44 interview questions for assistant manager applicants

Two steps are necessary when preparing for interviews with assistant manager applicants. You should create a skills assessment that features a Leadership and People Management test and then discuss the role in more detail by completing interviews. The question is, how can you keep your applicants engaged during the interview?

What you need are insightful interview questions for assistant manager applicants. We have compiled a list of the best questions in this article – so look at the sections below for inspiration when preparing your interviews with assistant managers.

16 general interview questions for assistant manager applicants

Ask assistant managers some of these general interview questions for assistant manager applicants to discover more about their knowledge.

1. What do you hope to achieve within three years?

2. Describe your team leader or managerial experience.

3. Explain why you want to be an assistant manager.

4. Explain why you chose to apply for this role.

5. Explain why you want to be an assistant manager at this organization.

6. Which adjective would your coworkers use to describe you?

7. Name your best assistant manager skill. Explain how this skill has helped you.

8. Name an assistant manager skill you need to improve.

9. Explain why you are leaving your current role.

10. Explain why you would be a better assistant manager than other candidates.

11. Why is an assistant manager role important for an organization?

12. Would you prefer to work remotely or as an assistant manager in an office?

13. Why are decision-making skills important for assistant managers?

14. Why is it important to keep organized as an assistant manager?

15. Describe the main duties of an assistant manager.

16. How would you keep organized as an assistant manager?

Refer to the five answers to the important, general interview questions for assistant managers in this section to save time when assessing responses.

5 general and interview questions for assistant managers and sample answers

1. Why is an assistant manager role important for an organization?

Since assistant managers take on duties essential for an organization’s success, the role is vital for businesses. Some of their many duties include:

• Communicating with clients on behalf of the organization 

• Assisting senior employees in managing business operations

• Liaising with senior managers to streamline operations

Listen out for responses that show your candidate is familiar with the key assistant manager duties and can explain why these duties are important.

2. Why are decision-making skills important for assistant managers?

Assistant managers must know how to make pivotal decisions for their organization, customers, team, and senior management. Whether they need to be a substitute for their company manager or handle and resolve customer-related issues, they need excellent decision-making skills.

To assess your assistant manager candidates’ decision-making skills, use our Problem Solving test. The test assesses four key decision-making and problem-solving subskills, including applying logical thinking and prioritizing tasks based on rules and circumstances.

3. Explain why you want to be an assistant manager at this organization.

Applicants who want to be assistant managers at your organization can show their enthusiasm by talking about what they have learned about your mission, vision, and culture. 

71% of candidates carry out research on the organization where they are applying – you should expect your candidates to have looked at your LinkedIn company page and reviews and provide an answer that shows what they have learned.

For instance, your applicant might want to work at your company’s because they appreciate your company’s values, such as transparency and honesty.  

4. Name an assistant manager skill you need to improve.

From communication to attention to detail, there are several skills your assistant manager candidates might want to improve. They should mention one skill when responding to this question and explain how they would improve it.

For example, if your candidate wants to improve their time-management skills, they could use time-management software or tools. Or they may enhance their communication skills by using collaboration tools.

If you need to check if an assistant manager’s time management or related skills match your expectations, use our Time Management skills test.

5. Name your best assistant manager skill. Explain how this skill has helped you.

Expert communication, top Microsoft Office knowledge, and time management are some examples of skills your candidates might refer to, but there are other assistant manager skills they may describe.

For example, applicants may mention that managing paperwork is their best skill. This skill helps them stay organized and manage processes more efficiently by making documents more accessible.

12 experience-related interview questions for assistant manager applicants 

Ask applicants a few of these 12 experience-related interview questions to learn about their work experience and assistant manager abilities.

1. Describe your experience training employees.

2. Describe your experience hiring employees.

3. Have you ever been stressed in the workplace? How do you manage stress?

4. What do you enjoy about assistant manager work?

5. Describe your method for increasing team morale.

6. What has been your best accomplishment as an assistant manager?

7. How do you ensure team members don’t miscommunicate when working on projects or tasks?

8. What do you dislike about being an assistant manager?

9. Tell me about a time you had to prioritize tasks.

10. Describe a time you noticed a team member fail to meet a target.

11. Tell me about your teamwork experience.

12. Explain your decision-making process as an assistant manager.

5 experience-related interview questions for assistant managers and sample answers

Consult the five answers to these important experience-related interview questions for assistant managers to validate your applicants’ responses.

