Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com. In this video tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to pass a Training Manager interview, and in particular, I'm going to give you a number of common training manager interview questions that come up often, and also tips to answer each question and then give you suggested answers. So, my aim is to make you the STANDOUT CANDIDATE during your interview. Now, I've been doing that for about 20 years through this CareerVidz YouTube channel and we have about 220,000 subscribers. On that basis, PLEASE do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel so you don't miss out on any of the weekly top-scoring interview questions and answer tutorials that I am providing my subscribers with. I would also very much appreciate it if you gave the video a LIKE (thanks!) That always motivates me to create more content for you. Thank you very much. As I say, my name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the center. I am actually a former Fire Officer Training Manager, and I spent about 17 years in the Fire Service, and during some of that time I was a training manager. I promise you the answers that I am going to provide you with are all top scoring. I've done lots of research for you to save you the time. If you want to connect with me on LinkedIn.com, I have put my link within the video description below the video so you can connect with me there if you would like to. It is good to connect with like-minded people. OK, let's get into the questions and answers for your training manager interview. Here we go. The first question that we need to prepare for is, tell me about yourself and why you want to become a training manager? With the answer to this question, we want to give people positive key words and phrases that are a close match to the traits needed to be an effective training manager. And as you know, as a training manager, you have a massive influential potential on the productivity of an organization. If all of the staff are trained well, then they are more likely to be safe, efficient and highly productive. We want to get off on the right footing with this interview question, and answer. So, here it is. “I am an extremely passionate and driven training manager who understands how important effective training is to an organization such as yours. I take my work as a Training Manager seriously, and I have a natural ability to assess the training needs of all staff as well as being able to create definitive training and lesson plans based on the objectives of the organization I am working for. I want to be a Training Manager because the traits I possess are a perfect fit for the role. I have in-depth knowledge of my subject matter, I am a very strong communicator, I am a creative thinker, and I am a very good listener who will ensure the training needs of my employer are met continually throughout each year.” That's a really good answer! It's positive in nature. It's concise, and it shows that you are confident in your abilities to be a great training manager for their organization. So, the second interview question we need to prepare for is, why do you want to work for our organization as a training manager? Now, obviously, the salary for a training manager is quite a good one across the board. And on that basis, they want to understand that you're not just joining for the salary. And again, these are quite niche job roles, so not many of them come up. The company wants to know, why do you want to work for our organization? Is it that you just want the position, or have you REALLY looked into our organization? We want to give them a strong answer that demonstrates you have thought carefully about working for their organization. Here is my suggested answer. “I want to be a Training Manager for your company because from what I discovered during my research, you not only take the training of your staff seriously, but I feel confident you will support me in the role so I can provide the right level of training, at the highest standards achievable. Some companies, in my opinion, don’t take the training of their staff seriously and they are not only missing out on improving the output of their employees, but they are also exposed to potential legal challenges and litigation. You clearly do take the training of all staff seriously, and on that basis, I will be free to achieve all of my objectives. In my role as Training Manager, I will be able to help your organization develop by facilitating, supervising and delivering training programs for all of your staff to enhance and improve their effectiveness within the workplace, and also help you to achieve your commercial and financial objectives.” Now, the reason why I put that last part in red is because you don't have to say that final bit if you don't want to. I like that part because it shows that you understand how training can improve effectiveness and help an organization achieve its commercial objectives. You can either just do the top part in black, or if you want to include the red part as well, please feel free to do so. On that basis, you can either pause the video and take notes of these answers and use them in your own responses. Or, if you hold on, I will tell you where you can download my full set of Training Manager Interview Questions and High Scoring Answers soon! So, the next question that we want to cover is: Give me an example of when you motivated other people? Some staff, understandably within organizations, see training as a bit of a bind; as a bit of a hindrance. But as you and I know as training managers, training is really, really important. Of course, there is the legal aspect, too, in respect of safety and how important it is, but also it can improve job satisfaction and it can also improve efficiency and output within an organization. But as a training manager, you have to be a good MOTIVATOR. You have to effectively sell your training to the staff and build a culture within the organization that makes people look forward to the training they are going to receive and that they take it seriously. Because when they take it seriously, they will do the training properly. Here is my suggested answer to the interview question: Give me an example of when you motivated other people? This example that is coming right now is what is called a behavioral type interview question. They are very common during training manager interviews. Within your answer, you have to give a SPECIFIC SITUATION you've been in where you motivated other people. Try and use a training environment example if you can do, because that demonstrates you've already done that kind of thing before. This is a very important tip: Make sure you use the STAR technique for structuring your answer to behavioral type interview questions. What does that mean? Well, you start off and you tell the interviewer