Facilities manager interview questions can cover a wide array of topics. This isn’t surprising, since facility management (FM) has become such a complex task. Prospective FMs will need to display a wide variety of skills and abilities. As well, they’ll need to demonstrate they have the leadership and problem-solving skills required for this ever-evolving position.
In this article, we help you prepare for your interview by covering likely facilities manager interview questions. We also review tips for how to answer them well.
Interviewing for a facility management position? You’ll want to be ready to answer common facility manager interview questions that assess your skills experience motivations and more.
This comprehensive guide covers the most frequently asked interview questions for facility management jobs and provides tips to help you prepare winning responses
Why Facility Management Interviews Matter
The facility manager interview is a crucial step in the hiring process. It gives hiring managers insight into your background and qualifications for the role
A strong interview can set you apart from other applicants and lead to a job offer. On the other hand, poor responses can remove you from consideration.
That’s why it’s so important to spend time preparing for your facility management interview. Understanding the types of questions you’ll face and practicing thoughtful answers can help you make a stellar impression.
Common Facility Manager Interview Questions
Facility manager interviews evaluate both your hard and soft skills relevant to the role. Here are some of the most common facility manager interview questions to expect:
Questions About Your Background
- Tell me about yourself and your background.
- What interested you in a facility management career?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- How do your past experiences make you qualified for this role?
Questions About Your Skills
- What facility management systems are you familiar with?
- How would you conduct preventative maintenance inspections?
- How do you prioritize competing tasks and projects?
- How do you ensure contractor safety onsite?
Questions About The Role
- Why do you want to work here?
- What can you contribute to our facility management team?
- What interests you about this role?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Behavioral Interview Questions
- Tell me about a time you successfully handled a facilities emergency.
- Describe a difficult coworker and how you worked with them.
- Give an example of when you went above and beyond for a customer or client.
- Talk about a time you had to adapt to a change in workplace policies or procedures.
Questions About Your Management Style
- How would you describe your management style?
- What is your experience training or mentoring staff?
- How do you motivate team members to perform at their best?
- How do you handle underperforming employees?
5 Key Facility Manager Interview Questions and Answers
Let’s look at some of the most important facility manager interview questions in more detail:
1. Tell Me About Yourself
This common opening question allows you to provide an overview of your background and skills. Focus on facts that make you qualified for the role. For example:
- Your years of experience in facility management
- Specific education like degrees and certifications
- Relevant skills like HVAC expertise or contractor management
- Major accomplishments from previous jobs
Tailor your answer to the specific position you’re applying for. And keep it concise – limit yourself to 3-5 key points.
Example response:
“I have over 7 years of experience in facility management. I earned my bachelor’s degree in facility and property management and am certified as a Facility Management Professional (FMP). In my current role as Facility Manager at XYZ Company, I’ve overseen major renovations, implemented a new work order system, and reduced annual maintenance costs by 15%. I’m skilled in contractor relations, preventative maintenance, HVAC systems, and developing facility budgets.”
2. Why Do You Want This Job?
With this question, hiring managers want to understand your motivations and passion for facility management. They’re looking for sincere interest in the role, not just a paycheck.
Research the company and highlight reasons you’re excited about the opportunity. For example:
- You’re interested in the company’s focus on sustainability
- You want to utilize the latest smart building technologies they use
- Their growth plans offer career development opportunities
Example response:
“After researching ABC Company, I’m really excited about the chance to join your facility management team. I like your commitment to energy efficiency and use of smart building analytics, which aligns with my own passion for sustainability. With your plans to expand operations over the next 5 years, I believe this role would provide the challenges I’m looking for along with great opportunities to learn and develop my skills.”
3. How Do You Handle a Difficult Coworker?
With this behavioral question, hiring managers want to know how you manage conflicts and maintain professional relationships. Focus your answer on listening, communication, and finding solutions.
Example response:
“I had a coworker who often avoided his assigned tasks. When I asked him to complete work orders, he became defensive. Instead of reprimanding him, I made an effort to understand his perspective. I learned that he felt overwhelmed. We had a productive discussion about restructuring his duties by priority level. Our relationship improved, and his productivity increased significantly.”
