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Ask Slashdot: Interviewing Your Boss?
First time accepted submitter Uzuri writes "I'm soon going to have the experience of interviewing an individual to be my direct supervisor. I have in mind several things to ask already, especially since I also have the strange position of working as a technical person in a non-technical office and want to be able to be certain that the interviewee understands exactly what that means without coming off as hostile or condescending. What sort of questions would you ask/have you asked the person who was to be your boss? What sort of tells would you look for? What's out of bounds?"
Will you fire me?
Is there an SI unit the pointyness of someone's hair?
Is she hot?
If you have to tip-top on thin ice that badly, it's probably not a great job. Just be polite and inquisitive!
Ask him who's the boss? If he says you, give him a big thumbs up!
I'd primarily focus on their management related skills with social / personality related questions. This will ultimately boil down to a test of their ability to accept others in their prescribed roles and hopefully not browbeat everyone to align with their form of thinking/management.
Give them an example of situations and ask how they would react. I would choose the biggest mistake that I've made at my current job, and the biggest accomplishment. Their reaction will tell them if you want to work with them supervising you or not. You needn't tell them that this is what you personally did, but you know what an appropriate response to the situation should be and can contrast it to what the actual response was at the time.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
"On a scale of one to ten, are you a douchebag?"
What is your management style?
What are your job priorities?
How do you think I can help you?
Take notes, because none of their answers will be truthful.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Don't hire your boss, find a different job! The idea that someone is qualified to hire their own superior is so asinine that it could only come out of a corporate red-tape nightmare so awful it is doomed to an epic fail. If the company had any idea about how to manage whatsoever then they would either have someone higher-up the ladder do the hiring or move someone qualified up from within. Run! Run now! Run fast!
Get a web developer
You're very sparing with the details here. What do you do that is technical? If you're a sole technical person in a non-technical office, I assume this means you're IT. Why exactly are you interviewing someone to be your supervisor? How did this happen? Are you being forced to have a supervisor because management wants to reign you in? So many unknowns. Why wouldn't management make you the supervisor and get you to hire underlings if they feel they need more bodies? This reeks badly of a top-heavy organization.
Nothing is more dangerous than a programmer with a screwdriver.
Do you evaluate performance based upon specific goals - that is, lines of code/subroutines/class modules/interfaces/boards/prototypes/thingamabobs built, or something more ethereal, like how well I kiss ass?
Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
Pick a few and ask them to elaborate their role, what they did, etc regarding skills and experiences they list in their resume.
Ask them how their previous co-workers and subordinates would describe them.
Pick some scenarios you have encountered that you wish you had a supervisor to handle and ask the person how they would handle the situation.
Anything else will be deemed as potential insubordination. It's a fine balance in appearing honest and not being insulting.
This is a really shitty position.
If they say that they want "Honesty" they are lying.
Go ahead you stupid fuck and tell me that folks want honesty! You dumb fucker!
See my point? I was too harsh, but I was trying to make a point.
The pain in the ass about interviews is that nearly everybody is looking to please, and trying their damnedest to give the answer that they think you want to hear.
So you need sort of roundabout ways to get to the questions you *really* want answered. But before you even get that far, you need to figure out what qualities you'd like to see in a boss.
For me at least, the ideal boss is:
1. competent
2. professional
3. willing to shield me from the political BS that is part of his job
4. knows when to leave me alone (most of the time) and when to get on my case (once in a while)
5. understands what I do and the value of it, even if he can't necessarily do it himself
6. knows what I'm better suited to accomplish than he is, and is willing to leave those tasks/decisions to me
There's more, but that covers a good chunk of the basics. That list might suit you, but then again you might have something totally different in mind. The important thing is to have some clue of what you're looking for first. As far getting to know whether or not a potential supervisor has these traits, the best generic way I know of is to ask about prior experience and how he's handled specific scenarios.
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
I'm a software dev, and I could do a decent evaluation for anyone from architect down to data-entry, but I don't know that there's anything in my background or skill set that would mark me as being especially able to evaluate a manager based on their day to day duties.
That being said, what I could look for that's important for my manager to have that affects MY day to day duties - which is going to be the minority of what they do - is awareness of the technical processes, awareness of technical limitations, and a reasonable shot from the hip estimate of costs and risk they think a given task will require.
