Specialist roles
Most of the questions we have covered will apply to all levels of candidates but the wording may need to be changed depending on the seniority of the candidates. For example in Chapter 6 we looked at finding out about the candidates’ duties and asked ‘How is your work overseen or checked?’ The question is still relevant but for senior candidates you could change it to ‘How is success in your role monitored?’
Competence-based questions work well with these candidates but you want more complex and detailed examples than you would expect from less experienced candidates.
Questions on specialist roles
For certain specialist roles, especially at more senior levels, you will need to ask specific questions targeted at this experience.
- Firstly find out what they know about this area in your company.
- Question them on their market knowledge and other potential markets.
Have they covered this or a similar role in their present or previous jobs?
How did they improve what their company was doing? What was the strategy?
Who put the strategy together?
Were you solely responsible or were others involved?
What success did you have?
Have you identified any other areas for improvement?
What should we do to improve our company?
You are recruiting a new business development manager whose key task will be to develop new markets. Some of the questions below will lead on from general questions about their present and past jobs. They can be used for products or services and for new sectors or international markets.
What markets are we in? Are there any other markets you think we should be in?
Have you worked in any of these markets?
What new markets have you opened?
How did you identify the new market?
Who else was involved in that process?
What strategy did you use?
Did you have total responsibility, or were others involved?
How successful has this market been?
Is there anything else you could have done to make it more successful?
We are struggling with . . . What would you do to improve that?
These questions will identify if they have ideas on where you can develop and whether they have the experience to do so. They will also help to quantify if their success in new markets is solely down to them or if they are just part of the team involved in it.
Have you identified any gaps in our product range?
Have you launched any new products?
As with looking at new markets, ask them to identify who else was involved, etc., how successful it was and so on, in order to quantify how much of this success was solely down to them.
If you need someone to develop international markets you may need some more specific questions. In some sectors new markets are opened following a chance conversation at a trade show where someone expresses an interest in representing that company. This may be all you are looking for but if you want a more strategic approach use the questions above, and add:
How much research did you do before deciding to launch in a new market?
What research did you look at?
What other factors did you consider?
How much time did you spend in the market prior to launch?
How long do you spend there now?
What is the company structure in that market?
Why have you gone for that option?
What reporting structure is in place?
What criteria did you use to select your representative there?
How do you see that market developing?
These questions can apply whether the market is being developed through own company staff, agents, licensees, or distributors. The candidate may not have used the business model that you use or want to use, but you are looking for good planning strategy, well thought-out ideas and success.
Questions on time management
Many managers fail because of their inability to time-manage multiple areas of responsibility and cannot delegate efficiently, so you need to understand how this candidate deals with these issues.
How do you prioritise your time?
What time management techniques work for you?
How do you delegate? Talk me through that decision.
How do you manage and oversee projects you have delegated?
Who takes over while you are away, and how well does that work?
What mechanisms do you have in place to deal with the running of the department if you are called away at short notice or off sick?
Questions on influencing and relationships
We have already looked at these areas in earlier chapters but they are even more crucial and far-reaching for senior level employees so you will want to ask more in-depth questions.
How do you work with other teams?
How do you get other departments to work with you?
Who is the most difficult member of your peer group that you have to deal with, and how do you handle that?
There is always a conflict of interest between certain departments such as sales and marketing or buying and merchandising, so get an understanding of how they deal with these. Are they confrontational or quietly influencing?
How do you influence the rest of the management team / the board / investors / shareholders?
How do you persuade others to support your ideas?
How do you motivate your direct reports? Give me an example of where this has / has not worked.
What is your relationship with external bodies, e.g. the press?
What is the most challenging thing you have had to persuade others to buy into?
How did you handle that, and did it work?
Questions on finance
The further up the corporate ladder you climb, the more involved in finance you become. If financial responsibility is part of your job specification then you need to establish how experienced your candidate is in this area and if they are compiling budgets or just working to them.
What budgets do you put together? Talk me through the process.
How involved is the finance department / company accountant in this? At what stage do they become involved?
Can you read a P&L account?
It’s easy to say yes to the above question so check them out with an abridged P&L account.
If I show you this one can (P&L account) you tell me what problem areas you can identify?
What would you do to rectify these?
Are you involved in cash flow projections?
How do you forecast these?
Are you responsible for setting other budgets? How do you control budgets you have set for others?
At what stage do you get involved in negotiations?
Who closes the deal?
What are the first areas you would look at in a cost cutting exercise?
You need to ensure that their approach will fit in with your company’s philosophy.
Questions on strategy planning
At senior levels the role will involve some strategy planning and at more elevated levels this will be a major part of the function.
What strategies have you introduced to improve your company’s profit in this current climate?
Are they working?
Were they your ideas or a joint effort?
What problems did you inherit when you joined your company, and how did you tackle them?
Have you been involved in putting together any emergency strategies?
I notice your company has recently made redundancies. Were you involved in that decision? What ramifications did it have on the business?
Part of this role is to look at expansion. What ideas do you have?
What do you think of our strategy on . . . ?
What would you do to enhance that?
We are struggling with . . . What strategy would you use to turn that around? Have you been in a similar situation? What did you do?
We have recently had bad press over . . . What would you do to overcome that?
One of the challenges facing our company is . . . Have you had to deal with that before? What did you do?
We are going through a lot of changes including hiring for this new role. Have you had to deal with change management before? How did you deal with that? What were the plus and minus points?
Questions about working across multi functions
You may be looking for a head of department or the equivalent, so although senior in experience they are still specialising in one area but above this level job roles typically become more general and you need to ensure that the candidate can handle this.
Your background is predominantly marketing, but this role will encompass other departments. How will you cope with that?
We are looking for someone to head up sales and marketing. Your background is in sales so how would you handle the marketing team?
Do you think it is right to have one person responsible for these two departments?
What do you see as the advantages / drawbacks?
Heading up several departments can be difficult. Is there an area you would need help in?
Questions on market knowledge
It is these candidates that you will expect to have good market knowledge even if they are in a function that crosses markets, such as finance.
What do you see as the main challenges to our company in this market?
Where do you see our market position?
What is the biggest influence on the market currently?
Who do you consider to be our main competitors?
Which companies do you think compare more favourably than ours? Why? What would you do to change that?
How do you keep abreast of new developments / trends in our market?
What trade events do you go to and what benefit do you gain from these?
What networking groups do you belong to? Have they been advantageous?
You may need to be aware of confidentiality issues at this level, so make sure the scenarios you are giving are in the public domain and that the questions you are asking are not going to be off limits for discussion. Equally be very wary of the candidate who is prepared to give away what amounts to trade secrets or to break confidences!
- Concentrate on competence-based questions with detailed examples.
- Check that their organisation and time management skills will allow them to cope with your job.
- Ensure that they are able to work across multi functions.
- Make sure they have the strategy planning skills and experience that you need.
- Establish their market knowledge.