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21 AREA MANAGER
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS &

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ANSWERS
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Q1. Tell me about yourself and why you would me a good Area Manager?
Sample Answer:
I take my work extremely seriously and I am someone who is committed, accountable,
loyal and professional. I am most comfortable when I am the person who is responsible
for driving a team or department towards achieving tough organizational targets and
objectives, and the skills and experience I have built up over the years, mean I am now in
the position to be a highly effective Area Manager. Outside of work, I have a supportive
family who understand the level of commitment required, and the responsibility, that
comes with being an Area Manager. To summarize, I would make a good Area Manager
because I am totally committed, I will always act as professional role model for your

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organization and I will only accept the highest standards possible form those working

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within my team.

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Q2. In your opinion, what qualities and attributes are needed to become a
competent Area Manager?
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Sample Answer:
There are many qualities, skills and attributes needed to be a competent Area Manager.
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Firstly, you need to set very high standards of professionalism, integrity, honesty and
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values. If you are going to expect high levels of output and high standards from those who
you are responsible for, you have to set the bar high yourself. Secondly, you need to be
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totally committed to the mission, aims and objectives of your employer and make sure you
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achieve the targets set within the specified timeframe. Thirdly, you have a high level of
responsibility in respect of maximising sales and revenue for your organization, as well as
providing a supportive and encouraging environment for those members of staff who are
required to meet the objectives you set. You also need to facilitate the right level of
training for all staff to ensure thy are equipped and prepare to carry out their roles to the
high standards expected of them. Finally, you need a constant desire and passion to drive
team performance and be resilient in the face of adversity when resolving difficult and
complex organizational problems. Having studied the job description and person

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specification in detail, I believe strongly the skillset, experience and qualities I possess are
a perfect match for this Area Manager position.

Q3. What do you expect to be doing on a daily basis as our Area Manager?
Sample Answer:
Firstly, I would expect to be creating and delivering long-term strategies and business
plans that are designed to help the organization meets its objectives and responsibilities,
including setting tough sales targets for managers and heads of departments who are
under my control. I would also expect to be setting standards, facilitating training
programmes for staff, optimizing operations and overseeing organizational efficiency to

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ensure we are financially lean and profitable. I would also maintain regular contact with

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managers to not only ensure they are on track to meet their targets, but to also support
them in their roles by helping them foresee and overcome the challenges that lie ahead. I
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would also expect to liaise and collaborate with, organizational stakeholders and clients to
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ensure we are represented at all levels within the appropriate working groups and
discussions. Finally, I would expect to be ensuring we are compliant with relevant
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regulations and law, and also report to senior company executives on a periodic basis on
company performance, potential organizational threats, opportunities and overall
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progress.
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Q4. What’s the difference between a manager and a leader and which, in your
opinion, is the most important?
Sample Answer:
A manager is someone who facilitates and organizes the resources at his or her disposal
to ensure the effective and efficient operation of their team, department or organization. A
leader is someone who inspires, motivates and directs the people whom are under their
control to achieve the mission, aims and objectives of the organization. I believe that, to
become an effective Area Manager, you need to be competent in, and utilize, both of

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these important attributes. I believe it is not possible to meet the objectives of your role
and the aspirations of the organization without being good at both managing and leading.
On that basis, they are both as important as each other.

Q5. Tell me about a situation you were in where you managed a team remotely?
Sample Answer:
In a previous role, I worked for an organization who had a large number of staff in different
locations across the globe. It was my responsibility to manage difficult projects remotely
without ever meeting the team members face-to-face. I actually enjoyed this challenge,
because it required me to use a different set of skills to those I would normally use when

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meeting and managing people face-to-face. To ensure the team met its project and team

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objectives, I arranged an initial in-depth conference call with all team members via Skype.
During this initial meeting, I laid down the expectations of each team member in respect of
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making sure they met every objective that was set. By setting high standards from the get
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go, everyone within the team knew the high standards I expected from them. This was
also my opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and
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also provide support in helping them achieve their goals and targets. Following that initial
meeting, I then held two further conference calls each week to monitor and assess
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progress and I also insisted everyone within the team uploaded a weekly progress report
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to the team project management app that I implemented. I decided to hold two calls each
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week due to the time differences based on the location of team members around the
globe. Although you don’t get the personal connection via conference calls, I found the
time I had to commit to other important organizational objectives and task increased
because I had zero travel time to take into consideration.

Q6. Describe a time when you managed a difficult team?

