2 min lesson
Handle the flat-team reality honestly
Work through this case: "The Head of IT says 'this is a very flat team - you'd own IT end-to-end with little oversight.' What's your reply and what does a weak reply look like?" Say what you would do and why.
Step 1 of 2
Handle the flat-team reality honestly
Some realities of this role will be tested as much as offered. The interviewer wants to know you've calibrated to them, not that you'll be surprised in month two. Confront each one directly and show you've chosen it.
- “It's a very flat team - minimal management.”
- Good. Confirm you thrive with autonomy and ambiguity and give a one-line example of self-directing in a similar setup.
- “You'd be on-call / first responder for IT.”
- Probe the real load and what breaks most. Showing you want to know the scope reads as calibrated, not scared off.
- “This is hands-on, not strategy-only.”
- That's the appeal. You want to be in the terminal building, not running a roadmap deck.
- “Headcount may stay small as we grow.”
- Exactly why automation is the job. A small team scaling with the company is the impact problem you find motivating.
Naming the hard parts and choosing them anyway is the senior move.
Ask “what would the first thing I automate be?” and then react like an owner - name the IdP/HRIS approach you'd take, the failure mode you'd guard against, the dry-run. You've turned a question into a free demonstration that you'd hit the ground building.
Don't ask questions that are easily answered by the job post or that signal you want a softer role than this is - “Is there a clear promotion ladder?”, “How much of this is help-desk tickets?” or “Will I have a team under me?” all read as a mismatch with a flat, hands-on, builder role.