Interview

John has an interview today for the management position that Elaine is leaving. He thinks he is very prepared for whatever question comes up. WIll he nail it?

2020-10-30 · Charlie Samra ·

Interview

You may recall that Elaine, John's boss, is leaving the company and recommended that John apply for her position.  John decided to do just that.  So today is his big interview with Elaine's boss, Diane LaSalette, and the manager from HR (Human Resources), Bill Lambert. Diane's title is Senior Director of Enterprise Engineering R&D.

They all meet in conference room A at 10am and take a seat around the table. Diane had asked Michael Waller to attend remotely via Teams.  Michael is the Senior Director of Product Management.  Diane connects her laptop to the projector and to Teams.  Bill begins introducing everyone, and then...

Bill: Ok, let's get going. Diane, perhaps you'd like to start?

Diane: Yes, Ok just a little background for John's benefit. Referring to the image projected from Diane's laptop...   John, here is a hierarchy of my department.  As you can see, Elaine Sill leads Enterprise Engineering Services.  This team does research and development, and has first-level support responsibilities for any product that it developed.  The team works closely with the product management team, which is where most of the ideas for new products and features come from.  Michael, would you like to add anything?

Michael:  Yes, thanks Diane.  I want to stress that the relationship between your and my departments is critical to success.  We have to work closely together, from product inception through development, delivery and rollout.  Otherwise, we will fail.  I know John, you have been working with us for a while so you know how important it is that we are all in sync.

John: Yes Michael, I've worked with your team on around five projects, and I understand that it is the close partnership between our teams that makes it all work.

Diane:  Ok, sounds good.  John, can you tell us why you are interested in moving into management?

John: Well, when Elaine suggested that I consider it, I was not sure, but I have given it a lot of thought. In the end, I think it would be a great opportunity to learn and become a better leader.  As you know, I have been leading individual projects for years now.  I think it is time for me to take the next step.

Michael:  So John, how would you describe your management style?

John: Well, I trust my team.  I start out every project by making sure that I give clear directions and outline our overall goals.  I make a real effort not to micromanage.  I’m always available for help, guidance and assistance when needed.  Like Elaine, I'd like to have weekly status meetings but I will be flexible about those, depending on project deadlines.  

Questioning continued for about 45 minutes, touching on certain management scenarios that can be tricky, such as giving employee evaluations and potentially firing an employee.  Because they knew John already, they knew he was technically sound, and had built a rapport with his peers as well as people from other departments.  As the interview wrapped up, John had a good feeling about how it went.

