Hiring IT managers

Either on their own or with the help of cybersecurity specialists, an IT manager may be tasked with securing a company’s data against unauthorized users or those with harmful intent. Good candidates understand how crucial network security is — and have at least a passing familiarity with some basic or advanced tactics.

Changing risks or regulations may require IT managers to create new IT policies for company employees. This question evaluates the candidate’s experience with creating new policies, or implementing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that would align with the new environment.

IT managers may be responsible for planning or managing budgets that affect their department, such as setting aside funds to purchase software licenses and equipment, outsource IT-related work, hire new headcount, install a major network-related change, or similar. This question reveals the candidate’s experience and showcases their priorities and decision-making methods.

Better infrastructure can speed a company’s agility — and increase productivity and effectiveness. This question assesses the candidate’s ability to identify issues and resolve them, especially if the right solutions may require gaining budget and getting internal stakeholders on board.

A big part of an IT manager’s role often includes communicating technical information to nontechnical colleagues or customers. This question can help discover how a candidate might adjust their style, terminology, and delivery to help the message or explanation to be more accessible and memorable.

IT managers are commonly tasked with understanding the technological needs of their companies and locating the resources to address these needs, including software. Beyond the budget involved to purchase new software is the issue of how to drive usage within the company. This two-part question helps you understand how the candidate advocates for something they believe in, through all levels of an organization.

Many companies value an IT manager’s ability to stay up to date with new trends, so that their brands can harness updated software and systems, take advantage of powerful new technologies, and appear innovative — both externally and internally. This question explores a candidate’s curiosity and passion for reading about what’s new in the world of tech.

Measuring performance motivates both managers and employees to make better decisions that benefit the organization overall. If the candidate has partial or full departmental responsibility, you might ask them to detail how they set realistic goals and reach major decisions, while boosting team morale. Ultimately, you want to find out the candidate’s contribution to overall departmental success.

The workplace is full of challenges — both human and system-related — that keep many IT managers on their toes. This question helps determine how well a candidate performs under pressure, and how quickly they can pivot and adapt to changing circumstances or unfolding problems to emerge successfully.