4. What Are Your Strengths?
This gives you a prime opportunity to match your strongest qualities to the facility manager role. Consider skills like:
- Organization and planning
- Communication and teamwork
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Leadership
Provide specific examples of applying these strengths in your past facility roles.
Example response:
“I’m highly organized – I utilize maintenance tracking software to optimize inspections and preventative upkeep. I’m also skilled at bringing teams together; for example, I improved collaboration between our maintenance staff and IT department to troubleshoot HVAC control systems. My strengths enable me to effectively manage complex facility projects from start to finish.”
5. Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
Hiring managers want to gauge your career ambitions and likelihood of staying at their company long-term.
Emphasize your desire for growth in responsibility and leadership. Show you’re interested in advancing within their organization.
Example response:
“In 5 years, I hope to take on more facility management responsibilities, potentially overseeing operations for multiple properties and leading a larger team. I aim to leverage my experience executing major capital projects to help the organization continue expanding its footprint. I’m very interested in long-term growth here as the company scales up.”
Tips for Acing Your Facility Manager Interview
Beyond preparing responses for common questions, follow these general tips for interview success:
Highlight Relevant Experience
Draw clear connections between your background expertise and the daily responsibilities of the facility manager role.
Ask Insightful Questions
Inquire about challenges facing the department and how the company sees the role evolving in the future.
Be Specific
Back up claims about your skills and experience with detailed examples and quantifiable results.
Show Enthusiasm
Convey genuine interest in the position and a passion for facility management.
Watch Your Body Language
Maintain good eye contact, posture, and an engaged facial expression.
Ask About Next Steps
Before leaving, inquire about when you can expect to hear back and the anticipated timeline for decisions.
Prepare for FM Interview Success
Landing a great facility management job starts with a stellar interview. Follow this guide to get ready for the most common questions, and you’ll be equipped to give thoughtful, compelling responses.
With the right preparation, you can confidently share your qualifications and make a winning impression on hiring managers.
Space planning facilities manager interview questions
Space planning is often an essential part of facilities. These questions provide an opportunity to speak about expertise in specific related areas.
Space planning is something that every good FM will love and want to use to make things better for their teams. When you talk about space planning in your FM interview, make sure to say that you know how to use both stack plans and scenario planning.
Similarly, FMs should be a bit wonky about space utilization. Talk about how you would use analytics, sensors, flexible work models, and good communication to make the way your company uses its space better.
This is also a good place to discuss how you would use space management best practices—i. e. setting up a workplace that is easy to get around in, easy to fix up, and easy to move around in
Headcount planning is a critical step that organizations use to anticipate and prepare for future needs. Talk about how you’d employ a systematic approach to headcount planning that includes accounting for hybrid work.
Finally, FMs are typically at the helm of office moves both big and small. The FM team at Harry’s offers a wonderful example of move management done right. Follow their lead and discuss how you would simplify moves and also easily find desks for new hires.
Technology facilities manager interview questions
Technology knowledge and experience is essential in facilities management. These questions will help showcase these skills.
You should also be comfortable talking about the organization’s existing setup, along with any recommendations you would make. This may include exploring how you would use the IWMS magic quadrant to make software decisions.
Talk about how having the right tools that do the right things and collect the right data is very important for the success of facility management software.
Lastly, the company probably wants to know how much experience you have with free addressing and IoT sensors, so be sure to mention any ideas or experience you have here.
No matter if FMs are directly in charge of security in IT networks or building automation systems, they are still in charge of the safety of their office space as a whole. For that reason, they need to work closely with IT and any outside contractors to make sure these systems are safe and sound.
You should also talk about how you’ll make sure that the hybrid workforce is just as safe as the in-office workforce. Of course, this means setting up a safe digital workspace.
One of the main jobs of an FM is to be able to look at data and use it to help the organization. Ultimately, you want to demonstrate a solid grasp of workplace analytics and how they intersect with workplace experience.
You can talk about which metrics you think are most important to track at work and how you use them to make better decisions in this question.
Reports on portfolios, occupancy rates, and any other information that can help FMs make better use of space will usually be part of this.
FACILITIES MANAGER Interview Questions & ANSWERS! (How to PASS a Facilities Management Interview!)
FAQ
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