I have had managers who have asked me to get a remote server with no external access email us when they or their internet connection goes down. I've had folks who don't understand that if I push a change of a major subsystem directly into production after working on it for only a few hours, it could very well take down all customers. In many cases, these folks won't be able to justify or even consider the costs for refactors, or for separate test environments, but it's a little late after they've told their boss's boss they'll hit the deadline and now you're on the hook for it.
Beyond those things, just check to see if his management style gels with how your company like to work. Some folks like teams, some like seclusion. Some managers are hands on, some are hands off. Some like rigid project plans, others prefer desk drive-bys. Make sure that their style is good for your company, and for you.
My big question is why are you having to interview the person whose going to be your direct supervisor? I would ask the person that the interviewee will report to what's the motivation for asking you to interview him/her. On a different note, did you yourself apply for this position, or wanted to apply for this position?
What mental disability do you have that makes you think you're capable of micro-managing something that you have not comprehension of?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I wouldn't ask questions, I would look for behaviors.
I've used this trick: take them to lunch. If their order is incredibly detailed and controlling -> major warning sign.
Now, pre-arrange for your server to screw up their order. If they are an absolute asshole at the server about it, and especially if they belittle the server, walk away. There's a good chance you have a sociopath on your hands.
It's important not to encourage or discourage them: let them demonstrate natural behaviors. An interview is an unnatural situation, and lots of people are highly trained to show their "nice" face. What you need to see is their natural behavior, because as your boss, that's the behavior you'll be facing when they're above you. A sociopath will only be nice to people who can benefit him or her, and your window of opportunity for that ends with your recommendation about hiring them.
why the fuck aren't YOU being considered for the position?
if you're qualified to interview and evaluate candidates for that position, you yourself must also be qualified -- even more so because you are already an employee there, know the company, its policies, procedures, customers and other workers.....
Family, what town they live in, hobbies, vacations, favorite music, recreational reading.
This will generally take their guard down and can give clues about what their values are. Not just their literal answers, but how they present them and any which they give added emphasis. For example, if they keep bragging on a son for their athletic or academic achievements, this could be a competitive type who cares a lot about climbing the corporate ladder.
get server to screw can end up very badly for all.
Let's say some has a allergic reaction and the server does not know that but does the screw up as part of the test .
Also some people have religion based dietary laws
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
"Doin' your wife."
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Reject any management candidate who has job-hopping in their history. If they spent less than 2 years or so in their last three positions and the companies they worked for are still around, odds are good there's a reason behind all that shuffling, and it indicates that said manager never really got to know his or her team that well.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
It might seem as a big thing now; but remember it is not important to have a good relationship with your boss. It is much more important to have a good relationship to the boss of your boss.
Just ask all of the questions from airplane.
stephen
Figure out some questions to get an honest feel for what they enjoy besides their job. Do they "live to work" or "work to live"? Figure out which of those options applies to you and determine which you'd like more in a boss.
My current boss is way better of a technical manager than my last, but has no life outside of work. So while I have a much easier time agreeing on technical solutions than I did with my previous manager, my previous manager and I had the same feeling of "get out of work ASAP and enjoy life". While my new boss does everything she can to keep me at work to get as much out of me as possible.
What's out of bounds?"
I hope you have had a bit of training on the legal in's and out's of interviewing. Asking an illegal question in an interview can be a liability to the entire company. e.g.- How old are you, I noticed an accent, are you from Timbucktwo? Do you have any kids?
Depending on which state/province/country you live in the legal rules can be very different, brush up on them so you yourself don't get fired.
Is /. becoming loaded with Dice.
Pick someone you can blackmail...
Republican leadership = Idiocracy
Ask him if he knows what is a PHB
I like it!
Hi! I'm an MBA. I am a jerkwad that all of you hate.
I was a developer who went to the dark side.
Watch out for stupid questions.
If the questions don't pertain to the job - or the project - watch out.
Examples of incompetent management:
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What are your passions? (Or questions along this line.)
Or any questions that questions your ability to do the job.
End stupid question examples
As an entrepreneur, I don't want passion. I want cold hard logic.
Passion is for your loved ones. I want cold logic.
Faking it for the job? OK. No problem. Do your job and STFU.
Thank you.
"A valuable employee leaves your group. You get a call from an employer verifying period of employment. What do you say?"
Follow up with: "An employee with unsatisfactory performance leaves your group. You get a call from an employer verifying period of employment. What do you say?"