Sample Answer:

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Whilst working for a large organization a couple of years ago as a project manager, I was
tasked with leading a medium-sized team towards achieving various company projects
and tasks. The team was difficult because there were a number of long-serving members
of staff who were against change. I decided to manage the team by explaining the
benefits of change and also confronting those against the change head on during initial
team meetings. Those people who were opposed to the change the most, I gave them
difficult but influential projects to work on whereby the results of their work had a massive
and positive impact on the organization and its performance. Once those team members
who were initially against the change could see the benefit of their work, their attitude and
approach to the change gradually improved. Approximately 6 months after I started

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leading and managing the team, all team members were fully supportive of the change
process and they actually sought to embrace it.
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Q7. Explain a situation you were in where were leading a team, but you made a
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mistake?
Sample Answer:
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Many years ago, when I first started managing teams, I made a mistake that I learned a
tremendous amount from. The mistake I made was whereby I was not strong enough in
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taking the lead of one particular project and I failed to set the standards I expected and
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the time frame for completion. During team meetings, some members of the team were
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trying to take control of the project which resulted in delays to the completion of some
important tasks. This was the first and last time I ever made that mistake. Since then, I
have become a strong, confident and resilient manager who always lays down high
standards from the start of each project. I set very high standards and expect the same
from all team members. I very rarely make mistakes, but if I do, I will take full
responsibility, learn from the experience and seek to improve for next time.

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Q8. As our Area Manager, you will be required to meet tough organizational targets.
Describe a time when you previously led a team to achieve difficult goals or
objectives?
Sample Answer:
In a previous role, I was tasked with leading and implementing change within my team
based on the new company Director’s vision and strategic aims. I started off by obtaining
a clear brief from the company Director on where they wanted my team to be in respect of
their performance and targets. Once I had obtained the brief, I held an in-depth team
meeting to discuss the changes, the reasons for the changes and how I wanted each
member of the team to implement each stage of the change process along the way.

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Throughout the change process, I held regular meetings and discussions with the team to

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answer questions they had and to also provide relevant support as and when it was
needed. Although some members of the team found the changes initially difficult, I kept
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focusing on the end goal and the reasons for the change. I also utilized effective
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communication skills to motivate each team member and provided praise as and when
each key stage of the change process was completed. After 4 months hard work, we had
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successfully implemented the changes requested and the team and wider organization as
a whole worked in a much more productive and efficient manner.
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Q9. We are keen to hear your approach to making difficult decisions. As our Area
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Manager, explain the decision making process you would utilize whilst working in
this role?
Sample Answer:
Whenever making important decisions I will utilize an 8-step approach that includes
IDENTIFYING that a decision actually needs to be made and by what timeframe. I will
then GATHER ALL INFORMATION and facts available including advice and also use
information provided by key organizational personnel. I will then ASSESS the information
and write down the OPTIONS I have available. I will then conduct a RISK ASSESSMENT

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and decide the likely outcome of each decision and the IMPACT it will have on the
organization. I will then TAKE ACTION based on the most suitable option available to me.
Once I have made the decision and taken the appropriate course of action, I will REVIEW
my decision with a view to learning from the process to help both my team and I improve
and continually develop.

Q10. What steps would you take to build a successful team?

Sample Answer:
I would develop the team by using a 4-stage process. Stage one would involve clearly
defining the ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES and where I needed the team to be within a

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set period of time. Stage two would involve CONDUCTING APPRAISALS of each team

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manager or head of department to identify their strengths, their weaknesses, their career
aspirations and what they needed from me as their Area Manager in order to achieve the
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organizational objectives. Stage three would involve facilitating the appropriate TRAINING,
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GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT to help my managers achieve their goals and objectives.
Finally, stage four would involve a PERIODIC REVIEW PROCESS to look at what we have
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learnt as a management team from the actions we have taken in order to allow us to
continually improve and develop collectively.
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Q11. Describe a time when you used strong communication and negotiating skills
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to get what you wanted from a professional perspective.

Sample Answer:
In a previous role, I was required to prepare a ‘costs-versus benefits’ presentation for my
CEO based on a new piece of software I wanted the organization to purchase. The
software would enable the business to analyze organisation customer service feedback
with a view to improving the overall customer service experience. My presentation was
based on the fact that the software would increase company turnover due to the improved
customer satisfaction levels. During the presentation, I put forward facts and evidence

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that, as far as was feasibly possible, demonstrated the software tool was almost
guaranteed to improve company turnover. During the presentation, I utilized confident
communication skills backed up with strong facts and evidence to persuade my CEO that
the tool was an absolute ‘must investment’ that would be a huge benefit to the company.
At the end of my presentation, my CEO agreed to purchase the software tool and after 6
months of use, the turnover had increased by 7.5% as a direct result of its
implementation.

