1. Tell me as a branch manager, what is your management style?
In my experience delegating responsibility and authority is crucial. A team needs to be able to develop and grow as individuals and a whole, not be held back by low expectations or ego.
2. Tell me what is the most challenging about your job?
For me the most challenging thing would be to move up in the bank. Basically, it's challenging trying to prove that I can do more than what I'm doing now. I kind of feel like I'm underused.
3. Tell me how do you make money or how are you compensated?
I'm salary-based. We don't get commission and recently after I was promoted to assistant manager I got a raise. And then at my yearly review I got a booster raise which is basically a standard raise for employees.
4. Explain about the steps you took to establish rapport with a new staff member?
In your interview answer demonstrate how you communicate information effectively to an individual or group, adjusting your approach according to the situation. Include your ability to see the other person's perspective, to listen properly and establish a constructive relationship.
5. Explain me what is most rewarding about what you do?
I love my customers and they come to see me so I've built good relationships with customers at the bank. And again I've enjoyed everybody I've worked with.
6. Why do you want this job as Branch Manager?
Again, companies want to hire people who are passionate about the job, so you should have a great answer about why you want the position. (And if you don't? You probably should apply elsewhere.)
First, identify a couple of key factors that make the role a great fit for you (e.g., “I love customer support because I love the constant human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from helping someone solve a problem”), then share why you love the company (e.g., “I've always been passionate about education, and I think you guys are doing great things, so I want to be a part of it”).
7. What education or skills are needed for your job as Branch Manager?
A high school education. The only thing you really need to be is a good people person and be able to understand that the customer is never wrong. You need to be good at resolving conflicts and coming up with ways to make the customer happy. You need to go out of your way to help accommodate their needs. You also need to be computer savvy and know Excel templates for monthly auditing and those kinds of things.
8. Tell Me How Do You Keep Staff Members Motivated?
Management job interview questions about motivating staff or delegating tasks are common in management interviews. When you answer them you should focus on communication and team building, “I do my best to show recognition and acknowledgement to all employees that meet goals, which keeps morale high and employees on task. Also, when applicable, I keep tasks interdependent within the team, so that staff members require and encourage fellow staff members to complete their work.”
9. Tell me how did you get started at your job as Branch Manager?
Well I first graduated from college and I had a few interviews with other companies and the bank just offered me the job. I first started out as a teller and then got involved in the manager training program and then I was promoted to assistant branch manager.
10. Tell Me What is Your Biggest Management Weakness?
For all job interview questions, it is important to stay away from any true weaknesses or shortcomings. Yet with management questions, it is acceptable to offer a minute amount of humility with your own abilities to provide a believable answer. An effective answer to these types of interview questions is, “Sometimes in the heat of a deadline, I have found that I have overlooked great work by a staff member. I am working on making sure everyone I work with gets their deserved recognition for successful completion of their tasks, because it is important that every individual staff member be recognized for their contributions toward building the company's success.”
11. Explain me what are your goals or dreams for the future?
Well obviously a goal of mine is to move up the corporate ladder, whether or not that's in banking I don't know. When you're in the management position you tend to start like I did as a teller and then the next step after that is management. I would like to move to the commercial side and see how the lending side of the bank operates.
12. Please explain how would you describe what you do?
I am an assistant to the manager but I oversee all the daily operations of the branch. That includes making the weekly schedule, I oversee all the teller daily activities and make sure that they're performing their tasks and staying within their check cashing limit. I also balance the ATM. I do a lot with customer service, complaints, and helping people resolve any customer conflict that might arise. I open new accounts. I make sure all the cashier's checks and money orders are typed up and issued correctly and logged. I do a monthly audit of the branch. I just make sure that the branch operates smoothly. A lot of it is administrative work.
13. Tell me is there any advice that you would give someone considering this job?
For an assistant manager you're ultimately not the one in charge and you need to be respectful and mindful of your authority and not go in there and try and rule the show. But there is always potential to move up. It's a good learning and stepping stone for anyone to be in management. As an assistant manager you are given authority to manage people and it kind of gives you an idea of what management is like without giving you the absolute, full-blown responsibility of it. What I mean is, I have authority but I don't make the final call on things.
14. Tell me how would your previous employees rate your performance as a manager or supervisor?
I believe they would rate me fairly highly. I took the time to foster relationships with all of my workers, and I believed that everyone was important to the company. I treated all of my employees with respect, without compromising sales and customer satisfaction. Of course, there were situations that required a degree of firmness, but I always remained fair.
15. Please explain what challenges are you looking for in this position?
A typical interview question to determine what you are looking for your in next job, and whether you would be a good fit for the position being hired for, is “What challenges are you looking for in a position?”
