Englishman John Browett has been appointed as new Head of Retail at Apple after a year long worldwide search.
This goes to show that employers are taking their time to find the right candidates to fill jobs, especially more senior positions such as management roles. These roles are crucial to the efficient running of the business and it is essential to recruit the right person.
If you are looking for a management position you should be prepared for a much tougher recruitment process including an intense manager interview. Your CV may be fine tuned to sell your skills but it is the job interview, or indeed interviews, that really show the interviewer that you are the right person for the job.
As you can see from Apple’s case, companies are starting to recruit again but they are still being cautious and want to see proof of your abilities. You may therefore experience a number of recruitment techniques such as an initial telephone interview, an intense panel interview and you may have to make a presentation. Quite often at this level an informal meeting over lunch or dinner may take place. Whatever the format it is essential that your interview skills are flawless on all levels.
Distance manager interviews
You may be offered a telephone interview or a webcam interview as an initial means of contact. This is common in senior roles where candidates are short listed from all over the world. This may be conducted by the HR manager or recruiting manager. If you are invited to a job interview like this be sure to prepare just as thoroughly as with any other interview. Concentrate on your tone of voice and speed as well as the actual answers to your manager interview questions.
Presentations
One way to assess your grasp of the company and your strategic skills is to provide you with a scenario along with some background detail and then ask you to research and present your ideas. You will be expected to answer questions relating to your presentations and to discuss your ideas in more detail.
Informal manager interviews
You may have been recommended for this role by a colleague or you may even have been headhunted. This will probably mean an informal chat with the employer and could take place over a coffee, lunch or dinner. This may sound like a nice social occasion but remember you are being scrutinized the whole time. Treat this as a formal interview and prepare accordingly. You will be asked questions so make sure you have prepared answers to as many possible manager interview questions as the time will allow.
One to one manager interview
This will be the final stage and the scenario everyone is most familiar with. There may actually be two or more face to face interviews, the latter ones involving the Managing Director as the ultimate decision maker for management roles. Again, make sure you have prepared answers to as many possible questions as you can.
InterviewGold Online has thousands of answers to the most common manager interview questions across all job sectors. This database has been compiled by experienced interview coaches who are more than happy to share their manager interview tips.
In addition to this, the Webcam facility and Presentation Builder on InterviewGold will provide advice and tips on making the perfect impression, no matter what type of job interview you experience.