Q12. Tell me about a time when you used information or data to overcome a
challenging situation?

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Sample Answer:

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When I initially joined my previous employer, I wanted to make an immediate and positive
impact on the business in order to repay the Director’s faith in my abilities to perform the
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role. I noticed that the organization was not making effective use of the customer data it
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held and I saw this as a source of untapped potential. I spent time speaking to the IT
department to ascertain what information and data we held and how it could be extracted
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and utilized to help improve company sales and performance. Once I had analysed the
data carefully, I realised that each customer was essentially left alone after they had either
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come into contact with, or made a purchase from, our company. I then conducted a
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presentation to the senior management team to explain how we could start utilizing this
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data to drive further sales and increase the customer experience in order to obtain more
constructive feedback and also increase positive reviews online. Following my
presentation, we set up a small team of people whose specific task was to set up sales
and marketing funnels specifically designed at increasing company reviewed and
improving overall customer service experience. The end result was, 12 months after the
team was set up, company revenue increase by 4%, which based on their annual
turnover, was a significant amount.

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Q13. Describe a time when you used innovative thinking to improve a process or
difficult problem?
Sample Answer:
Whilst working for my current employer, I took responsibility for finding a resolution to a
long-standing problem we had with our website. The website, although very successful
from an eCommerce perspective, kept crashing and the downtime was costing us
financially. I could see how much the website downtime was costing our company
financially, and so I decided to find a resolution to the problem by spending time
discussing the potential issues with an external web developer. Once I had found a
suitable local web developer, I spent an entire day explaining the problems with her and

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also looking at possible resolutions to the issues. After some time spent together, we

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established the problem was due to the fact the site had been built using old PHP code,
which was susceptible to hacking. Following discussions, we agreed the website should
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be built from the ground upwards using WordPress and suitable plugins to help the
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business achieve its goals. Four months after that initial meeting, our new website had
been built and the downtime is now less than 0.5%, which means the company has
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stopped losing money and the frustration the previous downtime was causing, was no
longer there. I felt proud I had taken responsibility for looking into the website problems
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and was pleased we managed to achieve a positive outcome for the organization.
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Q14. What do you like and dislike the most about managing and leading?
Sample Answer:
The one thing I most like about leading and managing people is the challenge of consistently
delivering team goals for my employer through hard work, the creation of a robust strategic
plan and also motivating and inspiring my team to be the best they can be. In regard to the
one thing I most dislike, it’s team members who do not work to the best of their abilities. I
have worked in a couple of teams before whereby some people are happy to plod along and
do the bare minimum. As the Area manager, I would always ensure the team or departments

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I am leading feel inspired and motivated to be the absolute best they can be at all times. I
have high personal and professional standards, and I would expect my team to be the same.

Q15. Describe a situation when you showed determination and tenacity at work?
Sample Answer:
Whilst working as a manager in a previous role, the organization I was employed by went
through three different company buyouts within a 24-month period. Each time the
organization was bought out, the new company owner would change the aims of the
organization which meant we, as a team, had to also change direction. This was highly
demotivating for the team as a whole, but I simply saw this as part of my job to keep the

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team motivated and committed to achieving the new goals and targets that had been set

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by our new company owner. I kept everybody motivated by telling them that, although
they couldn’t see it at the time, the constant changes were really positive for their skillset,
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and they were gaining valuable experience in being determined, resolute and resilient
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which would stand them in good stead for their future careers and goals.
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Q16. What are your career plans for the next 10 years?
Sample Answer:
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I am at the stage in my career where I am looking for stability, and I see this position as
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your Area Manager as one I would like to stay in for many years to come. Having
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researched your organization, it is clear you have exciting, long-term plans an aspirations,
and I would very much like to be a part of helping you achieve those goals within this
position. Whilst I feel I can hit the ground running and make an immediate positive impact
within this role, there are lots of things I plan to do within the position, if I am successful,
and my plans will take some time to implement and bring to fruition. On that basis, I would
still hope to be a part of your organization either in the role of Area Manager or perhaps
having gained advancement if you see fit and you are happy with my performance, which
I strongly believe you will be.

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Q17. Describe a time when you delegated effectively?

Sample Answer:
In a previous role, I was managing a team of people who had a wide range of skills,
qualities and experience. I was tasked by my Senior Director to manage an important
office move that was due to take place in 2 weeks’ time. Basically, the office was moving
to a new, larger office the other side of town. I started off by creating a plan of what
needed to be done. I identified four specific areas I would need to delegate. The four
areas were, (i) the logistical move itself, (ii) the IT infrastructure crossover (iii) the
communications aspect of letting all clients know that we would be unavailable on the day

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of the move, and finally (iv) the updating of all records, data and information with our new

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contact and address details. I then set about deciding which team members had the most
appropriate skills to deliver each task professionally and accurately. I then held an intense
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meeting with all four members and laid down clear objectives of what needed to be done
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and by what timeframe. Each team member then went away and reported back to me
once the task was complete. I feel the best way to delegate effectively is to create a clear
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plan of action and to delegate task based on individuals who have the highest levels of
competence within your team.
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Q18. Tell me about an unpopular management decision you had to make?

