If you’re applying for a management job, you should show the interviewers your management skills and leadership philosophy, even if you’ve never been a manager before.
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In addition to other common interview questions, this article will give you 10 questions to think about and be ready to answer in your interview for a management position. Even if your potential employers don’t ask all of these questions, getting ready to answer them will help you understand your strengths and how you handle management and leadership. This way, you’ll be able to easily talk about your skills no matter what question you’re asked.
As an executive coach and organizational consultant for mission-driven businesses, I’ve helped a lot of managers and leaders show off their skills and knowledge in job interviews and with the media. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s better to tell a good story about someone’s skills to show a current or potential manager or leader what they can do than to ask them to believe me.
As a restoration manager, you oversee complex projects that require a diverse set of technical skills and leadership abilities Whether you’re restoring historic buildings, leading disaster recovery efforts, or managing renovation projects, each job presents unique challenges that demand a strong foundation across project management, budgeting, team leadership, and communication.
When interviewing for a restoration manager role, you need to demonstrate this broad range of expertise. Employers want to know you can juggle the technical aspects of restoration work while also driving projects to completion through strategy, resourcefulness and people skills.
To help you ace your upcoming interview, I’ve compiled 25 of the most common restoration manager interview questions along with advice for crafting winning answers. Read on to get the inside scoop and land your dream restoration job!
Why Do You Want to Be a Restoration Manager?
Restoration work requires dedication and passion, given the complexities and stresses inherent to the job. With this question, interviewers want to gauge your motivations. Is it a long-held passion for preserving historic treasures? A commitment to environmental sustainability? Don’t be afraid to draw on your unique experiences and interests to explain what drives you.
Example Growing up I was always fascinated by antique homes and historic architecture. I loved imagining the stories behind old buildings. As I learned more about restoration and its role in preserving meaningful places I knew it was the right career path for me. Being able to restore historic spaces to their original glory while protecting their legacy for future generations is incredibly rewarding.
What Do You Consider Your Biggest Strength as a Restoration Manager?
With this question, the interviewer wants to understand what unique assets you’ll bring to their team. Choose an attribute that aligns with the role’s requirements, like strong project management skills, expertise in a certain restoration technique, or successful experience with large-scale disaster recovery efforts. Provide an example that highlights why this strength makes you the ideal candidate.
Example: My biggest strength as a restoration manager is my knack for project planning and resource coordination. I have an organized approach that involves assessing requirements upfront, creating detailed action plans, and optimizing budget, labor and materials. This has enabled me to consistently deliver large restoration projects on-time and within budget. For instance, in my last role, I spearheaded the restoration of a 120-year-old mansion using this strategy. Despite the scale of the project, we completed it 3 weeks ahead of schedule through efficient planning.
How Do You Handle Workplace Conflicts Between Team Members?
Restoration work comes with high pressure and tight deadlines, leading to frayed nerves and disputes. With this question, interviewers evaluate your people management and conflict resolution skills. Share how you encourage open communication, facilitate discussions, and aim for win-win compromises. Emphasize patience, empathy and maintaining team cohesion.
Example: When conflicts arise between team members, I first allow both parties to vent their concerns in private sessions. Once emotions have cooled, I bring them together to discuss the issue rationally. My goal is to find a solution that satisfies everyone, which I facilitate by identifying shared objectives. If tensions continue, I may temporarily reassign duties to ease the friction. Throughout the process, I aim to preserve our team dynamic and remind them of our united purpose.
How Do You Prioritize Tasks When Managing Multiple Restoration Projects?
Juggling assignments across different worksites while ensuring progress requires organization and time management abilities. Discuss tools and systems you utilize, like work-back schedules, productivity software, and daily check-ins. Emphasize how you focus on the critical path tasks to keep projects moving.
Example: With multiple projects ongoing, I first assess urgency and resources needed to determine priority tasks. Safety-related repairs always come first. Using project management software, I build master schedules with milestones and dependencies mapped out. I break down large jobs into steps and assign tasks based on team bandwidth. Daily stand-up meetings keep me informed on progress and let me adjust timelines if anything falls behind. This coordinated strategy ensures steady advancement across all active projects.
What Are Some Key Metrics or KPIs You Use To Measure the Success of a Restoration Project?
This question reveals your analytical abilities and understanding of restoration success factors like budgetary performance, schedule adherence, safety, quality metrics and client satisfaction. Share examples of metrics meaningful to stakeholders and how you track them.