Vocabulary

Flash Card Drill
background バックグラウンド
  1. His background was questionable, having grown up in a bad neighborhood in the city.
    (かれ)経歴(けいれき)(うたが)わしい、市内(しない)(わる)地域(ちいき)(そだ)っている。
hierarchy 階層(かいそう)
  1. Our group's position in the corporate hierarchy is near the bottom.
    企業(きぎょう)(ない)階層(かいそう)における(わたし)たちのグループの位置(いち)は、(さい)下部(かぶ)(ちか)くにあります。
enterprise 企業(きぎょう)
  1. He had a long and illustrious career in the Enterprise Integration team.
    (かれ)はエンタープライズインテグレーションチームで(なが)(かがや)かしい経歴(けいれき)()っていました。
first-level support (だい)1レベルのサポート
  1. I called and talked to first level support about the problem I experienced with the system, and they recommended I reboot my laptop.
    システムで発生(はっせい)した問題(もんだい)について(だい)1レベルのサポートに電話(でんわ)して(はな)したところ、ラップトップを(さい)起動(きどう)するように(すす)められました。
product management 製品(せいひん)管理(かんり)
  1. The product management team came up with a very cool idea that we are going to fund next year.
    製品(せいひん)管理(かんり)チームは、非常(ひじょう)にクールなアイデアを(おも)いつき我々(われわれ)来年(らいねん)資金(しきん)提供(ていきょう)する予定(よてい)です。
critical 重大(じゅうだい)
  1. It is critical that we work together to halt the growth of this healthcare pandemic before it spreads around the world.
    この医療(いりょう)ケアのパンデミックが世界中(せかいじゅう)(ひろ)がる(まえ)に、その増大(ぞうだい)()めるために(わたし)たちが協力(きょうりょく)することが重要(じゅうよう)です。
inception (はじ)
  1. From the inception of the company, we have strived to take care of our employees.
    会社(かいしゃ)設立(せつりつ)以来(いらい)(わたし)たちは従業(じゅうぎょう)(いん)世話(せわ)をするよう(つと)めてきました。
in sync 同期(どうき)して
  1. We need to make sure we are in sync with the development process or it'll be chaos.
    開発(かいはつ)プロセスと同期(どうき)していることを確認(かくにん)する必要(ひつよう)があります。そうでないと、混乱(こんらん)してしまいます。
partnership パートナーシップ
  1. Our groups are in a partnership that must be maintained closely in order for the organization to be successful.
    (わたし)たちのグループは、組織(そしき)成功(せいこう)するために緊密(きんみつ)維持(いじ)されなければならないパートナーシップにあります。
management style 管理(かんり)スタイル
  1. His management style is very loose, with zero micromanagement. Perhaps too loose.
    (かれ)管理(かんり)スタイルは非常(ひじょう)(ゆる)く、(こま)かい管理(かんり)(まった)くありません。おそらく(ゆる)すぎます。
micromanage (こま)かく管理(かんり)する
  1. He micromanaged us like we were children. I was so happy to leave his team.
    (かれ)(わたし)たちが子供(こども)のように(わたし)たちを(こま)かく管理(かんり)しました。(わたし)彼女(かのじょ)のチームを()ることができてとても(うれ)しかった。
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams
  1. We use Teams for our online meetings with the remote staff.
    我々(われわれ)はリモートスタッフとのオンライン会議(かいぎ)にはTeamsを使用(しよう)します。
status meeting ステータスミーティング
  1. At the status meeting, Bill gave his assessment of how far each product development task had reached.
    ステータスミーティングで、ビルは(かく)製品(せいひん)開発(かいはつ)タスクがどこまで到達(とうたつ)したかについての評価(ひょうか)(おこな)いました。
flexible 融通(ゆうずう)のきく
  1. His schedule is rather flexible, so you can be confident you will get on his calendar.
    (かれ)のスケジュールはかなり柔軟(じゅうなん)なので、あなたは(かれ)のカレンダーにマークしてもらうことができると確信(かくしん)できます。
deadline ()()
  1. The deadline for submitting your manuscript is next Friday.
    原稿(げんこう)提出(ていしゅつ)期限(きげん)来週(らいしゅう)金曜日(きんようび)です。
scenario シナリオ
  1. We have to think of all the possible scenarios before we make a final decision.
    最終(さいしゅう)決定(けってい)(くだ)(まえ)に、(かんが)えられるすべてのシナリオを検討(けんとう)する必要(ひつよう)があります。
employee evaluations 従業(じゅうぎょう)(いん)評価(ひょうか)
  1. We had employee evaluations this past month. I got a small raise.
    先月(せんげつ)従業(じゅうぎょう)(いん)評価(ひょうか)(おこな)いました。(わたし)はお給料(きゅうりょう)(すこ)()がりました。
fire 解雇(かいこ)する
  1. His firing was totally unexpected. I wonder what he did that was so bad.
    (かれ)解任(かいにん)(まった)予想(よそう)(がい)でした。(かれ)一体(いったい)どんなひどい(こと)をしたのだろうか。
rapport 信頼(しんらい)関係(かんけい)
  1. The rapport between our two groups is what makes us successful.
    (わたし)たちの2つのグループ(かん)関係(かんけい)は、(わたし)たちを成功(せいこう)させるものです。
peer 仲間(なかま)
  1. He is highly respected by his peers.
    (かれ)仲間(なかま)から非常(ひじょう)尊敬(そんけい)されています。

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