Page 155 - Becoming a Successful Manager

146 BUILDING ON YOUR FOUNDATION

Ultimately, you have to determine if the applicant will fi t well
with the departmental culture you’ve worked so hard to create.
That doesn’t mean that the individual has to be exactly like every-
one else on your team, but all new hires should be compatible with
those already in place. Benchmark candidates against the qualities
you consider valuable to your department.

Targeting Scenarios to

Generate Dialogue

Here are sample questions you might pose that will help to uncover
how ready, willing, and able an applicant is:

• If you could have the ideal job at this time in your life, what would
that job be, and what are the qualities that make that job ideal?
Why do you feel you are qualified for it? In what ways have you

exhibited the skills and traits that make you qualified for this job?
• Think of the best manager you ever had. What qualities made
this person the best manager in your eyes? Do you possess any of
these qualities? If so, when and how did you use those qualities?
What are some of the qualities that the manager possessed that
you wish you had or would like to improve upon?

• Think of the worst manager you ever had. What qualities made
this person the worst manager in your eyes? Which of those
qualities do you possess? Have you ever demonstrated those
qualities? If so, what was the circumstance?

These questions are designed to initiate conversation and reveal
elements of the candidate’s personality. You could also describe a