The Most Common Supervisor Interview Questions

If you are looking for a career to perform a high level of challenging responsibilities, the supervisor position can be your best choice. Supervisory positions allow you to gain some new experience, enhance your leadership skills and impress higher-level employers who can promote you in your career. 

There is a high demand for supervisor positions as they have much potential, and there is intense competition in the market over acquiring this position. 

The first step for getting a job as a supervisor is to participate in an interview. During the interview, you may face some challenging questions which you have never experienced before. To come through the interview successfully, you must be familiar with these questions and prepare for the interview.

These interviews also allow you to test your skills and achievements and boost your chance of getting a job as a supervisor.

We have gathered a list of common supervisory interview questions to help you prepare more confidently for the interview. We will also discuss a supervisor’s roles, responsibilities, and skills and guide you through becoming a supervisor.

What are a Supervisor’s roles and responsibilities?

Supervisors have many roles and responsibilities. They must monitor a team’s productivity and create a positive work environment. But their tasks’ details might differ based on the company’s needs and goals. Some of the supervisor’s roles and responsibilities are as below:

Managing the team’s functionality

One of the most vital roles of a supervisor is to manage a team. Supervisors should monitor a team’s functionality, especially for the tasks that must be done based on a deadline. In addition, supervisors should describe goals and evaluate the team’s performance.

Training new employees

Supervisors should work with new employees who just recently joined the team. New team members should understand their roles and feel supported while adapting to their new position. For example, supervisors might monitor new members’ performance themselves or work with the HR department to ensure the new employees receive the necessary instruction and training. 

Managing team agenda

Many businesses work in shifts, so they must have organized planning to run the tasks smoothly. Supervisors should make schedules and timetables for all team members and ensure the team can meet deadlines. Supervisors need to be flexible and adaptable to manage employees’ schedules.

Reporting to HR and senior management

Supervisors report to HR and senior management on team members’ performance. In addition, they have to assess team members individually regarding their achievements, integrity, punctuality, and following the company’s policies. 

Helping to resolve employee issues

Supervisors are also responsible for the development of employees in their roles. Therefore, they should find valuable employees and reward them for their hard work. However, suppose supervisors can’t reward an employee themself. In that case, they can recognize qualified employees, and senior managers will consult with supervisors regarding the promotion process and conditions.

Sharing information with the organization

Many organizations work based on a hierarchy, meaning senior managements usually make most of the decisions and pass them down to other top-rated employees. Supervisors usually pass the higher-management information decisions to other employees and discuss different issues with employers. Supervisors act as a bridge to communicate between different layers of t the company.

Set goals and evaluate outcomes

Supervisors should determine goals for team members and oversee their performance. For example, if they are working on a more significant project, they should ensure that all plans meet the deadline and that the team performs smoothly to reach the target. 

What are the necessary skills for a supervisor?

Supervisors should have specific skills for leading a productive team. Employees usually respect leaders when they are reliable and modest. If you want to be a supervisor, you should improve the necessary supervisory skills to become the best leader for your team. Some of the essential skills of a supervisor are as below:

Written and verbal communication

Supervisors should have a high level of communication skills as most of their jobs is about interacting with other people; therefore, they should be enabled to make clear verbal and written communication.

Leadership

Supervisors should create a motivating work environment for employees, which is how they can build a sense of responsibility among them. In addition, supervisors should identify the teams’ strengths and weaknesses and try to improve them to lead the team productively. 

Critical Thinking

Supervisors should be able to make logical and strategic decisions, solve problems and be creative, and they need critical thinking. Critical thinking helps supervisors to identify the problem and find a solution based on an evaluated process.

Interpersonal skills

Supervisors should be able to communicate with others openly, gain their trust, and also try to know all team members. They should create a positive and healthy work relationship with other employees and have interpersonal skills to reach those goals.

Adaptability

Changes are always happening in the workplace; therefore, supervisors should be able to think and act quickly to lead the team when significant changes occur. In addition, they must offer innovative strategies to solve problems and be flexible during crises.

Problem-solving

Supervisors should know how to deal with a problem by finding the cause deep down and trying to solve it. But on the other hand, problem-solving is very important, and supervisors should have enough knowledge and skills to solve problems for the company’s good.

Time management

Supervisors must oversee many projects and tasks simultaneously; therefore, time management is one of the essential skills supervisors should have. They need this skill to meet deadlines and prioritize tasks based on their urgency.

Conflict resolution

Disputes might happen between team members in any work environment. Supervisors are responsible for acting as a mediator when any disputes occur between co-workers. Supervisors should devise the best solution in times of conflict, which is a compromise.

Sense of Diversity

Diversity is one of the most critical factors in today’s workplace. Employees need to work in a diverse work environment, and supervisors should have a sense of diversity to instruct the team members effectively and adequately. 

Mentorship

Supervisors are great leaders. They should always be there for their team in critical or challenging situations and motivate them to accomplish their goals. In addition, supervisors should have mentorship skills and provide instruction and guidance to other employees. Moreover, they should also listen to team members’ ideas and insights and give credit to them. 

Sense of priority

Supervisors have many tasks and responsibilities and need to be organized to accomplish them. One of the skills which can help supervisors in this matter is their sense of priority. Not all tasks have the same level of urgency, and supervisors can prioritize them and decide which task has the highest priority and focus on that.