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
In my previous position, I wasn't on the committee, per se, but gave an operational tour to each candidate and tried to explain what we did and our job functions. One candidate didn't seem to pay much attention and was eliminated because he wanted too much money. Another candidate thought he knew more than I did about our operations since he had glanced at our website and walked around the building before the interview. The third candidate was able to understand what I was saying to him and asked good questions about what we did. This casual back and forth was helpful in assessing his demeanor and grasp of technology. He was a manager, so he wasn't actively managing servers and such, but knew what I was talking about and not just buzzwords. I was able to recommend him to the committee and I left his department seven years later with a good reference. Things that stand out to me about people, especially managers: proper dress, profanity during the conversation, excessive sarcasm, and any hints of poor anger management. I may be old school, but I want a manager that doesn't yell or swear at me during our interactions and isn't sarcastic.
The screw up should be something like /forgetting/ a topping/side/etc. or /overcooking/ a steak then.
If a candidate finds technical questions threatening or condescending, you probably don't want them as your boss. You want someone who's okay with the fact that you have more technical knowledge than they do, but is still able to speak (and listen) intelligently about technical subjects.
The point of the exercise isn't to trick the candidate into getting the wrong food, it's to see how they handle mistakes.
If they blindly trust that their directions were followed even if a failing could result in their death you don't want to hire them. So problem solved?
If they are cruel to the staff than they will likely be cruel to their subordinates and you don't want to hire them.
If they are too timid to speak up they will not be effective at their position and should not be hired.
If and only if they recognize the mistake, politely explain the issue and ask for it to be corrected, have they passed the test.
How about "what makes you think that you would be better for this position?" or "Do you really want to work for a company that has no qualms about bringing somebody with no knowledge in to be a supervisor rather than promote someone from within?" After all, it may work out well this time for the interviewee, but the next outside placement they do may be HIS (or HER) boss.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
I was actually the only member of the IT dept in the interviews for our Director of IT position some years back. I was also the only person involved in the process that was not on the existing executive management team.
I think a lot of it depends on who else is in the room. If there are any other department heads involved, note closely their interaction with YPNB (your potential new boss). I found that to be quite telling in that you see what is important to them, and if YPNB has any intelligence, they will pick up on what is expected of them and what the others are looking for. By being involved in this, I was able to pretty much garner what projects we would be working on during the first 6 months after he was hired.
As others have stated, HR or someone else may run the show. The only thing you might want to consider is this: if YPNB requests a laptop or projector for any type of presentation, hook it up, but do something wrong (leave a plug loose etc). See how YPNB reacts to the unexpected and how the interaction goes when either they or you "fix" the problem. I don't know of any other way to really get a read, because any questions from HR (or you) are likely to be met with "correct" answers.
Also, with the boss I ended up with, we had a laptop setup and he wanted to show something off a thumb drive. At that time, the NIC port was wide enough that you could put a USB drive in it. He did. And so I went to the laptop, noticed what he did, and quickly put it in a USB port without saying anything. He showed his stuff, and ended up getting hired. He was nervous about the interview, but was very gracious about the whole thing. He is still my boss today (6 years later) and while not perfect, we could have done a lot worse. He was a unanimous choice (they even let me vote).
The server isn't stupid. They know the difference between forgetting 'dressing on the side' and killing someone.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Ask the boss that and if he does not say part of it are manual on what not to do.
The trick to managing technical people is knowing what you don't know and allowing technical experts do their job without infuriating them with stupid questions.
-- ask some technical questions, make sure at least a few the candidate will not know the answer to. If they fake it rather than saying "I don't know" PASS
-- give a situation to deal with (the server is down) and ask "what do you want me to do?" if it is anything other than "fix it and let me know the details only after you are done" PASS
Well, the first question is whether the person might be someone who could make your life miserable or not.
The person who would not might e.g. be a very caring, easygoing person who has no idea about computers but is fully prepared to let you do your stuff.
In that case you don't want to challenge them with technical or difficult questions, which might get their back up. So I think you should think about different types of questions you could ask to different types of people.
If it's someone intelligent/aggressive/experienced/hands-on who MIGHT make your life miserable, then how about:
"Okay, here is a difficult one. Let's say you come into the office and notice that the company webpage on www.____.com suddenly is not available. You ask me why that is. What do you think are some different answers I might give you, and how would you react to each?"
