Primary Questions
(Please think carefully about these prior to the interview)
1. When you think about your career as a manager, certain events or episodes stand out in your mind—things that changed you in some way and have ultimately shaped you as an executive. Please choose three of these experiences that have had a lasting impact on you as a manager or executive in international work. When I meet with you, I will ask you about each of these “key events” in your career: what happened? What did you learn from it(for better or worse).
2. Now think about someone else—someone whose career you have seen rise and fall. This should be a person who initially was very successful as a manager or executive in international work and who was expected to continue to be successful—but who failed to live up to those expectations. This previously successful person may have reached a plateau, been passed over or demoted, or even fired. Without revealing the identity of the person, please be prepared to discuss with us your views of:(a)why this individual been so successful prior to the derailment;(b)the flaws eventually were his or her undoing; and (c) circumstances that led to the derailment.
Additional questions
(Please look over these questions)
3. If it wasn’t one of the three events you described in the first question, tell me about your first international assignment. Why did you take the job? What were the biggest surprises? What were the biggest challenges? Did you make any mistakes? Did you get any help?
4. Are there any other experiences that you think helped prepare you for international management?
5. Who was the person from whom you learned the most about managing in an international setting? What did you learn from him/her?
6. What are the special challenges of having a boss who is from different culture than yours? What about having subordinates from different cultures?
7. What are the most important differences between managing in