Job Interview Questions About Your Best and Worst Bosses

Job Interview Questions About Your Best and Worst BossesJob Interview Questions About Your Best and Worst BossesHow should you answer interview questions about your past managers? Depending on the supervisors youve had, some of these questions can be tricky to answer. Its important to keep it as positive as you can, even when you worked in a negative environment. With the question Who was your best babo and who was the worst? the interviewer is trying to discover if you are the type of candidate to assess blame or carry a grudge. Employers look for staff who are coachable, responsive to management directives and who take responsibility for their own productivity. They also want to determine whether you are a match for theculture of the company. Even if you had a anfhrer who was awful, dont come right out and say so. Interviewers dont want to hear negativity, and they will wonder what you will ultimately say about their organization if you are hired and it doesnt work out. Focus your answers on how you were able to work productively despite management challenges. As with any interview response, take the opportunity to integrate critical assets for your target job with your responses. For example, if a job requires advanced client prospecting skills and a boss taught you some valuable approaches, you might reference that boss as one of your best for that reason. Examples of the Best Answers Review the following sample interview answers to find out the best way to respond. Solid sample answers Ive learned from each boss Ive had. From thegood ones what to do, from the challenging ones what not to do.Early in my career, I had a mentor who helped me a great deal, and we still stay in touch. Ive honestly learned something from each boss Ive had.My best boss was a manager who enabled me to take on mora responsibility as I progressed in my job. Ive had other bosses with a more ahands-off management style, but I appreciated the interaction with the first manager I me ntioned.My best boss was a woman who showed me the importance ofsuggestive selling. She was able to show a customer the perfect accessories to go with an outfit, without being pushy, and taught me to increase my selling abilities tremendously. I learned a lot aboutorganization from my last boss. Ive always been an organized partie, but I learned from himnew ways to organize and mobilize the staff, which was very valuable toimproving my management abilities.My best boss was one who was able to recognize the strengths in his employees and to apply them to their fullest extent. He taught me to look at people more individually and tounderstand that almost everyone has something positive to offer.My best boss was a person who set such a wonderful example for her employees that she inspired people to work harder. She was always up, even when she wasnt, and never let a customer leave unhappy. She would always have the right thing to say toprovide encouragement to her customers and employee s alike. My worst boss was a man who provided very little feedback about my performance. I was able to improve communication by providing unsolicited weekly status reports on my projects. Eventually, he furnished some feedback and constructive criticism to these reports and I knew better where I stood.My best boss was a woman who taught me more about how to use analytics to frame my business development strategies for clients in my territory.My favorite boss was a very dynamic speaker. She took me under her wing, taught me how to command a room and helped me to become a very effective presenter. Prepare for Similar Questions Also be prepared to answer similar questions about the jobs youve held. The interviewer may ask you which position was your favorite, and which was your least favorite, and why. When you discuss your favorite job, be sure to reference parts of the job requirements that are a match for the job for which youre interviewing. When you talk about your least favo rite position, dont mention one thats similar to the job youre hoping to get hired for.