It's a tough nut and could potentially get the back up of someone who knows nothing of IT, but any answers would speak volumes.
Also it's important to know how important your input will be into the process. If you are the decision maker then you can afford to be a bit more direct and questioning than if (as I'm used to) the hire is already a done deal by upper ups.
Start looking for another job. In my experience having another manager come in to the group is always a disaster. I've never had it go well, and that's WITH new managers who seemed to think I was doing a great job.
Want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?
Do you understand the acronym "PEBKAC"?
Connery or Moore?
Episodes IV-VI or I-III?
Shirt or skins?
Can I have a raise?
I said "CAN I HAVE A RAISE?"
Ask scenario questions. Here's my favorite:
You're the new manager on a project, and the previous manager has moved on. It's a team of about a half-dozen programmers. The first release has gone out, and the software works, but a lot of corners were cut, and developers are having a hard time working around the existing architecture. One of the developers has re-factored a major part of the project, and by all accounts, done an excellent job, and it's made the other developers' lives much easier. On the other hand, this has caused him to be behind in his feature set, and it won't be able to make a previously set ship date, which is close enough that "just a lot of hard work" isn't going to be able to make it. He ran this refactoring past the other developers in the team, and they were for it, but he didn't run it past you. You're going to have to explain it to management, and get a delay from some major customers, who have been asking for the new release. The question is "What do you do?" It's a question of project discipline vs initiative. If the manager says, "I'll deal with the unpleasantness above, but I'll explain in no uncertain terms that he needs to communicate with me in the future when he wants to do something like this", it's probably a good balance. On the other hand, if he describes in loving detail about how he would destroy this person for disobedience, do what I did.
"This interview is terminated".
The biggest mistake we made was not hiring someone who would go to bat for our department. Maybe I'm naive, but I was really hopeful we could find a manager who would represent OUR needs in management meetings, rather than HER needs. Half the staff in my department quit or were reassigned within a year, which is really saying something because we had an average length of service of over a decade.
Find a manager who will fight for YOU - for your projects, for your needs, for your funding, and who understands what you do well enough to convince other people that it's the most important thing in the organization. I would suggest asking them point blank for an example of a time in which the demands of management were in conflict with the needs identified by the department, and how he or she resolved the issue. Ask how s/he will promote the department's needs within the organization.
Also, I would suggest asking what strengths s/he feels may be lacking in your department, and how s/he will act to fill these gaps. You need to understand whether you'll be getting new co-workers, incentives for retraining, or whether you're going to get pushed out in favor of someone else who s/he feels better meets the department's needs.
I was in that position and the person who was finally hired was not my choice. Well he was told that he was not my choice and I eventually was forced out. Beware!
Ask his position on "undocumented time off" :)
1. Go to the job interview scene and memorize
2. At your interview, re-enact verbatim
3. ?
4. Profit
You might ask how he feels about meaningless, "feel-good" management consultant-theater exercises like having a worker "interview" his own boss-to-be.
It'll be a good indication of how much time you're going to be wasting in meetings, "team-building" exercises, etc.
At most, all that's going to be accomplished by this nonsense is you getting a sense of just how much of a sociopath your new boss is going to be. Maybe you should ask him if he still wets the bed and sets small animals on fire.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Ask him with which Dilbert character he associates himself the most.
I'd ask how they gauge productivity - particularly if you are an odd one out in a team. I'm in a similar situation where I do many things outside of my job role, and without my skills, so many projects and other tasks would have taken way longer if they happened at all. The difficulty though is in justifying my time further up the chain. That's why my manager worked with me to ensure she knows what I'm doing and why, and I know the kind of information she needs from me in order to explain how three days of my tinkering around leads to two weeks of time saved each quarter.
Bring examples of how your previous manager did things well - have the discuss these approaches. You want to be certain this person keeps you on your toes and will be your advocate to higher management.
-- Using the preview button since 2005
Ask some vaguely technical questions. Yes, it's a bit of a trick question. If he starts coming up with elaborate and specific implementation details and other micromanagement, rather than a high-level understanding of the business constraints and risk assessment, who he would delegate to, and what requirements he would communicate, I'd be at least a little bit worried.
