Questions to Ask in a Community Manager Interview
Community manager is the title of two unrelated jobs, and this page has questions for a candidate in either interview to put to the hiring manager. The first three groups are for an online or brand community role: the community itself, moderation and escalation, then results, tools and budget. The fourth is for running an apartment or other residential community (units, occupancy, the site team, the owner, on-call and bonus), and the closing group on the team and next steps fits both.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Online community
What is the community for, and what does the company expect to get back from it?
Why ask it
Fewer support tickets, product feedback, renewals and word of mouth are four different jobs under one title. If the answer is 'engagement', ask what the engagement is meant to lead to, because that is what the budget will be defended on.
Which platforms does the community run on: your own forum, Discord, Slack, a Facebook group, or several at once?
Why ask it
Each one sets the rhythm of the work: a forum is threads that last for years, a chat server is a conversation that never stops. If your research already told you the platform, go straight to whether the company owns the space or rents it from a service that can change the rules.
How many members are there, and how many of them post or reply in a normal month?
Why ask it
The second figure describes the job. A big quiet community needs restarting and a small busy one needs keeping up with, so work out which you are being offered before you start describing plans.
Would I be starting a community, growing one, or keeping an established one healthy?
Why ask it
Founding one means months of talking to a nearly empty room and inviting people in by hand. Inheriting one means members with habits and a history with the last manager, so ask what they would not want changed.
What is the hardest thing about this community right now?
Why ask it
Spam, a forum gone quiet, a few loud regulars who put off newcomers, a platform move that lost people: each would give you a different first quarter. Whatever is named, have a short account ready of something similar you have dealt with, because this answer often turns the conversation back to you.
Which department does the community team sit in: marketing, support, product or its own?
Why ask it
The department sets the goal. Under marketing the pull is toward reach and campaigns, under support toward answered questions, under product toward feedback and beta testers. None of them is wrong, but one will be closer than the others to the work you want to be doing.
Who are the members, and what brings them back a second time?
Why ask it
Customers looking for a fix, hobbyists who want company and developers after documentation behave nothing alike. If nobody can say why people return, finding out is your first project, and it helps to hear that they see it as one.
How much of this job is community, and how much is social media, support tickets or events?
Why ask it
Postings for this title often fold in the brand's social feeds or a share of the help desk. Ask for the split in hours across a normal week, then decide whether that blend is the job you want.
Is there a core group of superusers or ambassadors, and who looks after them?
Why ask it
Regulars who answer other members' questions for nothing take years to gather and can drift away in a season. What they get in return, whether early access, a private channel or a thank-you from the founder, shows how seriously the company takes them.
How does member feedback get to the product team, and what was the last thing it changed?
Why ask it
Without the example, the feedback loop is a slide in a presentation. With it you learn who listens, and how long a member waits to hear that a suggestion went somewhere.
Would I find out about a price change or a dropped feature before the members do?
Why ask it
A community manager who learns the news from an angry thread is already behind. The answer to hope for includes a lead time and a seat in launch planning; a vague one means apologizing for decisions you never saw coming.
Would I post under my own name and photo, or as the brand?
Why ask it
A named person gets warmer replies than a logo, and is also easier to track down when a member is furious. If your real name is expected, find out whether a separate work profile is allowed and how much about you it has to show.
Does the role include live events: meetups, livestreams, question-and-answer sessions with the team?
Why ask it
Events mean evenings, travel and a budget line, and some people take this job for exactly that part. Last year's count and turnout tell you whether it is a running program or an idea waiting for you to start it.
Moderation
Are there written community guidelines, and when were they last revised?
Why ask it
Rules with a recent date on them mean someone has had to apply them and found the gaps. If they have never been touched, ask which situation the team keeps arguing about, because rewriting that section will be yours.
Who can ban a member, and is there a way to appeal?
Why ask it
You are finding out whether the call is yours, a committee's or a founder's. The appeal route matters more than it sounds: it is what you point to when a banned member carries the argument to another platform.
Which situations go beyond the community team, and who takes them?
Why ask it
A legal threat, a security report, a journalist in the thread and a member who seems to be in real distress each need a named person on the other end. A written list with numbers that are answered at night is what you are hoping for. 'We would figure it out' means you would be the one figuring.
When did the community last blow up, and what set it off?
Why ask it
Listen to how the story is told. An account in which the company explained itself or changed course is a better sign than one in which the members were simply being difficult.
