1.

If a company team is struggling to meet their deadlines and we asked you to assist them,
how would you juggle helping them while meeting your own deadlines?

This situational question is a great opportunity to highlight your time management and
organizational skills. Interviewers ask this to determine how you prioritize your responsibilities.
Show that you understand how various company departments interact and provide them with a
clear approach to the situation.

Example: "I would begin by determining what the team needs and when their deadlines are. Based
on this, I would set aside the tasks with later deadlines and focus on more immediate duties. I would
also see if I can reassign any members from my team to assist the other team for the time being."

2. What skills have you previously used to solve operational issues within an organization?

This question lets interviewers know you understand the role of an operations manager. Use your
answer as an opportunity to showcase your skills and how they've helped you become a better
operations manager.

Example: "When a company faces operational issues, I use a variety of skills to help rectify these
situations. My ability to monitor the organization helps me detect these situations as soon as
possible. Using my critical thinking and problem-solving skills, I work toward a solution. My
coordination and instructional skills help me ensure a properly executed solution that can prevent
similar issues later on."

3. What is your experience with logistics management?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to use one of the common duties of an
operations manager. When you answer this question, remember to focus on your success in using
this type of management.

Example: "I have used logistics management in all of my previous roles as an operation manager. I
have used it to plan, control and implement data and product storage. This type of management has
enabled me to lower costs for businesses and improve customer service all around."

4. Operations managers need to work with large amounts of data daily. Tell me about your go-
to data processing and statistical software.

The data may be used for budgeting purposes or used to help understand how the team might be
able to speed up processes within the organization. As such, your candidate should have a high level
of familiarity with statistical software and be comfortable performing data analysis. What to look for
in an answer:

Knowledge of commonly used statistical and data processing software

Level of experience in using these programs

Love for data-driven work and business analysis

Example:
“My preferred program for data analysis is Microsoft Excel. When I previously worked as an
operations analyst, I found the built-in statistical functions to be incredibly helpful in understanding
each department’s performance metrics and finding ways to improve.”

5. The hiring team is behind in talent recruitment this season and asks your team to pitch in. As
operations manager, you have your own deadlines to meet, so how would you approach this
situation?

Since your operations team plays a key role in helping different business departments
complete their work effectively and efficiently, there may be times when other teams feel
overextended and ask for support from your operations director. However, these requests
may come as an addition to the work that the operations staff already needs to complete
daily. The applicant’s answer to this question will allow you to understand how they function
under tight time and resource constraints. What to look for in an answer:
Strong logical reasoning skills
Understanding of the interplay between different business departments
Clear approach to resolving the problem
Example:
“First, I would look over the talent team’s needs and gain a further understanding of tasks
that we can delay until a later time. Then, I would move some operations members with
extra capacity onto recruiting to support the talent team.”

6. As operations manager, what is your process for identifying and overcoming bottlenecks in
your projects?

For projects to progress smoothly, all the different inputs and outputs need to flow within
allotted time frames. In some instances, there may be bottlenecks that hold up your
business’ ability to produce results in a timely fashion, and it is your operations director’s job
to identify what the problem is. Your candidate should have a clear strategy for finding and
fixing bottlenecks to ensure maximum efficiency. What to look for in an answer:
Strategy for recognizing and resolving bottlenecks
Confident, well-through-out response
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Example:
“I would first collect data on the times that it takes to complete each segment of our process
from start to finish. Then, I would find out why we are slow in certain areas and adjust our
processes to increase efficiency.”

7. What preparations do you make to ensure that company operations can continue seamlessly
if you are unable to come into the office?

Operations managers manage large-scale workflows within a company and must be able to
document and record company functions. They should organize their work in such a way
that other employees could step in and facilitate business if necessary. Successful operations
managers apply logical reasoning to the company's overall workflow and their own personal
work activities. This question addresses a candidate's accountability, planning and foresight
when considering the long-term growth and stability of their company. A good answer
should reference:
Thorough recordkeeping
Communication
Logical reasoning
Example:
"It is important for me to keep my workspace organized in such a way that anyone could
look at my files and being able to intuitively find the information they are looking for. I keep
separate files for tracking the main operations tasks in each department, plus a schedule
book of key meeting dates, contract renewals and assessment deadlines. If I anticipate my
absence, I'd also prepare a report about ongoing projects."