General Manager Interview Questions To Expect

You know how much goes into a great pub visit: a warm welcome, a team that pulls together and plenty of care behind the scenes. A general manager interview is your chance to show how you would help make that happen, with examples of the people you’ve supported and the results you’ve achieved.

Preparing for general manager interview questions can help you feel more comfortable talking about your experience. At Greene King, we want to get to know the person behind the application, too. Here’s how to prepare, which topics are worth practising and how to give answers that sound like you.

How to prepare for a general manager interview

Start with the vacancy you’ve applied for. Read the responsibilities carefully and choose examples that show how your experience matches them. Our guide to the role of a general manager explains the mix of team leadership, customer care and business responsibility involved.

Research the pub as well as Greene King. Look at its food and drink offer, events and local community. Think about what makes that particular business interesting to you, and what you would want to learn about it.

Get familiar with our values and behaviours. Then connect them with something you’ve done, such as supporting a colleague or taking ownership of a problem. A real example says much more than repeating a list of values.

General manager interview questions to practise

The questions below are examples to help you prepare, rather than a fixed Greene King interview script. They cover themes relevant to leading a pub, from developing people to understanding business performance.

1. Why do you want to be a general manager at Greene King?

Talk about what attracts you to the role, the company and the pub. Perhaps you enjoy helping people develop, building relationships with customers or seeing your ideas make a difference to a business.

Give your answer some substance by connecting that motivation to your experience. If you’ve enjoyed coaching colleagues into more responsibility, explain why you want to keep doing that as a general manager. Show that you understand both the people and commercial sides of the job.

2. How have you helped a team perform at its best?

Choose a situation where your leadership made a difference. You might have supported a new team, improved communication between shifts or helped colleagues feel more confident in their roles.

Explain what the team needed, what you changed and how you followed up. Did you introduce clearer briefings, give individual coaching or make responsibilities easier to understand?

Finish with the outcome. That could be stronger customer feedback, fewer mistakes or someone successfully stepping up. Give the team credit while making your own contribution clear.

3. How would you handle an unhappy pub customer?

Show how you would listen, establish what happened and work towards an appropriate resolution. Explain how you would follow the pub’s procedures, support any colleagues involved and get further help where needed.

If you have a relevant example, share it. What did the customer need, what action did you take and how did you check the outcome?

A useful answer also considers what happens afterwards. If the same issue keeps coming up, explain how you would use that feedback to improve service.

4. How have you improved sales or managed costs?

General managers need to understand how their decisions affect the business. Prepare an example involving sales, stock, waste, staffing or profit and loss, often shortened to P&L.

Explain the starting point, the action you took and what changed over a clear period. If you have figures you can share, use them accurately and explain the context.

For a pub, that might mean reviewing stock ordering to reduce avoidable waste or matching staffing more closely to trading patterns. Show how you considered customer experience and team workload alongside the numbers. Growing sales and protecting profit are related, but they are not the same result.

5. How would you lead the team through a busy service?

Think about preparation as well as the rush itself. Explain how you would check bookings, brief the team, allocate responsibilities and make sure people know where to get support.

During service, describe how you would stay aware of what is happening across the pub and kitchen, communicate changes and help where needed. Include how you would maintain standards when several things need attention.

Afterwards, there’s value in reviewing what worked and recognising the team’s effort. A good answer shows how you help everyone learn from a challenging shift.

6. How would you keep standards high across the pub?

Talk about making good practice part of everyday work: clear expectations, appropriate training, regular checks and following up when something needs attention.

The wider responsibilities of running a pub include looking after the team, the premises and the customer experience. Your answer should show how you make those responsibilities manageable and consistent.

Use an example of spotting an issue, taking action and checking that the improvement lasted. Explain how you help colleagues understand why the standard matters.

How to structure your general manager interview answers

The STAR method can help you organise examples without losing the important details:

• Situation: What was happening?
• Task: What were you responsible for?
• Action: What did you do?
• Result: What changed, and what did you learn?

Practise aloud, keeping the background brief enough to leave room for your actions and results. If something didn’t go to plan, be honest about what you learnt. You don’t need a word-perfect script to give a thoughtful answer.

Questions to ask at your general manager interview

Your interview is also a chance to decide whether the role suits you. Useful questions include:

• What would the main priorities be in the first three months?
• What are the pub’s biggest opportunities and challenges?
• What support would I have from the wider business?
• What development would help me grow in the role?

You can explore our benefits beforehand and ask about anything you’d like clarified. Check the interview format and travel arrangements, too. A little practical interview preparation leaves you more room to focus on the conversation.

General manager interview FAQs

What questions are asked in a general manager interview?

Prepare to discuss leadership, customer service, commercial results and operational standards. Questions may ask for past examples or how you would approach a situation. Use the vacancy to guide your preparation.

How do you stand out in a general manager interview?

Bring specific examples, explain your contribution and show what you learnt. Connect your answers to the pub and the people you would lead. Curiosity and thoughtful questions help, too.

What should you bring to a general manager interview?

Follow the instructions in your invitation. Have your application, a few brief example notes and your questions ready, alongside any documents or presentation requested.

Find your next general manager job at Greene King

Ready to bring your experience, ideas and personality to pub life? Explore our general manager jobs and find a business you’d be proud to lead. We’d love to hear how you could help us pour happiness into lives.