Business Continuity Manager Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Before your Business Continuity Manager interview, it helps to see the questions from the interviewer's side. We have picked eight from our set of 12 and added the reason each one gets asked.

Eight Business Continuity Manager interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. What is a business impact analysis, and how do you carry one out?

Why they ask: They want to see you understand the foundation of business continuity planning.

2. How does ISO 22301 shape your business continuity management system, and how do you align with the Business Continuity Institute's Good Practice Guidelines?

Why they ask: They want to know you understand the standards used in the UK.

3. How would you design and run a business continuity exercise, and what types are available?

Why they ask: They test whether you can validate plans, not just write them.

4. A major incident hits your head office, and the building is closed for a week. What do you do in the first hour?

Why they ask: They are testing crisis response and prioritisation.

5. How do you assess supply chain and third-party resilience, particularly for critical suppliers?

Why they ask: They want to see you can manage dependencies outside the organisation.

6. Tell me about a time you responded to a real disruption and what you learned from it.

Why they ask: They want real incident experience and reflective learning.

7. Tell me about a time you had to persuade senior management to invest in resilience that they were reluctant to fund.

Why they ask: They want to see you can make the business case for continuity.

8. What makes a good business continuity manager, and why does this role suit you?

Why they ask: They want to understand your motivation and how you see the role.

A sample answer to question 1

What is a business impact analysis, and how do you carry one out?

A business impact analysis identifies which activities are critical and what happens if they are disrupted. I run structured workshops and questionnaires with each department, asking what they do, who depends on it, the financial, legal, reputational and customer impact of an outage over time, and what resources they need, such as people, premises, technology, suppliers and data. From that I set the maximum tolerable period of disruption, the recovery time objective and the recovery point objective for each activity, and the minimum level of service. I also map dependencies, because a critical process may rely on a system or a supplier that sits elsewhere. Then I consolidate the results into a prioritised list agreed with senior management. The BIA is reviewed at least annually, or after significant change, and it drives the strategy and plans.

Common mistake to avoid: Treating departments in isolation; not getting senior sign-off

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 12 questions are on the Business Continuity Manager interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.