Executive Producer Interview Questions:
1. What, in your experience, is the most important quality in an executive producer?
Candidates should list either exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate a large crew over a long time, or good business acumen and the ability to get the most value out of a limited budget as essential qualities.
2. What is your approach to delegation of responsibility?
Candidates should acknowledge that they cannot oversee all aspects of a multifaceted job. They should compensate for this by ensuring that the people they work with are diligent and responsible to take over important duties and should motivate their subordinates to assume leadership roles.
3. Describe an experience when you had to resolve a conflict between staff. How did you manage the situation?
Candidates should describe how they communicated clearly and effectively to them and attempted to resolve the matter in a professional manner. If that failed, candidates should describe how they referred the resolution to someone more equipped to deal with it.
4. Describe a time where you had to fire someone because they weren't the correct fit. How did you manage the process?
Executive producers will often realize that the person they've hired to fulfill a specific need is not attuned to their creative vision. If a candidate did not dismiss him/her or failed to find a suitable replacement, then they are not suited to the job.
5. What is the most difficult production problem you had to solve?
Candidates could list from a number of problems, including falling behind schedule or going over budget. Look for stories where candidates identified a problem, found a creative solution to it and learned a valuable lesson about production from it.