For a professional job: would you ask your potential manager to describe his personality and management style? (employees, interview)
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I was in a big argument with a friend about employment interviewing and want to extend the discussion to the City Data Community.
When I am a finalist for a professional office job I always find a way to ask my potential manager questions about his/her personality and management style. Usually I get a pretty good reply.
I told my friend about this and he said this was not a good idea. He says that is over the top and nosy and not appropriate for the applicant to ask. My argument was that I know I work better with people who have certain personality traits and management philosophy and want the working relationship to be successful. My friend agrees that is important but says that is for the hiring manager to determine by THEIR questions and observations, not me.
I agree more with your friend. One commodity employers want is the ability to be flexible and work well with others - anyone can work well with someone who meets their preferences, but the real test is how well can you work with someone who does not? Especially a manager. Managers are not permanent; if you base taking the job or not on the style of one manager, you will be in for a surprise when a new one comes along (and it is bound to happen) whose "style" you disagree with.
I think there would be two problems with that question:
1. I bet a lot of managers would describe the style they want to have and not necessarily the one they do have.
2. What iliza said - you could have a different manager at any time and you may have to work with other non direct managers that don't have the same style.
I don't agree with specifically asking them about their personality (hopefully you've gained some insight about that during the interview), but I absolutely agree that's it is ok to ask a potential manager about their specific management style. As a hiring manager, I welcome this question. It makes a candidate more desireable, because they also want to make sure it is a good working partnership.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iliza
I agree more with your friend. One commodity employers want is the ability to be flexible and work well with others - anyone can work well with someone who meets their preferences, but the real test is how well can you work with someone who does not? Especially a manager. Managers are not permanent; if you base taking the job or not on the style of one manager, you will be in for a surprise when a new one comes along (and it is bound to happen) whose "style" you disagree with.
Of course people come and go. And one assumes that you are looking for an ideal working relationship with the current manager. That doesn't mean that you disagree with other styles and can't work with other styles. But, if you are deciding between multiple jobs, knowing how you will relate to this current manager is important.
I agree more with your friend. One commodity employers want is the ability to be flexible and work well with others - anyone can work well with someone who meets their preferences, but the real test is how well can you work with someone who does not? Especially a manager. Managers are not permanent; if you base taking the job or not on the style of one manager, you will be in for a surprise when a new one comes along (and it is bound to happen) whose "style" you disagree with.
So.. its a one way street? Management isn't expected to be flexible and work well with its people?
My argument was that I know I work better with people who have certain personality traits and management philosophy and want the working relationship to be successful.
What do you think?
I agree with your theory wholeheartedly - in theory we should both interview each other and see if WE are a fit. However, particularly now, I have noticed that employers don't want to be questioned in interviews. And it comes down to popularity and are you a yes-fool.
When they say "do you have any questions?" at the end of the interview, my impression is they are not interested in fielding any questions.
When they say "do you have any questions?" at the end of the interview, my impression is they are not interested in fielding any questions.
As a hiring manager, I welcome questions. And if you don't ask any, I don't think you are really passionate about this particular job; you just want any job. That may be the case, but I'm going to hire the person who really wants to make sure this is a great fit for them as well as the company.
I was in a big argument with a friend about employment interviewing and want to extend the discussion to the City Data Community.
When I am a finalist for a professional office job I always find a way to ask my potential manager questions about his/her personality and management style. Usually I get a pretty good reply.
I told my friend about this and he said this was not a good idea. He says that is over the top and nosy and not appropriate for the applicant to ask. My argument was that I know I work better with people who have certain personality traits and management philosophy and want the working relationship to be successful. My friend agrees that is important but says that is for the hiring manager to determine by THEIR questions and observations, not me.
What do you think?
It's supply and demand. If you are someone whose services are in demand and have several options in terms of employment, you can ask questions like this. I think it's a perfectly legitimate question provided you ask it in the proper way.
You can ask it like this "What is your managerial style and what are your expectations of employees. I ask this question because I've worked with many different styles of management and learn that you can fulfill expectations and provide more efficiency when you understand how your supervisor likes to approach a project"
Obviously, if the person is a hard-#@, he or she is not going to reveal that and state "Yes, I micromanage employees and can be a real pain to work with" They won't say that but you can gather clues they are that way because they won't do the opposite and volunteer information. Good managers who treat their employees fairly wil often publish that they don't micromanage and prefer to give employees room to complete tasks. The micromanager will often not provide a detailed response or give a shallow or superficial response that doesn't answer anything.
In general, when interviewing and assessing a job, rely on your instincts. If your "spider sense" goes off, it's usually right. Remember, a company will provide its best impression during the interview and it only gets worse from there. So if you get bad vibes at an interview, it's not going to get any better from there.
But of course, this is for someone in demand. For those who just need work and don't have the clout to write their own ticket, you shouldn't ask those questions for fear that the employer might think you are high maintenance and is seeking to be coddled.
As a hiring manager, I welcome questions. And if you don't ask any, I don't think you are really passionate about this particular job; you just want any job. That may be the case, but I'm going to hire the person who really wants to make sure this is a great fit for them as well as the company.
Management wants to be asked questions about themselves and their management style? I believe that was the question. And no, I think not.
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