answer: I work as a youth leader at my church and as a tennis coach for older people.
• What leader inspires you, and why? The reason you give is more important than the leader you choose. Focus on the person’s ability to lead and make decisions, as well as their actions, as these will show what you value. The founder of Chewy, Ryan Cohen, is someone I really admire. I find it amazing that he stuck to his vision and strategies, even though everyone else didn’t think he could compete with Amazon in the pet supplies business.
• Is there someone you look up to? If so, what was the last problem you asked them to help you with? Everyone can learn and get better, no matter how experienced and smart they are. Companies ask this question to see if you know this and want to hire someone who is willing to put aside their pride to get help in areas where they are weak. Yes, I do have a friend who gives me advice on technical matters. I’m pretty good at them now, but I’d still like to get better. The last thing I asked them was how to set up a Jenkins pipeline.
• How would you make a good program for bringing new employees on board? You probably won’t have to do this, but it’s important to show that you know what makes a good employee. Answer: I would work with HR to create a program that first teaches employees about our company’s values and goals and then uses team-building activities to show them how to fit in with the rest of the staff.
• What do you think our company is doing well, and what would you change? The hiring manager isn’t expecting you to give specific solutions to their problems; instead, they’re looking at how you think in general and making sure you did some basic research. Example answer: I think the company is currently doing a great job with marketing and coming up with new technologies. However, I believe we could still make the customer service better.

SENIOR MANAGER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (How to PASS a Senior Management Interview!)

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