Who is watching the community overnight, on weekends and over holidays, and what would be expected of me then?
Why ask it
Members in other time zones post while you sleep, so someone or something has to be on watch. A rota, a second moderator or a plain 'it waits until morning' are all workable. An unspoken hope that you will check your phone is the answer to push on.
Is there a target for how quickly a member gets a first reply?
Why ask it
A target in hours tells you how many people it would take to hit it. Hold it against the coverage answer: a two-hour promise and a team of one do not fit together.
What can volunteer moderators do without asking staff, and what happens when one of them gets it wrong?
Why ask it
Volunteers with the power to mute and remove take the first wave off you. How the company handled the last bad call by a volunteer shows whether it backs them, retrains them or quietly drops them.
When a member goes after a moderator personally, what does the company do?
Why ask it
Whoever enforces the rules will now and then become a target. The reassuring reply has specifics in it: a colleague takes over the case, the account is removed, time away is offered before anyone has to ask.
How much of the moderation is automated today: filters, bots, AI tools, a report queue?
Why ask it
Filters catch spam so that a person can spend time on the judgment calls. The details worth having are who tunes them, how a wrongly removed post gets restored, and what an AI tool is allowed to send or decide before a person has read it.
Results and tools
A year from now, how would you decide whether the community is working?
Why ask it
This is success in the manager's own words, before any dashboard gets involved. Write it down, since it is also the case you would have to make at your first review.
Which numbers would this role answer for: active members, questions solved, event turnout, retention?
Why ask it
Each number pushes the work a different way: counting posts rewards noise, counting solved questions rewards usefulness. Ask which one leadership looks at today and who chose it.
When leadership asks what the community is worth, what do you show them?
Why ask it
Tying a forum answer to a ticket that was never filed, or to a renewal, is hard, and a straight manager will admit how rough the method is. Be wary of a firm revenue target with no tracking behind it.
Who in leadership speaks up for the community when budgets are set?
Why ask it
A community's value is slower to show on a spreadsheet than a sales team's, so a named sponsor is a kind of job security. If the only advocate is the person interviewing you, the role is as safe as their standing, and it is fair to ask how the headcount was won.
Which program or campaign in the community did not work, and what did you learn?
Why ask it
A failed ambassador scheme or a weekly thread nobody joined tells you what has already been tried. It also shows whether a flop is treated as information or as a mark against whoever ran it.
What tools are in place for the platform, analytics and member records?
Why ask it
A community platform connected to the customer database lets you see who a member is as a customer. A standalone chat server and a spreadsheet mean reporting by hand, which is fine at a small size as long as they know it.
Does the community have a budget of its own, and what has it paid for: member rewards, events, software?
Why ask it
Even a modest amount for stickers and a meetup changes what you can offer your most active members. With no budget at all, every thank-you is a favor asked of another team.
Apartment community
How many units does the property have, and is it one site or more than one?
Why ask it
Unit count sets the size of everything else: the staff, the phone calls, the bonus. Two sites under one manager also means part of every day in the car, and an office with nobody in it whenever you are at the other one.
What kind of housing is it: conventional, affordable, student or senior?
Why ask it
The type decides what fills your week. Affordable programs usually bring income paperwork and file audits, and student housing tends to squeeze most move-outs and move-ins into a few weeks. If the type is new to you, say so and ask what training covers its rules, which depend on the program and the place.
Where is occupancy today, and where does the owner want it?
Why ask it
The gap between the two numbers is your first assignment. Ask how long it has sat at this level and what nearby properties are running, so you can tell a property problem from a market one.
Is the property in lease-up, stabilized, or going through a renovation?
Why ask it
A lease-up is a sales job with a deadline, a stabilized property is about renewals and upkeep, and a renovation means looking after residents who live beside construction. Each suits a different manager, so say which you have done.
What leasing and renewal targets come with the job, and who set them?
Why ask it
Targets handed down from an owner's spreadsheet can ignore what the neighborhood will bear. The previous manager's record against them is the test: a number that was met most months is a goal, and one that never was is a wish.
Who is on the site team right now, how long have they been here, and which seats are empty?
Why ask it
Long-serving leasing and maintenance people carry the history of every unit and resident. An empty seat is work that lands on the manager until it is filled, and a team that has turned over completely within a year deserves a plain 'what happened?'
How many work orders are open today, and how long does a vacant unit take to turn?