Example: Key metrics I use focus on the triple constraints of project management: budget, schedule and scope. I carefully track metrics like cost performance and schedule variance to detect overruns early. Progress metrics such as percentage of work completed versus plan provide insight on pacing. Safety metrics like total recordable incident rate reflect diligent risk management. Finally, client satisfaction scores help ensure we are meeting requirements and perceptions of quality. By monitoring this holistic set of metrics, I can effectively assess project success.
How Do You Ensure Restoration Work Adheres to Safety Standards?
Safety is paramount in restoration, so managers must demonstrate diligence and leadership. Discuss your approaches for instilling a culture of safety, like onboarding procedures, continuous training, toolbox talks, PPE enforcement and site inspections. Share any specific safety certifications you hold.
Example: To ingrain safety, I start on day one, ensuring all workers complete orientations highlighting policies, protocols and potential hazards. I implement robust training programs covering safety topics extensively. During projects, we perform daily walkthroughs and toolbox talks to reinforce vigilance. My team knows I have zero tolerance for cutting corners on safety. By embedding it into our processes from the outset, we maintain an incident-free environment across all worksites.
What Steps Do You Take to Ensure Restoration Work Meets Quality Standards?
Restoration requires meticulousness to meet exacting standards for historic accuracy and structural integrity. Discuss your quality assurance practices like training workers, creating checklists, performing rigorous inspections, testing materials and requiring sign-offs before finalizing project phases.
Example: Quality is baked into every process. My team is extensively trained to perform to rigorous quality criteria. We utilize checklists mapped to restoration best practices to inspect work systematically. I scrutinize materials to match original aesthetics and strength. We document procedures and require sign-offs after inspections to engrain accountability at each milestone. If any issues are identified, we rework immediately. This comprehensive approach ensures consistently flawless quality.
How Do You Stay On Top of Industry Changes and Best Practices in Restoration?
Technology, materials and regulations evolve rapidly in restoration. Share how you actively learn through continuing education, memberships in professional associations, attending trade shows and reading industry publications. This shows you are dedicated to honing your expertise.
Example: I make learning a constant part of my professional development. I maintain memberships with key industry groups like the Association for Preservation Technology International to stay informed on emerging practices. I enroll in courses annually to expand my knowledge across restoration techniques. I attend major conferences to connect with experts and discover new solutions. I also subscribe to leading journals like the APT Bulletin to absorb the latest research. This multidimensional approach allows me to implement cutting-edge yet proven best practices.
How Do You Balance Restoring Historical Accuracy With Modernizing for Contemporary Uses?
Sensitively modernizing historic structures for modern purposes is an art. Share how you evaluate current needs and devise solutions respectful of original architectural intent. Demonstrate creative thinking and technical knowledge of adaptation methods.
Example: When modernizing historic buildings, I meticulously assess the architecture and intended use. My goal is maintaining historical integrity through preservation of key design elements and materials while discretely incorporating systems for contemporary utilization. For instance, discretely running electric and HVAC systems through spaces to preserve aesthetics. Or accommodating ADA access requirements through alternative entryways. I partner closely with preservation architects and clients to find the optimal balance between history and functionality.
How Do You Manage a Restoration Project Staying On Budget?
Cost management abilities are critical in restoration. Discuss proven techniques like basing estimates on comprehensive assessments, tracking costs vigilantly, contingency planning, negotiating prices aggressively and adjusting scopes as needed. Success stories will strengthen your answer.
Example: From the estimate stage, I build in contingencies for unexpected issues, with higher margins for more complex restorations. During execution, I utilize Earned Value Management to closely track spending against completion rates. I require approvals for any change orders. I negotiate with subcontractors from a position of power based on the full project scope. If certain restoration items become unfeasible, I will discuss descoping or alternative materials with the client to maintain budget integrity. These practices have enabled me to consistently deliver projects within 5% of original budgets.
How Do You Manage a Team of Contractors and Subcontractors on a Large Restoration Project?
Effectively coordinating with external resources is crucial in restoration. Discuss strategies like designating lead contacts, aligning on project plans/timelines, implementing proper onboarding and communicating needs proactively. Share successes you’ve had managing multi-party teams.
Example: On large projects with subcontractors across specialties, I first hold collaborative planning sessions to get all parties aligned on the overall restoration roadmap and each of our roles. I designate coordinators from my team as primary liaisons to each subcontractor for consistent communication. I provide clear instructions and agreements outlining my quality, safety and schedule expectations. With regular coordination meetings and proactive inquiries about any
What Is Your Leadership Approach to Managing Diverse Teams and Being Sensitive to and Inclusive of All Your Staff?
