People Management:
Have you had a reasonable overview of Happening and who we are, what we do in the previous session with the talent/hiring people?
Have you ever made a poor hiring decision? If so, how did you handle it and what did you learn for the next time?
Can you tell me about somebody you have coached or mentored who grew significantly? Who are you most proud of, and what did you do to support them in that growth?
Was there any specific mentoring, training, or coaching you gave them beyond tracking their work? Was there a particular gap you had to help them with, or find someone to work with them?
Have you ever had a situation where you realized someone wasn’t going to or wasn’t able to grow into what the team needed? What did you do in response?
When you have a probation period, how do you gather feedback and what is your process if the feedback is negative?
How do you handle someone who is underperforming? What actions did you take, what was the outcome, and what did you learn?
How did you de-escalate heated conversations with someone underperforming?
Can you describe a time when you led your team through a major change, like a reorg or a strategic shift? What approach did you take to manage concerns, issues, and expectations around that?
Were you able to give the team a good business reason for the change? How did you “sell” the shift, and how did the team respond?
Around technical elements (e.g., quality, delivery speed), what processes did you put in place to ensure consistency and standards?
Have you had two strong contributors in conflict over something? How did you intervene and manage it?
What mentoring techniques work for you to train someone on technical or soft skills? What things tend to help someone grow?
If mentoring someone on technical skills, how would you approach it—what activities or advice would you give?
What about training courses—do you find them valuable, and how do you encourage your team to use their training budget?
Was it successful or a struggle to get the team to invest time in learning? Was there resistance you had to overcome?
System Design:
Design FlightRadar24 application backend.
Project Management:
"How do you handle different personalities and individuals in the team?"
"How do you build teams?"
"What do you focus on when you are hiring for your team?"
"How do you communicate amongst your peers and peripherals (product, design, business stakeholders)?"
"What does your team structure look like and what does your team do?"