1. Tell us how do you define a community?
This question is not as literal as it seems (hint: don't study take the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary) interviewers are looking to understand your unique take on the concept of community.
2. Do you know how many hours does a Community Manager work?
This will tell you whether your candidate truly understands the reality of managing online communities. Technically, unless you close your branded community at set hours, life goes on 24/7 online so candidates need to appreciate they may be on call when needed. If they say 9-5, say thank you and goodbye.
3. Tell me how did you get that awesome job?
Through blogger relations. At my previous position, part of my job was building relationships with bloggers, and that's how I met Gani. We became friends, and the rest is history. But I do have to thank Heidi Sullivan (SVP at Cision) for pushing me into social media and marketing in the first place!
4. Please explain how do you define an online community?
Right off the bat, this question can stump many candidates. I've heard a lot of vague answers about social media platforms that veer off on an incoherent tangent until they fall off a cliff. Keep it straightforward by giving a simple definition that explains what an online community is: a group of people who share a common goal, cause, or interest and gather together to collaborate and discuss via the internet.
5. Explain me what do you see as the point of social media for businesses today?
The ideal candidate will recognize that a business can have multiple objectives for their social media efforts, and hopefully name one or two that happen to be your business's goals.
6. Tell me what do you think makes a strong community?
There is no right answer to this question. It's truly based on your own opinion and past experiences. Use this as an opportunity to once again show the interviewer your passion and knowledge of community development.
7. Explain how are your presentation skills? How do you prepare for presentations?
Very good. I gather and research the topic on what the presentation is regarding before putting the presentation together.
8. Explain me what do you know about our development? Our community?
Established in 1989, we are a premier condominium lakefront community in the heart of the Ozarks, located on beautiful Table Rock Lake. Our community consists of 172 two bedroom condominiums and two to four bedroom patio homes. Our property owners are full and part-time residents with full ownership (no weekly or overnight rentals).
9. Tell me how do you deal with trolls?
It depends on the situation. In general, I try to respond quickly. If they keep on behaving like a troll, I ignore them, and, if necessary, I'll block them. You can only do so much to appease people.
10. Tell me what are your strengths as Community Manager?
While this question is an invitation to do some chest pounding, remember to illustrate strengths that will benefit the employer and are relative to the position. For example:
☛ being a problem solver
☛ being a motivator
☛ being a natural leader
☛ the ability to perform under pressure
☛ a positive attitude
☛ loyalty
11. Tell me how do you deal with difficult people? Can you give us a specific example?
Customer support is one part of a community manager role. It's important to share how you'd handle a situation with a difficult person in the community. You may have your own process, but experts say listening, showing empathy and not taking it personally is always a good approach.
12. Tell me how does social media marketing fit into the overall digital marketing mix?
Their answer, hopefully, will demonstrate an understanding of the synergy between organic search marketing, paid search marketing, content marketing and social media marketing. Listen to find out if they have knowledge of other pillars of digital marketing.
13. Explain me what are your weaknesses as Community Manager?
Another tricky one. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself.
One the one hand, if you suggest you don't have any weaknesses, your interviewer will almost certainly see you as a lair, egotistical, or both.
Don't fall into the trap of trying to present a positive skill in disguise as a weakness, like “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist”. Any experienced interviewer will see through this in a heartbeat.
Additionally, revealing that “I'm not really a morning person and have been known to come in late” raises immediate and obvious red flags.
14. Explain me how do you spend most of your time?
Every day in my job is different - which is what's so exciting about it. Some days are spent talking to people, both internally and externally, to generate ideas and collaborate on new projects. Others, I'm analyzing performance of our community initiatives and making data-driven strategy decisions. I also manage a team of community producers, so I spend a lot of time making sure they have the tools they need to do the amazing work they do.
15. Tell me are you an organized person?
Yes, I am an organized person. Filing, daily to do list, tasks, calendar appointments.
16. Tell me what's your top tip for growing your community?
Respond and be active. People come to Social Media Examiner because they know they will get their questions answered. We provide a lot of in-depth content every day but also do things to facilitate conversation.
17. Tell us what bookkeeping experience do you have?
Certified QuickBooks, A/R, A/P, Collections.