Don’t answer this question by simply spouting off the talking points from your last diversity training. The founder of the creative consulting firm Flannel and Blade, Tameka Nikki Andrews, says that you should show your interviewers how your values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice show up in the workplace. Andrews has managed teams in nonprofits, tech, finance, and advertising, and she has a lot of experience with diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice work. Andrews says that as a manager, you may be in charge of people of different genders, races, sexualities, ages, classes, and more. So, she says, companies want to know: “How are you going to make sure that your own biases and stories don’t hurt the way you manage people?” and “How do you effectively make a healthy and productive work environment?” team, when everyone is so different from one another?”.
As a manager, it’s your job to know yourself and learn about the best ways to use DEI in hiring, performance reviews, and handling conflicts. “We’ve all seen what can happen if you don’t educate yourself on DEI as a leader,” Andrews says. Leaders who don’t look at their unconscious biases keep people of color from being heard or given opportunities, ideas from women are often stolen by men, and microaggressions like sexually inappropriate and racially insensitive comments are common.
Share a story about how you helped people work together despite their differences by understanding their different points of view and ways of communicating, or talk about a time when you made a mistake and learned about differences that way.
You shouldn’t say that you don’t care about these issues because you are “colorblind,” want to hit your goals more, or were taught to accept other people’s opinions, even if they hurt other people.
Read More: 8 Interview Questions About Diversity and Inclusion Every Job Seeker Should Be Able to Answer
You Should Be Ready to Tell Stories
I once asked a mid-level manager, “Which acts of leadership are you most proud of?” as I was getting her ready for an interview for the position of managing director. Her first thought was to give a general answer: “We’ve met almost every deadline for three years in a row.” But when I asked her more about how she had been so good at leading people, she gave me a much more interesting and useful answer:
“I once had this really talented direct report who was always late. One of our company’s core values is being on time, and the employee and I talked about and tried to fix the problem many times. He would improve, maybe for a week. Senior management noticed when he arrived late twice to company-wide meetings. I didn’t know what to do. The thought of firing him really upset me, because he was talented.
“Then, I had an idea. I asked him to run the staff meetings in the morning. He was to look over and organize the agendas the night before, talk about the main topic and structure, and keep track of time during the meeting. It was risky to give a job to someone who wasn’t following the rules, but no one else was interested. He embraced it and showed up on time religiously, knowing that the team was depending on him. ”.
The story of this manager showed how creative she was at dealing with people, finding their strengths, solving problems, and working with a group. Storytelling is the most powerful tool in your interview kit because it lets you give so many details to potential employers.
As you prepare for a management interview, mine your work experience for management and leadership wins. Even though you haven’t been a manager before, you’ve shown leadership by teaching others, overseeing projects, inspiring coworkers, sharing your thoughts, planning ahead, and holding others responsible. Take some time to reflect on your work experience and jot down significant moments when you led. These are the basis for your stories, which should reveal one or all of the following:
- A time when you inspired and motivated other people (and how you usually do that)
- a time when you and your team did well and what you did to help
- A time when your ability to solve problems and/or give tasks to other people had a direct effect on a coworker, a team, or an initiative
TOP 10 MANAGER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (How to PASS a Management Interview!)
FAQ
What questions are asked at the Paul Davis Restoration interview?
What type of questions are asked in a manager interview?
What makes you a good manager interview answer?
How do I prepare for an interview for a restoration manager?
If you’re preparing for an interview for a Restoration Manager position, you’ll need to demonstrate not only your expertise in the field but also how you handle project management, team coordination, budgeting and unexpected challenges that may arise.
What does a restoration manager do?
This question is designed to gauge your project management skills, particularly in the areas of time management, budgeting, and strategic planning. As a restoration manager, you’ll be held accountable for the successful completion of projects, and that means delivering high quality work within the constraints of time and budget.
What does a restoration manager look for in a project manager?
Restoration work requires specialized skills and knowledge, and the ability to adapt to different types of projects. The manager is looking for assurance that you can effectively prepare your team for the unique challenges of each project, ensuring high-quality results and client satisfaction.
How do you answer a problem-solving question during a restoration job?
Interviewers ask this question to learn more about your problem-solving skills and how you react when a restoration job doesn’t go as planned. Use your answer to highlight your ability to think critically, communicate effectively and solve problems quickly. Example: “I recently had to troubleshoot an unexpected problem during a restoration job.
