How Do I Prepare for A Head of Department Interview?

Why is interview preparation essential for an aspiring head of department? What are the key steps to preparing effectively for a head of department interview? And what interview questions can you expect? Here’s the ZD Guide.

What is it that makes a great head of department? If you were to sum it up in a single sentence, we reckon it’s this: a great HoD is great at helping others be the best they can be.

The challenge for candidates who want to stand out and impress during a head of department job interview is to show it. Here’s how to do that.

Why is thorough interview preparation essential for aspiring heads of department?

You know your job backwards. For lots of the candidates we speak to, they know their manager’s job backwards too. Often, they’ll have been deputising in a retail head of department job for ages. That might be your situation too. So when it comes to the department leadership interview, do you really need to prep?

Simple answer: yes.

1. Interview preparation leads to a better interview
   The interview isn’t about your ability to do the job—not really. Everyone who reaches the interview stage will probably be able to make a decent department head. What separates the successful candidate(s) from the others is their ability to sell themselves in the most powerful way.
   For example, you’re going to face some variations of classic interview questions. ‘Tell us about yourself’. ‘Why would you be a great fit for this role?’, ‘What do you enjoy about leadership?’.
   You could probably talk for hours about this sort of stuff. But you don’t have hours. You’ve got a few minutes, so it’s vital that you can order your thoughts and get the most important points across as effectively and concisely as you can. That takes preparation.
2. Interview preparation boosts your confidence
   We meet lots of candidates who are great at what they do because they’re experienced, capable and they do their job every day. But they don’t do interviews every day, and that can throw them off their game.
   Prepping (and thinking about interview tips like the ones in this post) ahead of the big event can help you build confidence and settle nerves because you’ll know there’s less chance of you facing a surprise.
3. Interview preparation is expected
   What’s the one thing you’d change about the organisation you’re applying for? What one thing that a major competitor of theirs does should they take a look at? What industry issues are going to affect the job/company you’re applying for?You can expect at least one of these types of questions at your interview. And while your interviewers will be interested in your answer, they’ll also want to know that you’re serious enough about the job to have done your homework.

What are the key steps to prepare effectively for a head of department interview?

In terms of preparation, a retail head of department job is really no different to any other interview:

• • Reread the job description
  • Know your application/CV inside out and look for the points (or gaps) that an interviewer is bound to want to know more about
  • Research the retailer you’re applying for:
    Visit the store
    Visit the website, including the company pages (the About, Values, Mission etc)
  • Prepare some answers to the interview questions that are most likely to come up (there are lots of them in this post)
  • Prepare some credible questions for the interviewers
  • Plan your journey to interview and check that your plans won’t be derailed by, for example, a train strike (because you don’t want to be caught out on the day)
  • Plan and assemble your outfit ahead of interview day

What are some common interview questions for head of department positions, and how should they be answered?

We’ve already covered a number of questions that are likely to come up in your department leadership interview, but what questions have the biggest chance of coming up? A quick survey of our team suggests it’s these:

What makes you a good leader?

As part of your prep, take another look at the job description. What are the traits they want to see in their heads of department? You’ll probably find it’s the ability to motivate, to develop others, to lead by example, to drive change.
Use these as your starting point and think about a great example that showcases these traits.

Tell us about your management style

Lead with a real example or two that illustrates your style, rather than simply listing coaching styles. For example, suppose you’ve got an amazing track record of improving the sales capability of your teams because you’re a brilliant coach. Perhaps you’ve arranged training sessions in the past, or you’ve helped struggling sales teams fix all the things that were holding them back.

Telling them your story is far more powerful than saying: “I have a coaching style.”

How do you handle conflict?

Generally speaking, interviewers are looking for you to demonstrate that you take a measured, considered and fair approach to dispute resolution, rather than someone who makes snap judgements and makes things worse.

If you can give an example where you:

• • Listened
  • Showed empathy
  • Considered a range of views
  • Didn’t rush to judgement but focused on finding a solution…

… you’ll be on the right track. Extra bonus marks for following up after the resolution to check that things have actually improved.

Why should we choose you?

Another opportunity for storytelling, because storytelling shows what you’re about, whereas rolling out words like ‘passion’, ‘drive’ and ‘experience’ merely tells your interviewer that you know a few buzzwords they’ll have already heard a dozen times that day.

Tell a story that sums you up at your very best—something that shows lots of traits in the job description.

Round it off with: “… and that’s why I believe you should choose me.”

Drop the mic.

What’s your biggest weakness?

Always a challenge. You don’t want to admit to anything big that will have your interviewer questioning whether you’re right for the role.

You don’t want to say anything because that’s just unrealistic.

And you don’t want to humblebrag (“If anything I’m just too much of a perfectionist”) because nobody likes to see an interviewer roll their eyes.

Our interview tips?

1. Tailor your answer to the job, so it’s relevant.
2. Pick something that’s not insignificant, but not a dealbreaker in terms of the job you’re applying for, for example:
   • “I know I need to be better at public speaking”
   • “I can be a little uncomfortable receiving feedback”
   • “I need to delegate a little more often”
3. Share the steps you’ve already taken to overcome the weakness, the results you’ve achieved, and what more you need to do.

Head of department hiring done right

For as long as we’ve been recruiting, we’ve specialised in hiring senior retail managers including heads of department. So if you’re looking to hire or get hired into a HoD role, talk to us now. We’re ready to help.