The best way to answer questions about the challenges you are seeking is to discuss how you would like to be able to effectively utilize your skills and experience if you were hired for the job.
You can also mention that you are motivated by challenges, have the ability to effectively meet challenges, and have the flexibility and skills necessary to handle a challenging job.
You can continue by describing specific examples of challenges you have met and goals you have achieved in the past.
I do have previous experience as a manager. At my first job in this industry, it was my responsibility to manage a team of tellers. I was responsible for ensuring that all banking regulations were followed, and if workers had any concerns or questions, I was responsible for intervening. Under my watch, productivity soared and the turnover rate decreased. At my second job, I was a front-end manager at a grocery store. I oversaw a team of cashiers and baggers and ensured that customers remained satisfied. Both of these jobs provided me with a great deal of management and supervisory experience.
17. Explain a time you had to motivate a staff member who was reluctant to undertake an assignment?
In your interview answer show how you determine the appropriate motivation strategies for your staff members by understanding their different needs and perspectives.
Include the communication of goals and visions to your staff, gaining commitment to these, establishing appropriate reward and incentive structures and supporting and leading staff to success.
18. General Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Provide a time when you dealt calmly and effectively with a high-stress situation.
☛ Tell me about an experience in which you analyzed information and evaluated results to choose the best solution to a problem.
☛ How do you balance cooperation with others and independent thinking? Share an example. (The employer wants to know that you have a cooperative attitude or are otherwise good-natured.)
☛ Share an experience in which your willingness to lead or offer an opinion helped your company.
☛ Provide an example when you were able to prevent a problem because you foresaw the reaction of another person.
☛ Share an experience in which personal connections to coworkers or others helped you to be successful in your work. (Be sure to explain that you prefer to work with others.)
☛ Share an effective method you have used to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods.
☛ Provide an example of a time when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.
☛ Share an effective approach to working with a large amount of information/data. How has your approach affected your company?
☛ Tell me about the last time you oversaw the work of someone else. How did you effectively motivate, develop, and direct the worker(s)?
☛ Provide an experience in which your ability to actively find ways to help people improved your company or your own work ethic.
☛ Share an experience in which you successfully coordinated with others. How about a coordination effort that was not as successful?
☛ Provide an example of a time when you were able to demonstrate excellent listening skills. What was the situation and outcome?
☛ Tell me about a time when you developed your own way of doing things or were self-motivated to finish an important task. (The employer wants to know if you can work independently.)
☛ Provide an experience in which you were sensitive to somone's needs or feelings. How did your helpfulness affect your work environment?
19. Professional Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Provide an effective method you have used to instruct staff on handling difficult and complicated sales. Share an experience.
☛ Describe your experience keeping inventory of and reordering stock.
☛ Share an experience in which your attention to detail and thoroughness had an impact on your last company.
☛ Share an experience in which you effectively formulated pricing policies for merchandise.
☛ Provide an experience in which you accurately estimated consumer demand to determine the types and amounts of goods to be sold.
☛ Provide a time when you worked in a rapidly evolving workplace. How did you deal with the change? (Show that you can adapt.)
☛ Share a time when you willingly took on additional responsibilities or challenges. How did you successfully meet all of the demands of these responsibilities? (The employer wants to gauge your internal drive or initiative.)
☛ Tell me about credit policies and/or operating procedures you have developed.
☛ Share an experience in which you successfully hired, trained, supervised, and evaluated personnel in sales or marketing. What methods made you successful?
☛ Share an experience when you applied new technology or information in your job. How did it help your company?
☛ What is the state of your records of purchases, sales, and requisitions?
☛ Provide an effective method you have used to enforce safety, health, and security rules.
☛ What factors do you consider when assigning employees to specific duties?
☛ Describe an experience in which you identified the educational needs of your students and successfully developed a way to teach/train them.
☛ Provide an experience that demonstrates your ability to manage time effectively. What were the challenges and results?
20. Fresh Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Describe a time when you successfully persuaded another person to change his/her way of thinking or behavior.
☛ Provide an example of when you were persistent in the face of obstacles.
☛ Describe an effective method you have used to plan budgets. Share an experience.
☛ Provide an experience in which you successfully planned and prepared work schedules.
☛ Share an experience in which you successfully performed work activities of subordinates.
☛ Name a time when your creativity or alternative thinking solved a problem in your workplace.
☛ Please share an experience in which you successfully taught a difficult principle or concept. How were you able to be successful?
☛ Describe an experience in which your ability to work well with others and reconcile differences helped your company or employer. (The employer wants to know you know how to negotiate.)
☛ Share an example of when you established and accomplished a goal that was personally challenging. What helped you succeed?
