Assistant Manager - Interview Questions

Let’s start general. You’re likely to encounter this question in several different interview situations, but it’s important to tailor your answer to the job you’re interviewing for. Yes, the interviewer does want to know why you want this assistant manager position. Don’t discount passion thinking this is an easy hourly job pick-up…employers don’t like that. Assistant Manager jobs require a specific set of skills. Even if you did originally apply simply because you need a job, think about what interested you in this company or this position, specifically.

Here’s your chance to explain the characteristics of fantastic customer service. Does it depend upon friendliness? Empathy? Strong communication skills? All three? Take this question a step further by explaining what excellent customer service is and then diving into how you exhibit these qualities.

Any customer service environment is team-oriented. Be positive and enthusiastic about working with a team. However, if you also enjoy working on your own, it’s okay to bring this up. After all, the employer wants to know that you’re flexible and motivated. You work well with others, but don’t need to be told to do something in order to do it. Keep your answer balanced. Working with others is an opportunity to grow, and no retail store can function effectively without an “all hands on deck” approach.

Ah, empathy. It might be one of the most important elements of an assistant manager and, if you can exercise it well, will go a long way in helping you be successful in a retail role. Note that empathy is not sympathy. Think of the former as being able to understand someone (instead of just feeling bad for them). Essentially, you can put yourself in their shoes, feel what they feel, relate to their situation, and use this knowledge to address it appropriately. Having an answer to this question in the back of your pocket is super helpful. 

A job as an assistant manager opens a number of doors in your future career path. For example, you may aspire to be a general manager or store manager. From there, you could continue to be promoted or find opportunities for a district manager, general sales manager, senior manager, director or higher role. 

Generally, the next career step for assistant managers is into a store manager or general manager position, either with the same or a different organization, often taking on more responsibilities and leading a larger team of employees. 

Because this is the typical career path for assistant managers, the hiring manager wants to ensure your career goals align with opportunities available at the organization. They also want to know you’re motivated and have a plan for success.

“In five years, I see myself as a general manager overseeing a larger team of employees and ensuring effective and profitable operations of one of the store locations. I plan on spending the time in this role perfecting my skills such as sales, customer service and leadership to help me get there.”

Assistant managers are responsible for a variety of tasks associated with assisting and managing a team, such as resolving conflicts, addressing concerns or questions, conducting performance reviews, and even hiring and training.

Because you’ll be in a leadership position, it’s important to have positive, encouraging and motivating things to say about how other coworkers would describe you. 

Be honest in your response, but don’t oversell it and come off conceited. Instead, highlight how your personality traits, leadership and communication skills, and other qualities allowed you to build positive relationships with previous coworkers or team members, which would help ensure your success in your new role.

This is another question the hiring manager may ask to help feel out your ability to be a capable and successful leader. When supervising employees, you’ll also serve as a mentor or coach when necessary, such as during onboarding or if an employee needs help performing their tasks. 

Management style is how you go about accomplishing these objectives. It encompasses how you make decisions, plan and organize work, exercise authority, and run a team. There are a number of different styles you can describe yourself as, but overall the hiring manager wants to know how you operate as a manager and leader, and ensure it fits with the culture of the organization and needs of the role. 

“The way I approach my management style is primarily by being an active participant in the day-to-day activities of the organization and my team members. Without micromanaging, I like to stay on top of what my team is doing and how they are performing, so if there are any concerns, we can address it right away. I enforce open, two-way communication with my team and other managers, and focus on their long-term professional development and confidence.”

There are a number of qualities and skills that make a good assistant manager. For example, you should have recruitment and training skills, product knowledge, relationship building, communication, time management and critical thinking skills. 

You may also be responsible for strategy, budgeting, or other administrative tasks that require particular skill sets or qualities. Perhaps the most critical are your leadership and collaboration skills, and coaching and mentoring abilities. 

What makes you a good assistant manager likely comes down to a few of these qualities. Highlight the qualities you feel are most important for an assistant manager to be successful, and share examples of how you have those qualities. You should try to match your answer to what the company is looking for in the right candidate. 

“I believe _____ and _____ are the most important qualities or skills an assistant manager can have because _____. These skills allow them to _____. In a previous role, these skills helped me to _____.”

This question is pretty self-explanatory. Many assistant managers are tasked with recruiting, hiring and training new employees, so the hiring manager wants to understand your experience in doing this to understand what training or onboarding you’d need for this task.

If you don’t have experience, that’s ok. Perhaps share an example of a great hiring or onboarding process you personally experienced, what about it stands out to you, and how you’d do something similar in this role.

Part of your duties as an assistant manager may be to create and deliver sales, financial and budget reports to mid- or senior-level management. You may have to use a combination of CRM systems, finance or budgeting software, and Office programs to gather and analyze the data, and document in a presentation-format that’s easily digestible. 

While this experience may not be a requirement, it might be listed on the job description as a task you’re responsible for. The hiring manager wants to know how much you’d be able to jump in and take over, vs. what you’d need additional training on. They also are scoping out your willingness to learn and be flexible. 

“In a previous role, I was responsible for keeping and reporting on budgets and tracking other finance information. I used _____ software to gather and store this data, and on a monthly basis, I’d run a report for analysis. I was able to develop a presentation template to input the data and quickly summarize the information so senior leadership could know the status at a glance.”

Due to the nature of many of your responsibilities as an assistant manager, and depending on the industry or work environment you’re in, you may find yourself feeling stressed or anxious about work.  

Many companies put emphasis on the importance of work-life balance and healthy work lifestyles, and the hiring manager may want to ensure you recognize the importance of this. They’ll also want to know that you do have effective ways to manage stress, primarily to prevent those feelings from impacting your or your team’s work. 

“Work-related stress is likely inevitable in a position like this, primarily due to the variety of responsibilities assistant managers have. While I’m relatively good at managing stress on a day-to-day basis, there are times when work can get overwhelming. To manage this, I _____.”