If I ask my manager what stance to take with sales data retention, he'll tell me the business policies and IT resource constraints that affect the decision. If I ask him how I should construct the database to keep the large historic data from impacting performance, he'll tell me that's what he hired me for.
Depends.
No brain, no pain.
- How he feels success in your field should be measured, what would be good indicators - What he thinks are positive and negative aspects about outsourcing whatever you do - Try to get a feeling if he will openly admit when he does not understand something, or rather act as if he understands
1: Is this being recorded?
2: Do you ever press charges?
3: Profit.
No brain, no pain.
Ask why it would be hard to work for them and demand a meaningful answer if they offer something stupid like "I expect amazing things from my people" - ask them why that's hard to handle and what support they would give you to accomplish that.
Make them be specific in their answers to all questions. If they describe something about themselves, make them give an example from real experience.
Question them about their use of buzzwords and bullshit.
Other co-workers will be interviewing them, too - so ask them to take notes then ask your potential boss about the things they said.
Don't be an asshole, just make it clear that you expect anyone who is going to be managing you to be amazing because you're amazing, so you're being hard nosed to weed out the empty suits.
Any decent boss is going to relish having an employee who isn't afraid, and if the place you work for is worth working for, they won't hire someone who would use such an interview against you.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
Here is one question I'd make sure to ask: Will you have the underling's back when the politics start, and be able to get them what they need (within reason) for their job? Please cite examples.
The reason I say this is that I have had experience in the past where a manager would not do much for hardware upgrades. Said manager would keep putting off asking superiors for budget. Heck, she didn't even push to get contracts renewed even after my daily warnings in E-mail and verbally about the gravity of what would happen. Of course E-mail to other managers resulted in the message, "stop going over heads, go through your supervisor first". Well, when the inevitable happened on a test machine and a filesystem went offline, I was sacked on the spot as a sacrificial lamb, even though there was absolutely nothing I can do about the situation.
BOFH, the whole series. From managing HR to selecting your boss, it's all there.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
(Ego, Politics)
How concerned are you with others' perception of you and your actions?
(Self-Confidence, Protection)
How do you handle stress passed down from the higher rungs on the ladder? Do you pass it down the hierarchy or do you act to shield your employees from stress they don't genuinely need?
(Field Sgt. vs. Desk Jockey)
How important is it for a manager to be capable of replacing her/his employees in absence of the employee? Are you willing to fill-in for your employees to the best of your capability?
(Career "Management Track" vs. Genuine Leader)
What do you see as the "perks" of being a manager vs. being the managed? What are the burdens?
You have 3 employees in your division and you are told that the office is letting most people go early for the holidays. However, each division must "hold the fort" with at least one person. How do you decide who stays?
(Ethics)
Have you ever been required to compromise your integrity by a supervisor or manager? How did you feel?
(Authenticity)
What makes you uncomfortable in the work environment? (Clothing, language, discussion topics, etc.)
(Humor and Creativity)
Cake or pie? When and why?
(Confidence in Team)
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being frequent), how much do you micromanage? When would you prefer to be most involved in lower-level decision? When would you like to see your employees take charge?
1) Does the interviewee have a good chance to win in a game of 'Buzzword Bingo'?
2) Describe your management style?
2a) Do you manage upwards or downwards?
3) Describe what you did when 'shit hit the fan in a previous position.
4) Describe what you did when your team excelled in a situation.
5) Describe the hardest thing you have ever had to do as a manager.
I asked her "describe your ideal jon -- what do you want to do?"
She replied with a job title
So I replied... yes that's a job title but what do YOU want to do?
And then she opened up about the types of work she would like to do ....
Discussions that address what the person wants to do (as opposed to what they have experience in) in my experience reveal much more insight into the person, and their aspirations while also promoting greater understanding of where they are coming from.
There was a standout candidate that the director was afraid would be targeting her job, so was eliminated solely based on that.
There was a moderately qualified candidate with some red flags (that I spoke out against because of the red flags) that we hired.
He turned out to be not so great. I wish we could have had the standout. The guy we got likes to piss on everything, micro manage to the point nobody else can get their work done, as they are blocking on him. He also has engaged in some really dickish manuvering (doesn't hesitate to throw others under the bus to get ahead / cover up for his own failings). Sad. About half the department (probably 80% of the most skilled folks) left because of him. Me, I am stuck here, but should be retiring soon.
So, just because you are involved doesn't mean you will have real influence in the process.