1. How do you ensure team members don’t miscommunicate when working on projects or tasks?

Whether assistant managers encourage team members to approach them to ask questions about challenging tasks or select their communication method wisely, they must have a method to prevent miscommunication in the workplace.

Applicants should name a few methods that help them avoid miscommunication. For example, they might:

• Check in with the client or team member

• Address uncomfortable topics and establish a dialogue

• Use clear, concise language when sending written messages

Check whether your applicants can explain the advantages of their approaches and name a positive outcome related to their clear communication method.

2. Have you ever been stressed in the workplace? How do you manage stress?

40% of workers say their job is highly stressful, and many assistant managers may feel the strain of day-to-day duties at work. However, top assistant manager applicants should understand how to manage stress and provide an example of how they handle stressful situations.

Some applicants take regular breaks at work, and others discuss stressful circumstances with managers to resolve complex issues and manage the difficulties. You can learn more about their stress-management methods using follow-up questions such as, “Were you more productive after using this method?” or, “How did your approach help you handle the situation?” 

3. Describe your experience hiring employees.

It’s worth checking whether your assistant manager candidates have hiring and training experience if this is an important duty they will complete. In their response, candidates may show they know how to coordinate hiring and recruiting duties. They should provide an example to confirm their experience.

For example, assistant managers may have used skills testing methods to hire B2B sales experts or completed interviews with candidates.

4. What has been your best accomplishment as an assistant manager?

Your assistant manager candidates should be able to provide examples of their best achievements to help you gauge their success and managerial abilities. 

Candidates should use the STAR interview response format: describing the scenario, task, actions, and results they accomplished during their work.

5. Explain your decision-making process as an assistant manager.

In response to this question, candidates should explain how they make decisions. The process should involve considering different methods or ensuring the decision matches the company’s values. 

You should expect a response showing the positive outcomes of your candidates’ decisions.   

10 skills-related interview questions for assistant manager applicants

Ask applicants some of these skills-related interview questions for assistant manager applicants to assess their skills and experience.

1. Why are problem-solving skills important for assistant managers?

2. Why are communication skills crucial for assistant managers?

3. How would your current manager rate your critical-thinking skills?

4. How would your current manager rate your time-management skills?

5. How would you rate your leadership skills?

6. How would you rate your customer-service skills?

7. Describe a time you used creative methods to improve your team dynamic.

8. Why are project-management skills important for assistant managers?

9. Why are business ethics skills important for assistant managers?

10. How would you rate your business judgment skills?

5 skills-related interview questions for assistant managers and sample answers

Use the sample answers to these five important interview questions for assistant managers to review your candidates’ responses.

1. Why are problem-solving skills important for assistant managers?

Problem-solving skills help assistant managers handle customer complaints, solve team-related challenges, and facilitate managerial processes. Check if your applicants can explain why problem-solving skills are important and support their answer with examples.

To review their abilities, you can use our Problem Solving test. It is a fast and reliable candidate assessment tool that helps you find assistant managers with the best problem-solving skills.

2. Why are communication skills crucial for assistant managers?

Assistant managers must use communication skills to collaborate with team members and customers. Applicants with top communication skills can:

• Use active listening to receive customer complaints

• Interpret complex queries from teams or clients

• Use professional communication etiquette to work with senior management

Managers spend 80% of their workday communicating, so hiring good communicators is important. You can create an assessment with our Communication skills test to check if your applicants can communicate effectively.

3. How would you rate your customer-service skills?

If an assistant manager works in a customer-facing role, they must use customer-service skills to enhance the customer experience. This skillset helps assistant managers resolve complaints, handle difficult clients, and enhance the customer experience.

Check your applicants’ customer-service skills by asking them to complete a Customer Service skills test. 

4. Why are business ethics skills important for assistant managers?

With business ethics skills, assistant managers can adhere to your company’s policies and stay aware of the many ethical issues in business contexts. Since this skill set helps assistant managers enhance the business-customer relationship and resolve internal company situations, it’s something you should consider evaluating.

