It can be difficult to see the signs of a toxic boss during the selection process. You have already passed all the different stages and now it is time to meet and be interviewed by your futur line manager. This stage is the most important, not only because you need to make a good impression but also because this person can make you new job be the best job you have ever had or it can make it a living hell.

Chemistry, values, are all in play but how can you guess this person is a “good person”, let alone, a “good boss”? How can you figure it out? One way is to ask around and reach for your network and gather as much information as possible about that manager. But you should do more and trust your own judgement.

It could be as simple as asking one simple question during the interview process to gauge what it will be like to work with a particular manager — and to check for any red flags. This simple question can tell a lot about the kind manager and person the manager is:

“Can you tell me about the most successful person you ever hired and what exactly they did to be successful?’”

Whatever’s response they give you is what they look for in a candidate.

Why that’s important?
Let’s say this boss was raving about work-life balance at the organization. But when you asked this question, they said, ‘The best person I ever hired was Jim. He came in early, he stayed late. He worked weekends. I could text him, call him anytime and he would drop everything for me.’ Does that sound like work-life balance to you? No!

It’s a very revealing question about what this boss admires and respects, which means that’s going to predict what you’re going to have to do to be successful and get raises and promotions.”