Could I see some identification?
One last question you should use to end the interview: "Has everything you've told me been the truth?" but it's best not to ask that to the manager you want!
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
What's out of bounds?
Asking you to interview your future boss....
I sense a HUGE cultural problem in your company...
Ash him if he keeps a small screwdriver in his desk. Seriously! Every decent boss I've ever had could answer "yes".
The OP is clearly the candidate who knows he's to be interviewed by his future reports. You, sir, are a smart interview candidate.
Interview for what you care about?
maybe they reallywant to hire this person, but s/he is reluctant, so s/he is coming in to evaluate the quality of his reports
...if they've ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.
Subject says it all.
The VP where I used to work asked the development team to interview a potential candidate for our team manager. One question I asked was what books on project management had he read - answer: none. Later the VP asked me how it went and I said OK with this one concern. He said "well, he's a friend of mine and he starts next week".
I've had to interview a prospective boss a few times, and it seldom goes well. All you end up doing is weeding out people who don't interview well. The ones left are either (a) the manager of your dreams, or (b) a total sociopath bent on making your life a living hell, and it's impossible to tell the difference during the actual interview.
There are a lot of good questions here, and all things being equal, one could put together a strategy to single out the best candidate. The problem is, the truly career-destroying candidate has learned to give the same answers.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I had to interview my incoming boss. What I got were a pile of really terrible middle management clowns, with the exception of one brilliant physicist-turned-engineer-turned-manager that I immediately "knew" was the right answer.
The important thing to remember is that this is an entirely situational choice. There are no one-size-fits-all tricks or gotchas that are going to help you find the right candidate. Do some thinking of your own. What do you want to get out of a boss? How do you see their position best serving the organization?
Once you can answer those questions, you can figure out how to evaluate their capacity to do the job.
Here are some questions for you. Why are you interviewing your boss? Is there no one there above you that can interview a perspective boss? Why would you tolerate being the person to interview your boss? What I am trying to say is that a worker should never have to, expect to, or want to interview their boss. If your company things you have what it takes to interview your boss then you should be the boss. If you choose not to be the boss then you should also step away from any hiring decisions for your boss. You should really just step away from the task and tell your company to find another sucker for the job.
Many years go, I was in a small engineering team and we were allowed to interview our Director. There was one person nobody really liked, but turned out the big boss liked him because he talked the sweet talk and had all the right credentials - PhD in EE, etc. So, the big boss told our future Director how we didn't like him and hired him to be our Director. What an awkward situation, but a good lesson in life - express your opinion only if it really matters, and if you think it matters, think twice.
guess how it work here:
You send your Resumé, if it fits with the job the following happens.
The Boss (many times Company Owner) and the Department manager sit together with you and talk for about two hours, to get to know you and your goals a bit better. You also already talk about money and a week later you will know if you get an offer.
If they start with standart interview test bullshit after the smalltalk, then you didn't make it or the job is stupid.
I'd ask them "What question would you ask if you were interviewing someone to be your boss." I think their answer would give some interesting insight into their personality and it probably is a question they haven't been asked before.
You were sacked because a test system died? I think you had more issues that you imagine.
At some of the companies I have worked in, the manager is exactly that - a manager, they are there to motivate, attend meetings, provide direction, and organize. At other places, the manager is effectively a project manager who is expected to jump in and write code when needed.
If they are expected to be the first type (the best type, in my opinion, if they are any good and their management style matches mine), then describe a generalized instance of a conflict within your team and ask how he solves it. Find out how he deals with an employee who is brilliant but not a team player (for example, a coder who writes birds nest code that only he can maintain, but something that is relevant to your company's field).
If they are expected to be the second type, dig into their technical skills and ask them how they plan to get up to speed on the specific technical aspects of the job, while carrying out their management role.
Also, consider turning the interview around for a few minutes half way through - give the candidate a BRIEF copy of your CV (half a side of A4 paper, rendered as 6-10 bullet points) and a couple of minutes to read it, then ask them to interview you for your current role. That will give you an idea of how well they mentally switch gears from one role to the other, and it also gives you a view of them as a manager that you otherwise would not get in the interview.
However, as with any relationship, you will probably not really get to know your potential manager until your relationship breaks down, and that is something you want to put off as long as possible, so try not to trash your relationship in the interview, just in case the person (a) gets the job, and (b) holds a grudge!