The ideal method to assess your applicants’ business ethics skills is to use our Business Ethics & Compliance test. Select this test alongside four others when creating an assistant manager assessment.

5. How would you rate your business judgment skills?

Assistant managers will need to make decisions that affect the success of a business, so applicants need good business judgment. These skills help assistant managers make the right calls even in complicated situations. Thecan also ensure your applicants consider existing company strategies when making a decision.

One easy way to review your applicants’ business judgment skills is to use our Business Judgment test. The test is ideal for reviewing strategy, innovation, performance improvement, and sales and marketing subskills.

6 interpersonal interview questions for assistant manager applicants and sample answers

Ask your candidates these six interpersonal interview questions for assistant manager applicants to learn more about their communication skills. Check out our sample answers to help you review your candidates’ responses.

1. How would you assess a candidate’s soft skills when hiring?

Assistant managers are responsible for hiring new employees, and assessing soft skills is crucial during this process. This ensures applicants have the skills to collaborate and share ideas effectively with team members. Some methods assistant managers may use to assess a candidate’s soft skills include:

• Skills testing

• Completing interviews

• Following up with references

Check whether your candidates understand the importance of reviewing soft skills when hiring by asking follow-up questions, such as, “Why is assessing your candidates’ soft skills important?” 

2. How would you assess a candidate’s hard skills when hiring?

Evaluating a candidate’s hard skills helps ensure new employees have the technical abilities required by the role. To assess them, your candidates could:

• Ask applicants to provide work samples

• Request if they can check their applicants’ side projects after the interview

• Use skills testing methods

Ask the right questions to determine if your candidates have experience assessing their candidates’ hard skills.

3. How would you handle a conflict within your team?

You could check your applicants’ conflict management by asking them this interview question. Although everyone’s approach to conflict management may differ, your applicants may have valuable experience resolving team disagreements. They could provide an example that shows how they handled a conflict within their team.

For instance, they may favor open communication and transparency to resolve disagreements quickly. 

4. Which method would you use to handle customer complaints?

Knowing how to handle customer complaints can help deliver a better customer experience, so check which methods your applicants use to achieve this.

Assistant managers can resolve complaints by listening to the customer, checking if the complaint is valid, implementing a strategy to address the issue, and reviewing the effectiveness of the result.

5. Explain how you guided your team through a company change.

Assistant manager candidates should have experience overseeing changes in a business. They may have unique methods for guiding teams through company changes, such as motivating employees to accept new processes.

To evaluate your candidates’ motivation skills or their capacities to stay motivated during challenging transitions, use our Motivation skills test

6. How important are empathy and communication for good customer service? 

50% of consumers think companies lack empathy when providing customer service. It’s an essential trait that helps businesses receive long-term loyalty. Communication is also crucial for assistant managers, helping them to:

• Receive feedback from customers

• Explain the changes the company has made

• Follow up with customers to ensure they are satisfied

Find out if your candidates have customer service experience by asking them for an example that illustrates their abilities.

Why is skills testing critical when hiring assistant managers for your business?

Data-driven hiring and eliminating unconscious bias are two key advantages that skills-testing methods offer when hiring assistant managers. Whether you’re evaluating soft or hard skills – or a mix of the two – with your skills assessments, you get statistical data to help you hire objectively and effectively.

Skills testing is also an alternative method to resume screening. This reliable strategy will:

• Deliver better candidates by facilitating easier comparisons

• Ensure you remove unsuitable candidates faster and waste less time

• Help you plan for onboarding by showing you which training sessions are required based on your applicants’ skills

To ensure your hiring process is as effective as possible, invite your assistant manager applicants to complete your skills assessment as soon as you receive their application. This will reveal the most suitable candidates for the interview stage.

Use interview questions for assistant managers to hire the best professionals

Hiring the best professionals is simpler than you think. With these interview questions for assistant managers, you can organize and conduct engaging interviews with your applicants and learn more about their skills.

Don’t forget about skills testing during the candidate sourcing phase. To build a comprehensive assessment, look at our test library to discover the many subskills it assesses. 

You can also register for a demonstration to learn how TestGorilla works. We’re the ultimate skills testing platform with the largest selection of tests.