Manager interview and workplace perspectives

Interview a practicing manager.

Apple is a leading software and hardware company. Its latest innovations like the iPhone series have led to world-wide use of smart phones and mobile applications. Sofia, a sales manager for Apple sat down and answered a few questions on her duties and difficulties with her position. She is a 35-year-old mother of two with four years in the company. She has worked with her store for all those four years and have led them to a strong sales rank within the company.

For question one, she stated she is a sales manager for the company, Apple. She helps in developing the respective territory's Apple business through building a robust, influential, and collective business relationship with the reseller's management and sales team. Another facet of her job at Apple is training the reseller's store team members on how to sell Apple hardware, software, and accessories. Updating her knowledge on Apple-branded and related 3rd party products and expressing said knowledge to aid in Apple-based solutions in formal as well as informal settings to her, is also a must. Maintaining the store staff's motivation to keep maintaining merchandising and visual standards at optimal level according to Apple and reseller standards and reporting and analyzing and trends, goals, and business results are also significant aspects of her employment.

Her answer to the second question focused on the topic of subordinates. Sofia's subordinates expect her to maintain a constant level of professionalism. She stated she needs to be early or on time and always there to help them. "This especially rings true for new employees," she states. "They need extra time to become accustomed to the way things work in the store." Her desire for a consistent level of communication between them and herself was and continues to be a major expectation. If communication is lacking at any given point during the workday, possible errors on the sales floor, in merchandising, in inventory, or customer service could exist. Meetings, and daily goals help keep it all structured.

Sofia's response to question three relates her constant stresses to inadequate performance or behavior by subordinates and lack of breaks during the work day. She is always on and alert to keep things from becoming too chaotic. Apple is a demanding company and requires its employees to be at the top of their game at all times. For question four she states what she dislikes about her job. She dislikes the constant surge in customers. The high levels of traffic keep the store dirty every day and make her stay late at times. Although sales numbers/goals are met fairly easily, many customers come in to complain of faulty hardware/software and must be attended to immediately for most lack patience.

Question five had Sofia state her love of being around people. She truly enjoys helping others and being there for the people who need her. She also expressed the kind of person she is, who loves to stay busy. Herjob offers her plenty to do and never a dull moment. Question six Sofia answers truthfully and said: "I believe top-performing managers constantly strive for more. They urge their subordinates and most of all themselves to do more, be better. They truly care for the customers, the business, and their co-workers/subordinates. That plays a vital role in continuing to do your best in your job."

For question seven, Sofia explained the need for effective communication.She needs excellent communication skills to carry out her tasks quickly and well. Knowing how to use programs like Microsoft Excel and having a high wpm average is all apart of that. Communication is complex and often times needs the person to do many things at once. Knowing the product(s) that's sold, well, and delivering that information in a fluid, calm manner ensures success.

For the last question, question eight, Sofia expressed her biggest mistake acting as a sales manager for Apple.Her biggest mistakes thus far involved motivating her subordinates. She states: "It is hard to keep a good rapport with employees. They sometimes won't like you or are difficult to train. I think the way I dealt with troublesome subordinates is what I would want to change the most and am working on changing. I want to be more patient with them and their possible limitations."

After talking to her and finding out more about her position, I realized just how hard it is to assume the role of sales manager. Sofia has had to deal with daily sales goals, daily store maintenance, and communication between her staff and employers. She is constantly working and constantly there to do her job well. Her explanations have not only provided a more in-depth look of what might typically happen in an Apple store, but it has also shed light on some of the difficulties of a manager.

One of the things that stuck out the most when interviewing her was her answer for what it takes to be a top-performing manager. She stated one has to care for the people she is not only working with, but working for. She also said one must enjoy what they do to continue being motivated to excel and continually seek to improve. That is an important lesson to take from this interview because it shows how a company like Apple maintains its success. It's thanks to people like Sofia, who truly love their job, to maintain the level of service and reliability a company needs.