☛ Provide an experience in which you effectively established and implemented policies, goals, objectives, and/or procedures for your department.
☛ Describe your experience examining products for resale or storage to determine their condition.
☛ Share the methods you have used to prepare reports for management and budget departments.
☛ Tell me about an effective advertising campaign or sales promotion which you planned and/or coordinated.
☛ Share an experience in which conferring with company officials helped you develop an effective method or procedure to increase sales, expand markets, and/or promote business.
☛ Provide a time when you were able to identify a complex problem, evaluate the options, and implement a solution. How did the solution benefit your employer?
21. Top Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ How would you describe your presentation style?
☛ How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
☛ Have you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker? How?
☛ Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
☛ What is your biggest regret and why?
☛ Why are you the best person for this Assistant Branch Manager job?
☛ What is more important to you: the money or the work?
☛ What do you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?
☛ What were your annual goals at your most current employer?
☛ What are the qualities of a good leader?
☛ What attracted you to this company?
☛ What would make you happy in a job?
☛ What have you been doing since your last job?
☛ What has been your most successful experience in speech making?
☛ What is a typical career path in this job function?
☛ What type of work environment do you prefer?
☛ Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
☛ When was the last time you were in a crisis?
☛ How did you prepare for this work?
☛ How do you keep track of things you need to do?
☛ How do you react to instruction and criticism?
☛ How do you think you can make a contribution to this company?
☛ Why did you decide to pursue this career?
☛ What are the best assistant branch manager qualifications and training to get ahead?
☛ What do you enjoy most about being an Assistant Branch Manager?
☛ What do you dislike the most?
☛ How did you get your start doing Assistant Branch Manager work, and what career moves did you make to get to your current position?
☛ What are the top 3 traits or skills every Assistant Branch Manager must have to excel?
☛ What do you see yourself doing within the first days of this job?
☛ What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
☛ What quality of yours or personal trait matters the most in your career?
☛ What parts of your education do you see as relevant to this position?
☛ What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
☛ How did you react when faced with constant time pressure?
☛ Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
22. Role-specific Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ What are the top priorities of a branch manager?
☛ How would you measure performance and what performance metrics have you used before?
☛ What are KPIs? What is benchmarking and how do you do it?
☛ What information do you need to make forecasts?
☛ How would you allocate responsibilities? What is important to know about your subordinates?
☛ What leadership style would you employ under different circumstances?
☛ Tell us about a couple of the most important best practices in management?
☛ Give us some ideas on how you would increase the branch's revenues?
23. Difficult Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ In your experience, what is the key to developing a good team? (Be sure to explain how you encourage and build trust, respect, and cooperation.)
☛ How would you rate your writing skills? (Offer up examples that demonstrate your mastery of English grammar, rules of composition, and adjusting for the audience.)
☛ Share an experience in which you used new training skills, ideas, or a method to adapt to a new situation or improve an ongoing one. (You want to demonstrate your ability to learn in your answer.)
☛ Share an experience in which your understanding of a current or upcoming problem helped your company to respond to the problem.
☛ Give me an example of when you thought outside of the box. How did it help your employer?
☛ Share an experience in which your ability to consider the costs or benefits of a potential action helped you choose the most appropriate action.
☛ How do you stay fit in order to perform physical activities that are required in the workplace?
☛ What is the key to a successful budget?
☛ Would you consider analyzing data or information a strength? How so?
☛ What is the most challenging part of budgeting for you?
☛ Tell me about the last time you monitored or reviewed information and detected a problem. How did you respond?
☛ Tell me about your last experience recruiting, interviewing, or hiring an employee. What techniques did you find most effective in finding the right person for the job?
☛ Describe a time when you successfully provided personal assistance to a coworker or patron.
☛ Share an experience in which you've successfully learned how to handle a new piece of equipment?
24. Behavioral Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Tell us about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer.
☛ Tell us about a difficult situation you overcame in the past. Taking into account your current experience what would you have done differently?
☛ Describe a time when you had to make a difficult managerial decision. What happened?
☛ Tell me about a time you had to motivate your team. How did it work out?
☛ How did you previous work experience prepare you for this role?
☛ If you got this position, what would be your long term goals?
25. My First Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ What problems have you encountered at work?
☛ What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
☛ What will you miss about your present or last job?
☛ What are common risks for Assistant Branch Manager? And how to face?
☛ What personal weakness has caused you the greatest difficulty in school or at work?
☛ What's your ideal company?
☛ What is your biggest regret and why?
☛ What do you consider the most important qualities for this Assistant Branch Manager job?
☛ What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
☛ What was your major disappointment?
☛ What do you think you can bring to this Assistant Branch Manager position?
☛ What do you believe are your key strengths?