the SITUATION that you were in. So briefly outline the situation you found yourself in, then quickly explain the TASK that needed to be done, then explain the ACTION you took to achieve the task. And that would be, in my opinion, the bulk of your answer. And then finally, tell the interviewer the RESULTS following your actions. It's called the STAR technique because it's situation, task, action and result. Here is my suggested answer that uses the STAR technique: In a previous training role, I had the challenge of motivating a workforce who appeared averse to continuous training and development. From what I could gather, the workforce viewed training as a bind, and there was no motivation to undertake the necessary training programs I wanted to deliver. It was my task to motivate the staff and explain the benefits of continuous training and development. I started off each training session by having an open and honest questions and answers session, whereby I encouraged all staff to talk honestly about how they felt about training. I answered all questions positively and gave genuine real-life examples of the dangers of not training and developing staff, and also examples of how productivity, efficiency and job satisfaction always improves once proper training is delivered and embraced. Over time, my rapport and level of trust with all staff built to a point that everyone looked forward to the training sessions and they saw them as a necessity in enabling them to work to the high standards expected. By being patient, resilient and determined, I was able to win around the employees and literally transform the training department within the organization.” That's a great example of using the STAR technique to structure a behavioral type interview question! Next interview question. What is the first thing you would change when you start as our training manager? This is a difficult question because the majority of people will think, okay, I need to go into an organization and change things straightaway. But in my opinion, and in my experience as a manager and a business owner for many, many years now, the worst thing you can do is to go into an organization and make immediate changes unless they are requested, and also unless the organization is in danger from a safety or compliance perspective. We need to be careful when answering this question. Here is how I recommend you answer it. “The truth is, I would change nothing initially without having first of all conducting a thorough appraisal and assessment of where the organization is in regard to its training needs and the development needs of your staff. The only exception to this rule, would be if I felt the organization was in danger from a safety or compliance perspective. In which case, I would take robust and decisive training development action. During the first 4 weeks in the position as Training Manager, I would obtain a clear brief from you, the senior management team, as to what you want me to achieve in the role. I would then conduct a training needs analysis before creating a definitive plan of action that would allow me to create, facilitate and deliver comprehensive training programs that support your staff to be effective in their roles, whilst at the same time assisting the company to meet its commercial, financial and safety objectives.” That is a really good answer because it shows that you are considered you are thinking about the organization and it shows that you are smart and you are intelligent as a training manager. And also, you are looking to obtain a brief from the senior management team because as you and I know, for training to be effective, you have to work in synergy with the directors and the company owners. You have to get them on board with the training and then also get the staff on board, too. Next question. What is the difference between leadership and management? As the training manager, you are both a leader and a manager. And this question comes up a lot during training manager interview. So we need to give a great answer to it. Here is my suggested answer. “In order to become a proficient and competent Training Manager, you have to be good at both leadership and management. The primary difference between leadership and management is that management is all about planning, organizing and making good use of the resources you have available. Leadership, on the other hand, is how you motivate, drive and steer a group of people or individuals towards a set goal. As the Training Manager, I would be responsible for managing, facilitating and delivering the training whilst also leading people towards embracing their training in a positive and productive manner to help make your organization efficient and effective at meeting its goals and objectives.” That's a good answer that shows that you fully understand the difference between leadership and management. But more importantly, what you are doing there, is you are demonstrating how both of those important traits tie in with the role of a training manager. Next question, which comes up a lot during training manager interviews is: what does diversity mean to you? So first of all, you have to know what diversity is within an organization. But what does it mean to you and what does it mean to you as a training manager? We need to really understand what it means and also genuinely understand how diversity within an organization has a huge impact on its productivity and overall happiness as a workforce. Here is my answer to this question: “Diversity means that everyone is unique in their own right and that, as the Training Manager, I need to recognize that everyone has individual differences and needs. Race, ethnicity, physical abilities, political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation are all examples of differences within society and also within organizations. If it wasn’t for the richness of diversity, an organization would not, in my view, be able to reach its full potential. Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing all of our individual differences. As a Training Manager, I always ensure I cater for everyone’s needs and requirements so the same standards of training can be delivered.” So that is my own response. My own personal beliefs and views based on what diversity would mean to me as a training manager. If you would like to download my full set of Training Manager Interview Questions and Top Scoring Answers, CLICK THAT LINK in the top right hand corner of the video. It takes you through to my website PassMyInterview.com where you can download the full set. At the very least, go through the website. Have a look at all of the questions that I recommend you prepare for. There's the option to download the answers to help you during your preparation. I hope you've enjoyed that. Don't forget if you want to connect with me on LinkedIN.com, my LinkedIn