Question: If I asked your current or previous manager for a reference, what do you think they would say about you?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

How will your current or most recent manager describe you?
What references do you think your current or most recent manager give you?

Follow-up questions:

Why do you think they will say that?
How was your relationship with them?
What there any friction between you and them?
Would there be any positive aspect about you that they probably would not have seen or would not talk about?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Traditional

Other Factors:

Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit,Personality-Team Fit,Rapport Building Question,Self-Awareness

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Relationship With Supervisor

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Humility

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The interviewee will likely attempt to ‘sell themselves’ by emphasizing positive feedback from their previous or current manager. You should also get a sense of the type of relationship that the interviewee had with their manager.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the interviewee did not get along with their manager, it is a potential red flag.
If later on, an actual reference was done with the manager, and the manager’s responses are vastly different from those from the interviewee, it is a red flag.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.jobbankusa.com/interview_questions_answers/