☛ What have you learned from mistakes on the Assistant Branch Manager job?
☛ What will you do if you don't get this position?
☛ Have you ever dealt with company policy you weren't in agreement with? How?
☛ How would you define success for someone in your chosen Assistant Branch Manager career?
☛ How do you evaluate your ability to handle conflict?
26. Operational and Situational Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Envisage a conflict between two people working for you. How would you approach them and how would you resolve the situation?
☛ You believe your opinion to be 100% correct, but your subordinates and superiors disagree. How would approach both groups?
☛ What would you do with an employee who is underperforming?
☛ Imagine there is a conflict between different departments of the branch for a share of the budget. How do you resolve this?
☛ Imagine there is conflict between your branch and another for a share of the budget. How do you make your case?
☛ Would you encourage competition or collaboration with other branches?
27. Basic Branch Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Tell me how you organize, plan, and prioritize your work. (Be sure to mention that you make specific goals.)
☛ Provide an experience in which you resolved a difficult customer inquiry or complaint.
☛ Please share with me an example of how you helped coach or mentor someone. What improvements did you see in the person's knowledge or skills?
☛ What is the key to success when communicating with the public.
☛ Share an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation.
☛ Share an experience in which you successfully shared a difficult piece of information. (The employer wants to ensure you have open communication with those you work with.)
☛ Tell me about a recent experience you've had working with your hands.
☛ Share an example of a time you had to gather information from multiple sources. How did you determine which information was relevant?
☛ What have you found to be the best way to monitor the performance of your work and/or the work of others? Share a time when you had to take corrective action.
☛ Name a time when your patience was tested. How did you keep your emotions in check? (The employer wants to gauge your self control.)
☛ Share an example of when you went above and beyond the "call of duty". (The employer wants to know that you are dependable.)
☛ Provide an example of when you set expectations and monitored the performance of subordinates. What guidance and direction did you find most effective? (If performance improved, be sure to mention it.)
☛ Name a time when you identified strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions to problems. What was the impact?
☛ Please share an experience in which you presented to a group. What was the situation and how did it go?
☛ Provide an example when your ethics were tested.
In your interview answer focus on how you assign tasks and responsibility to the appropriate people, how you clarify exactly what is expected, communicate confidence and ensure adequate resources are available for successful completion of the task. Include follow-up procedures and setting deadlines.
I think about the outcome from a comprehensive perspective. I think about how the outcome will impact clients or customers, and if it will leave them with a positive impression of the company. I also think about how it will impact the workers and revenue. If I believe that a decision will make a positive impact in all three areas, I will usually say “yes.” If the decision will only benefit one person or lower sales, I will more than likely decline. To me, it is a matter of attempting to gauge the outcome of a situation.
No, I have never delegated a responsibility to a subordinate. I believe that supervisors should be held accountable for all of their responsibilities. Delegating responsibilities to unqualified individuals is dishonest and can have a negative impact on the company's operations.
31. Please Explain How Do You Measure Your Success as a Manager?
Try your best not to focus on existential, immeasurable goals. Job interviews want to know what you truly bring, and you should be able to measure the results. The best answer to this type of interview question is, “Management is about setting and reaching goals and employee/organizational relationships. I measure effectiveness by looking at the data, ensuring that I am meeting deadlines early and helping to achieve organizational growth, and keeping morale high and those under my supervision engaged and active in their tasks.”
32. Explain me a typical work week for this position as Branch Manager?
Interviewers expect a candidate for employment to discuss what they do while they are working in detail. Before you answer, consider the position you are applying for and how your current or past positions relate to it. The more you can connect your past experience with the job opening, the more successful you will be at answering the questions.
It should be obvious that it's not a good idea talk about non-work related activities that you do on company time, but, I've had applicants tell me how they are often late because they have to drive a child to school or like to take a long lunch break to work at the gym.
Keep your answers focused on work and show the interviewer that you're organized (“The first thing I do on Monday morning is check my voicemail and email, then I prioritize my activities for the week.”) and efficient.
In your interview answer show how you have facilitated the development of knowledge and skills, how you adjust your approach according to the individual and provide support where needed. Discuss how you are able to assess the needs of your staff, establish a plan for improvement considering available resources and the individual requirements and gain agreement to this plan.
During an evaluation, I remain professional and focus on the outcome of the employees' actions. I do not consider personal relationships at all, and I take the time to closely examine the written record of each employee. I feel that written records offer more information in regards to performance as opposed to my personal opinion. For example, if an employee has a history of showing up late, the issue must be addressed whether or not you enjoy working with the employee. If you fail to treat all of your employees equally, the team will fall apart.
Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I've been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn't realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.
