Asst. Operations Manager

Demonstrates customer service skills.

Can this candidate distill complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand messages? That's what this question will find out.

Part of a sales manager's job is to regularly translate executive directives and news to their sales staff in clear, digestible ways. Ensure they can do this concisely and without a patronizing tone, before moving forward.

Hiring a sales manager is a big step for any company. Don't rush the process. Instead, be clear about the role and the attributes the right hire will possess. Then, don't settle until that right person walks in the door and blows you away.

A large part of a sales manager's job is keeping the team fully staffed with high performers. This question gives the interviewer a peek into the candidate's stance on hiring.

The skills and qualifications they deem to be important are those they'll look for when interviewing for open positions. Do the attributes they value line up with the company's standards? If so, it's a good sign. If not, this could be a red flag.

I believe a crucial trait for anyone in this position is a keen eye for detail to spot areas that could be improved upon. At the last company I was at, a colleague and I discovered a way to decrease the amount we were spending in the production of goods. It was only a decrease of two cents per unit, but that really added up quickly, and we ended up saving the company a lot in the long run.

There are definitely work pressures involved in an assistant manager’s job. You should always answer this positively adding that working under pressure makes you work more efficiently. Work pressure will not be a difficulty for you but help you work in a better way.

Sales managers also act as CRM sheriffs, ensuring all reps are using the system properly. CRM aside, sales managers are also involved in the vetting, selection, and deployment of new sales tools.

While sales manager candidates don't need to be computer whizzes, some technological savvy is necessary.

You need to answer this question in a very simple and brief manner. Decision making is always done after taking into consideration all the possible alternatives and then choosing the appropriate one. Also, include in your answer, that your decision will be based taking into account available resources and limitations.

☛ Have you ever successfully implemented a cost-cutting strategy?

☛ How big was the last team you worked with and what problems did you face?

☛ What’s your experience in making presentations?

☛ How do you manage 1:1 employee meetings?

The answer you give should be in line with the job you have applied for. You can say few words about how people talk about you like hard worker or reliable. Whatever you say must be positive and it is better to keep the answer short and to the point.

An innocent question. But a question that if answered improperly, can be a deal breaker. While many individuals will be looking to a new job as a means of increasing their salary, “not being paid well enough at your last job” is not something you want to mention to your interviewer. After all, are you not likely to leave this particular job if you found you could make more down the street?

If you’re currently employed and leaving of your own accord, craft your response around enhancing your career development and a seeking out of new challenges.

Tests coaching skills.

Shows leadership skills.

Yes, money is important to everyone. But as Andrew Quinn, HubSpot's director of training and development points out, money is inextricably entangled with self worth for some salespeople -- and that's okay. This attitude simply means the rep isn't suited for sales management.

Better steer a primarily money-motivated salesperson to a new territory or another opportunity at the individual contributor level rather than promote them to management.

Some obvious examples include quick learning/thinking and problem solving agility, leadership and communication skills.

Describe how you really have a background in these. For example: You’ve used your communication skills and leadership abilities to manage changes and to deal with all levels of personnel.

You can talk about your job skills for instructing and communicate messages clearly at all levels of the organization, from sub-contractors to senior management.

As an operations manager, I would make it my duty to always know what is happening with the logistics, warehousing and manufacturing divisions of the company. I believe communication is key when a company has numerous mechanisms at play, and when anything happens, even if it is minor, I make sure to inform every other division.

Effectively handling a job interview can be tough, but with enough preparation, it becomes so much simpler. Allow these sample human services operations manager interview questions and answers to set you on the right path to success.

If you do, don’t hesitate to give examples of firing people, as long as you explain your decision clearly and confidently. Further, explain you decision process on hiring new employees. Be specific and confident about your past decisions on employee hiring, professional development, and retention.

The jobs title might be "sales manager," but that doesn't mean leadership skills fall by the wayside. Sales managers need to be able to lead through example and inspire others to action.

Although this question is last on the list, it's probably the most important of all.

Assistant manager’s role is a very challenging role. Assistant managers are required to apply management skills for managing the company. They are responsible for communicating with employees, senior managers and customers also. Assistant managers are mainly responsible for assisting the senior managers. Thus, assistant managers are important in a company.

The goal of this question is twofold. First, you want to find out their management style and goals for their employees. They should touch on metrics for success, staff development, and executive communication.

You also want to understand how much research they’ve done about your company and the sales organization. If they make sweeping statements about attracting more enterprise business -- when your website clearly states your mission is to help SMBs grow -- it’s probably a sign this candidate hasn’t done their homework.