Why ask it
These two figures describe the state of maintenance better than any adjective. A long backlog or slow turns will be sitting behind the occupancy number and the reviews, so find out whether the cause is staffing, parts, or an owner slow to approve spending.
Who owns the property, and how closely do they follow it?
Why ask it
An owner who reads the weekly report and visits each quarter is a different boss from a fund that looks at one number. Find out who speaks to the owner, you or the regional manager, and what the last call was about.
How many properties does the regional manager oversee, and how often would I see them on site?
Why ask it
A regional with a long list of properties will be reachable by phone and little else, which is freedom for an experienced manager and a thin safety net for a first-time one. If the regional is the person across the table, put it as 'how many properties do you carry?'
What can I approve on my own: spending, rent concessions, a waived fee?
Why ask it
Authority decides whether you can settle a resident's problem at the desk or have to say you will get back to them. Dollar limits are the useful part of the answer, along with the story of the last time a manager went past one.
How does the emergency phone rotate, and how often would it be mine?
Why ask it
Nights on call come with site work at many companies, and the terms differ widely. Ask what counts as an emergency, how often the phone rings, and how that time is paid or given back here, since it varies by employer and by location.
What is the bonus tied to, how often is it paid, and what did it come to last year?
Why ask it
Occupancy, collections, renewals and budget performance are common triggers, and some sit partly outside a manager's control. The amount actually paid says more than the maximum on paper, and the written plan says more than either.
Is a rent discount or an apartment on site part of the package, and is living here expected?
Why ask it
Housing can be a large share of the pay, and living where you work means residents know which door is yours. Two things to settle before accepting: what happens to the apartment if the job ends, and whether the discount counts as taxable pay, which depends on where you are and is one for payroll to answer.
How much rent is past due, and who handles collections and evictions?
Why ask it
A large delinquent balance is yours from the first morning. Some companies leave notices and court filings to the manager and others pass them to an attorney or a central office, and the process itself depends on local law, so ask how it runs at this property.
Which capital projects are funded this year, and which requests were turned down?
Why ask it
A new roof or a resurfaced parking lot in the budget shows an owner putting money in. The declined list is the one residents will raise with you, so learn it before you promise anybody anything.
What do residents say in reviews and surveys, and which complaint would you most want gone?
Why ask it
Read the property's public reviews beforehand and see whether the interviewer brings up the same themes. If they name something a manager can fix, such as slow replies or a neglected laundry room, you have the start of a plan to describe.
Which tasks are handled centrally and which stay at the property: accounting, marketing, screening, renewals?
Why ask it
A central team takes paperwork off the site and some of your control along with it. This is also the moment to learn which property software they run, and how long a new manager gets to find their way around it before the first month-end.
What training would I get on fair housing and company policy before I start taking applications?
Why ask it
Housing discrimination rules are set at more than one level of government and are not the same in every place, so ask which ones cover this property and who answers when a case is unclear. A company that trains you before your first tour is protecting you as well as itself.
How many associations would be in my portfolio, and how many of their board meetings are in the evening?
Why ask it
The same title goes to managers of homeowner and condominium associations, where the client is a board elected by the owners, so skip this one at an apartment property. Portfolio size and night meetings are the workload, and how the last manager got on with each board tells you which accounts will be the hard ones.
Team and next steps
Why is the job open: is it new, or did the last community manager move on?
Why ask it
A new role has no template, and you would be the one writing it. A vacated one comes with habits the last person left behind among the members or the residents, so it helps to hear what they did well and how long they stayed.
Who would I report to, and has that person done this job themselves?
Why ask it
A boss who has run a forum or a property knows what a bad week looks like without having it explained. One who has not may give you more freedom and less cover, and will need you to put what you do into terms they can pass upward.
How many people do this work alongside me, and what does each of them cover?
Why ask it
A team of one owns every time zone, or every resident, and every sick day. With colleagues, ask where the lines fall, because two people who each believe a thread or a resident file is theirs is a problem of its own.
What would you want finished by the end of my first three months?
Why ask it
Ask for something you could point at: a rewritten welcome sequence, a moderator handbook, occupancy up by a set amount. A manager who cannot name one has not yet decided what the hire is for, and that is better learned now.
What would my actual schedule be, weekends included?
Why ask it
Online roles can be remote with odd hours around launches, and a leasing office may be open on Saturdays. Get the days and times as they are really worked, and how a weekend shift is made up to you, since that differs from one employer to the next.
What is the pay range, and which parts of the package are not salary?