How much do you trust subordinates proficient with technologies you have limited understanding of? How often will you require in depth knowledge of technical changes before they are implemented and if you do not understand any aspect of such changes will you forbid them? Etc. etc....its possible many of us have had the techie vs. non-techie issues with bosses before and these hit home for me
will work for dragon quest localization
First of all, all of you should be interviewing your (potential) boss when applying for jobs. It's really no different than the scenario described above.
Questions I like to ask:
* What do you look for when hiring {insert your job title here} ?
* How do you motivate people?
* How do you measure the performance of your direct reports?
The "give me an example" questions are largely bs because anyone can make up an answer. Ask questions that assume someone has a system for doing their job, such as:
* What is your system for managing a team?
I also like to give people homework (like reading an online article about some relevant topic). Then I ask the next interviewer (scheduled a few days later) to ask questions about the homework. If someone does the homework and is able to speak somewhat intelligently about the topic, that's a positive sign. Ignoring the homework works about as well as it did in grade school.
I've been on both sides of the table on this one. Also, this is the first time I've ever posted to slashdot. Here's my limited experience: 1. The applicant is probably going to learn more about the organization from your questions than you'll learn from his/her answers. Smartass questions, gotcha questions, or "cute" questions paint a different picture of you and the organization than thoughtful ones would. You can signal a lot about your working environment by these questions. 2. You are being asked to provide input for something that will have a huge impact on your career at that company. That is almost always a good thing. So my $.02: You may want to ask open ended questions like: How would you describe your management style? How do you measure success? How do you feel about work/life balance? Slightly narrower questions: A project is behind schedule. What do you do? #push harder, remove features, move the deadline, investigate the cause of the delay, etc. communicates how/if the candidate protects his team. Do you program? What languages? How do you feel about documentation? #answers to this questions speak volumes, especially if the answer relates to the importance or unimportance of requirements docs, procedural docs, etc. Of course YMMV.
I interviewed with a colleague and boss, and things went well. There was a delay of 3-4 weeks for the offer letter and in the interim, I was asked to interview with a 3rd person, even though, "I already had the job." In casual conversation I mentioned, "You know there's two types of leaders/managers: Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X believe people have to be pushed to do a good job. Theory Y believe everyone wants to do well and a manager just figures out how to remove the roadblocks." This third person said, "I'm definitely Theory X." Spidey senses tingled like crazy. 5 months later, I've been working for the 3rd person and it's been constant headaches due to his management style.
So, ask him "What do you think motivates people? You as a manager, or do you think people are naturally, internally very motivated to do a good job." The answers will be really revealing because a Theory X responder won't realize the "tell."
Unless this is an informal meet the potential boss it may be a mistake.
Companies seem to feel that anyone can conduct an interview but not everyone can. You should be trained by your company in the rules and laws regarding interviewing. Even an innocuous question like "So, do you have any kids?" - meant to break the ice - could be used in a lawsuit if someone feels their having or not having kids was a reason for not getting the job.
You should also be trained on the company's policy for interviewing.
Lack of interview training could also cause you to pass over a really good candidate because YOU failed to ask the right questions.
Another good idea is to reject anyone who works for more than 2 years at a single company. What that usually means is that they are eager to prolong bad situations as long as they can cash a paycheck. They didn't turn the company around, so they eventually left after picking the corpse clean, but they didn't leave soon enough to move on to a well-run company that could actually teach them useful management skills. That kind of person is not worth hiring.
Executive summary: Your "X years" rule of thumb is worthless.
First. Find out if he's a control freak/ micromanager. If he is, ditch him. He's incompetent yet ambitious. Bad combination.
Next. Ask him how intends to support you to do your job.
If he ever - *ever* - indicates a belief that you are there to do what he tells you when ditch him.
A "manager" is there to support you in order to achieve your objectives in the wider context of the project/company strategy.
If you are smart, you will already be quite capable of knowing how to this yourself. What you need is someone to run around convening meetings, looking after your vacation, timesheets, equipment upgrades, technical escalations, training and all that tedious shit. In other words, a good manager is there to run around and ensure you are productive by taking care of everything you hate. He is your bitch. You are not his.
- 25 years experience in IT insdustry as coder, architect, manager and director.
Get formal training on how to do interview.
Casteism
Find out if he takes decisions as per his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience
Casteism