18. Tell me how do you decide which social platforms to invest the most time in?
Not all social platforms are created equally. A social media manager needs to figure out where their brand's audience actually is and invest there. The ideal candidate's answer should reflect that.
19. Tell me how do you handle complaints from property owners or tenants?
Listen to their concern and if necessary forward to appropriate committee.
This is our first question referencing social media. This is a great one for probing for use of buzz words, generic statements about social media and kool-aid, fishbowl, echo chamber reactionism. We're looking for an in-depth answer outlining the differences of each audience and why each platform should have its own focus and approach (engagement, attrition, monitoring etc), and what that would be. It's also a good way to check whether the candidate has looked at your community eco-system before walking through your office door.
21. Tell me a little bit about your computer skills?
I am proficient on Microsoft office and was proficient with Jenark.
22. Tell me why did you choose to pursue a career as a community association manager?
Enjoy community environment and helping members who choose to be part of the community.
23. Tell me what tools do you use for posting, tracking and measuring social media?
You're trying to learn what their process is for publishing and what tools they are familiar with. You'll want them to mention how they tie social media activity to business KPIs.
Quality and Affordability.
25. Tell me what are some common complaints you have received from property owners or tenants?
Water Intrusion and Mold Issue complaints.
Assessment dues, property decoration restrictions. Yes, and they are there for a reason and must be followed by all.
27. Explain about a time when you were able to overcome an obstacle in a creative manner?
There was a sewer back up on a condo property, yet the condo property didn't have the money for the repair. I called the county sewer department and asked them to please come to the property to see if it was a county problem. Once there they seen how bad the situation was and repaired the back up immediately.
28. Please explain about a time that you had to advocate on behalf of someone else?
A major part of the community manager role is advocating on behalf of users, so this question should be a no brainer for anyone you intend to hire. This is also a good question to ask folks who might be transitioning in from another field, as there should be many transferable situations at top of mind ranging from defending younger siblings from bullies to helping a teammate get a promotion. Pay particularly close attention to how they describe the way that they went about pursuing a good outcome - this can be very telling, particularly in its absence.
The first part of this question will answer what makes them tick, and what matters to them when building and managing an online community. The second part allows you to ascertain whether they are knowledgeable about your product, passionate about being your digital mouthpiece and evangelising about your company. You could also ask them how they would identify whether an issue needs to be shared with another one of your departments, which also provides a good opportunity to move into describing your company structure and progress the interview to answering their questions.
An obvious question, but one that throws up almost everything you need to know about their skill set. An ex-Community Manager may turn out to be more competent than a Head of Community, depending on the scope of their role and their position in the organisation. As job titles are still very fluid, use this question to flesh out just how experienced they are and whether they were running teams or influencing any other departments.
31. Tell me who is a typical member of our community, and what do you think is important to them?
Here's your chance to show off that you've done your research on the company and its community. You will be interacting with members on a daily basis, so show the hiring manager that you can get inside the mind of a member and understand why they are part of the community. Even better, back this up with theories from psychology and case studies.
32. I like what I am hearing but I have got a ton of great candidates. Why should we hire you?
An easy question to answer well with one caveat – don't slam your fellow interviewee's. On the one hand, you have an opportunity to really stand out from the pack. Alternatively, You shouldn't assume the skills of other applicants. Focus on your own strengths, and if the interviewer hasn't given you an opportunity to mention that one “slam dunk” quality about yourself, now would be the time.
Is there a wrong way to answer this question? Consider the responses below:
“I really need a job right now”
“I need the money”
“Your office is really close to my house”
“I've always been interested in what you guys do”
Notice any commonality here? All of these answers demonstrate a benefit to you. While every employer assumes that these sorts of things play in on some level, these are not the reasons they are going to hire you.
Back to the nitty-gritty of routine community management; how will your candidate take to implementing a solid policy and set of escalation procedures, or write them up from scratch? Asking them for examples of situations they have experienced is useful too. I used to ask candidates in passing how taking the Tube made them feel; you'd be surprised at how many were quick to anger at the mere thought, which didn't bode well.
You want to see how they would apply critical thinking to discover what led to the traffic anomaly. Data without wisdom, after all, is useless.
35. Tell us what are the first 3 things you do to start your morning as a social media manager?
You're looking to see if they have habits in place for checking notifications of brand mentions, content shares, comments and other engagements, across the business's active social platforms.