Why ask it
Bonus, on-call pay, housing, equipment and a home internet allowance all turn up in these jobs and are easy to miss when comparing offers. If the hiring manager defers to the recruiter, ask who can send the details in writing.
What does the step after community manager look like here?
Why ask it
Online, the paths tend to run toward head of community, product, support leadership or marketing. On the property side they run to a bigger property, a regional role or the corporate office. Names of people who made the move are worth more than a chart.
What would you want me to have done more of before taking on this community?
Why ask it
It is better to hear the doubt while you can still answer it. If the gap is that you have moderated but never reported to leadership, or leased but never held a budget, say how you would close it and what help you would want.
Could I talk to someone I would work with every day, such as a moderator or the maintenance supervisor?
Why ask it
The people beside the role know what the manager cannot see from above: how often plans change, what the members or residents are really like. A company that sets up the conversation gladly is showing some confidence in what you will hear.
What happens after today, and is there a practical stage such as a moderation exercise or a walk around the property?
Why ask it
Online roles sometimes include a sample task, such as replying to difficult posts, and site roles a tour with the regional manager. For a task, find out how long it should take and whether the company will use what you write. For everything else, leave with a date.
Using these questions in either kind of community manager interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
First, settle which job it is
The words in the posting give it away
Members, threads, moderation, Discord, engagement and product feedback point to an online or brand community. Units, residents, occupancy, leasing, work orders and a regional manager point to an apartment property. If the posting mentions a board of directors, assessments or governing documents, it is the association version of the title, where the client is a board of owners. Parts of the Apartment community group still apply there, and the question about portfolio size and board meetings is the one to lead with.
When the online role is really two roles
Plenty of postings add the company's social accounts, a share of support tickets or event planning to the community work. That is no reason to walk away, but it changes what to ask. Bring up how the hours divide early on, then choose the rest of your questions for whichever part takes the most time.
If you are crossing from one kind to the other
The titles match and the daily work does not, so do not lean on the name. Say which habits you would bring with you, such as answering complaints in public without getting defensive, writing a notice people actually read, or knowing the regulars by name. Then ask what earlier hires from outside the field found hardest to pick up, and how long it took them.
Homework that sharpens your questions
Spend an hour inside the community
For an online role, join as a member before the interview if the community is open. Read the pinned rules, the busiest thread of the past month and the last announcement that drew complaints. Your question then stops being 'how do you handle unhappy members?' and becomes 'I read the thread about the pricing change. What was going on behind it?'
Read the property, and walk it if you can
For an apartment role, go through the public reviews and the listing, and visit quietly if the property is nearby. Notice the state of the grounds, the office hours posted on the door and how a call to the leasing line is answered. Each thing you notice turns into a more pointed version of a question in the Apartment community group.
Choose five and put the deciding one first
The time left for your questions is often short. Take one from each group that fits your job, add the one whose answer could make you turn the job down, and ask that one first in case the meeting is cut off. Online, that is often coverage hours. On site it tends to be on-call, the bonus or an understaffed team.
What the good answers have in common
Figures given without looking them up
A hiring manager who can state active members, reply times, occupancy or delinquency offhand is close to the work. One who has to promise to find out may be new, or may sit several layers away from the community you would run. Both are worth knowing about before you accept.
A limit somewhere in the answer
On coverage, on-call and after-hours work, the reassuring replies contain a boundary: a rota, a cutoff time, a list of what counts as urgent. Answers built on 'we all pitch in' leave the boundary for you to find by yourself, usually late at night.
Members and residents described as people
Notice the words used for the community. A manager who talks about what members are trying to get done, or what residents put up with during the renovation, is likely to back you when you speak for them. Constant talk of trolls or problem tenants suggests you would be sent out to hold a line.
Between the interview and the offer
Test what you were told
Go back to the forum or the reviews and compare. If the manager described a calm, well-moderated space and the newest threads say otherwise, raise it in the next round as a question and not as an accusation.
Ask for the variable parts in writing
Bonus plans, on-call arrangements, housing discounts, time back for weekend events and equipment allowances are easy to describe generously in conversation. Before accepting, ask for the plan or the policy document. How these are paid and taxed depends on the employer and on where you live, so check the terms that apply to you.
Keep notes you can set side by side
Write the answers down the same day, in the manager's own words where you can. If you are interviewing for more than one community job, the same five questions put to each employer make the offers far easier to compare.