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Sample Answer:
I was tasked with managing a team for my previous employer and it quickly became
apparent to me that a long standing employee was no longer effective in his role. After
carefully analysing the team, I felt his presence within the team was hindering our
performance and I needed to make a difficult decision to replace him. This was a tough
decision simply because he was very popular amongst the other team members, but I
knew the only way I could move the team forward in the direction I needed was to move
him to a different department where I felt his skills would be put to better use. After

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obtaining approval from the senior management team for the move, I held a meeting with
the employee and explained to him the reasons behind the move. He was clearly upset
and disappointed and made it clear that he felt I was making a big mistake. I stood by my
decision and he moved departments the following week. Initially, the team were upset
about my decision and it took me a few weeks to motivate them and win their support.
However, I persevered and 6 months on, the team was performing to peak ability and it
quickly became the most productive team within the organization. I am not afraid to make
difficult decisions when needed and will never shy away from confrontation or challenges
within this Area Manager role.

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Q19. What’s your biggest weakness?
Sample Answer:
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My biggest weakness has to be the fact that I see my work as the most important aspect
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of my life. In the past, I have sometimes found it difficult to strike a healthy work-life
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balance, and the hours I have put into managing and completing projects has been, some
might say, excessive. However, whilst I am still very passionate about my work and I still
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work very long hours, I feel I am becoming a smarter manager and I have become a
highly effective delegator who has the ability to identify those within a team who have the
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most appropriate strengths to help me achieve my team’s and my organizations

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objectives.
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Q20. What are your salary expectations in this Area Manager role?
Sample Answer:
Having conducted some research online, I understand the average salary of an Area
Manager within this industry is £36,000 to £45,500. Whilst I do believe I am worth the
higher band of salary, I understand that I have a responsibility to prove to you I can excel
within this role. On that basis, I feel a fair salary would be £42,000 and I feel confident you
would be impressed with my strong work ethics and performance based on the salary.

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NOTE: The salary range indicated within the above response is an estimate. Please
ensure you carry out your own research from within you own industry based on the salary
of an Area Manager.

Q21. That’s the end of your Area Manager interview. Do you have any questions for
the panel?
Sample Answer:
Q1. What are the strategic aims of the organization over the next 7-10 years and how
could I help you in this role to achieve them?
Q2. What would be the priority tasks and projects you need me to focus on within the first

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few weeks or starting?

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Q. During my research into your organization, I noticed you have recently launched a new
service entitled xxx. Was it a successful launch and are you pleased with the results so
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far?
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NOTE: For question 3, please ensure you study the organization’s website to find a new
product or service they have launched recently that you can reference in place of ‘xxx’.
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How to Use These Interview Questions and Answers:

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These interview questions and answers are intended to guide you in your preparation for
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your job interview. These questions have been picked by the PassMyInterview team
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because we believe that they are the best representative of what you will face in your
interview.

The sample answers in this resource are collated from years of experience and research in
the recruitment sector. The answers confidently display the appropriate qualities and
competencies that the interviewer expects from successful candidates.

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Read the sample answers carefully, and take note of what skills and competencies they
demonstrate. You might notice that, when the question asks for examples, the answer uses
the STAR method to construct the response:

Situation.
Start off your response to the interview question by explaining what the ‘situation’ was and
who was involved.
Task.
Once you have detailed the situation, explain what the ‘task’ was, or what needed to be
done.

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Action.

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Now explain what ‘action’ you took, and what action others took. Also explain why you
took this particular course of action.
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Result.
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Explain to the panel what you would do differently if the same situation arose again. It is
good to be reflective at the end of your responses. This demonstrates a level of maturity
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and it will also show the panel that you are willing to learn from every experience.
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In order to get the best possible results, apply this system to your own examples and
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experiences in working life. These sample answers are intended to inspire you to create
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your own responses to the questions.

Disclaimer:
PassMyInterview is not responsible for anyone failing any part of any selection process as
a result of the information contained within this resource. PassMyInterview and their authors
cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions within this resource, however
caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned by any person acting, or refraining

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from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by

PassMyInterview.

Get more guides, books and training courses at the website www.How2Become.com.

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