Willingness to learn

Supervisors should never be arrogant, even if they are the best. They have to identify new opportunities daily and learn as much as possible. Excellent supervisor always tries to understand more, increase their knowledge, and improve their skills.

What are the steps for becoming a qualified supervisor?

Supervisors have a high level of responsibility, and they have high earning potential as well. Therefore, if you want to get a supervisor job, you should have enough experience in this field. But, if you have yet to gain the expected amount of knowledge or experience, or if you just started your career as a supervisor, the below steps can help you to become a qualified supervisor over time.

• Become an expert in your field. You should study and learn as much as possible about this career to gain the essential qualification as a supervisor. Earn a degree in this field or apply for different courses to reach the highest level as a supervisor.
• Become a leader. You can become a leader in many positions and not just the supervisory role. You can accept different voluntary tasks and lead a team or project. This responsibility can be an excellent practice for improving your leadership skills. 
• Recognize the field you should improve in and look for methods. As a supervisor, you should evaluate your skills, work process, and other fields and increase your knowledge and abilities.

• Help and guide the other supervisors by becoming volunteers in projects to help supervisors and show your enthusiasm to gain more experience by doing more tasks.
• Listen to your employee’s feedback and ideas to ensure you are doing the right job as a supervisor and improve yourself in the fields you need to. You have to listen to employees’ feedback constantly so you can determine your leadership strategies and use your problem-solving skills.
• Ask for more tasks by executing your current responsibilities as best as possible and request your supervisor to provide you with more complex tasks and duties.
• Gather more information about your company by doing research about your company’s Background and finding out about its goals and objectives. Find out about their hiring and decision-making process. This information will also help you during your interview.
• Meet with your manager to receive some feedback and insights about your job. These insights can help you to find out about your strengths and weaknesses and improve them. Schedule a monthly meeting with your manager to assess your efficiency and abilities.
• Take action while tasks must be done, and no one wants to take responsibility for them. You can just become a volunteer to handle them. By doing that, you will be recognized as a person who wants the best for the company by heart.
• Become a team player by showing your capabilities to work with other team members fairly and honestly.
• Look for a mentor who usually works in the same industry as yours but with more experience and knowledge in a high-level position. A mentor will help you improve your skills so you can access more opportunities in your career.
• Apply for open job opportunities such as supervisory roles. Let the hiring managers in your company understand that you are eager to acquire a job in the management field. You can also ask their advice about becoming a fit candidate for the next open position.

How to prepare for the supervisor interview

Step 1: Prepare stories that demonstrate your experience as a supervisor

You must prepare examples for different questions regarding communication skills or your management approach. You should showcase your experience regarding your supervisor role; this way, you can be ready for any questions the hiring managers will ask you. If you don’t have any supervisor experience, you must research interview questions for first-time supervisor roles and study the answer to know what you should expect.  

Step 2. Collect information about the company’s requirements and management approach

Before the interview, research the company, its goals, framework, and strategy. When you have enough information about the company, it is a sign that you value its goals and want to do your best as a supervisor to achieve those goals. 

Step 3. Work on your body language

Another vital thing besides answers in the interview is the way to deliver them to the hiring manager. An employer or hiring manager can recognize details from your eye contact, gestures, and hand movements. Therefore, please pay attention to your body language, which can send many messages during an interview.

Step 4. Prepare yourself for deep supervisor interview questions

If you have yet to gain experience as a supervisor, some questions might seem very complicated and challenging for you to answer. However, you should study these questions and find answers that can showcase your leadership skills.

Step 5. Prepare some proper questions to ask during the interview

You should prepare some questions beforehand and ask them during the interview. These questions show that you are very serious about this opportunity and eager to learn more about this role. In addition, you can ask some questions regarding their participation in charity events or any other questions related to their work, which can also demonstrate your skills and capabilities.

The most common interview questions

When you want to participate in a supervisor interview, you might face interview questions you don’t expect or are prepared for while applying for that job. If you research the question types and expectations that hiring managers have for you during an interview, you can prepare better for your interview.  The interview will also allow you to evaluate your skills and achievements and boost your chance of getting the job. Some of the most common interview questions you might face in a supervisor interview are as below:

General questions 

1. What do you think are the most crucial qualities of a good supervisor?
2. Why do you think you’re the best candidate for this job?
3. How do you describe your personality?
4. Why should we hire you?
5. What’s the most challenging part of being a supervisor?
6. What are your top three elements for improving teamwork and reaching success?
7. What job responsibilities and expectations do you have as a supervisor?
8. How long have you worked as a supervisor?
9. What are your salary expectations for this role?
10. As a supervisor, what are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?

Questions about Background and experience

1. How would you describe your management or leadership approach?
2. Describe a time when you had to make a vital decision as a supervisor.
3. How your management approach has evolved?
4. When assessing a team member’s performance, what factors do you consider?
5. Have you ever had to discipline an employee, and how did You manage it?’
6. In what kind of work environment have you achieved the most success
7. Describe a time when you needed to fire an employee.
8. Have you ever been part of a negotiating contract?
9. Describe a time you disagreed with a decision at work and how you managed it.
10. In previous supervisory positions, what have you done to reduce costs?

In-depth questions

1. Is there anything you would change about the supervisory positions in our company?
2. How do you ensure that your team meets long- and short-term objectives?
3. What do you do to make sure employees are motivated?
4. How would you settle a dispute between two employees?’
5. Describe your management philosophy
6. How do you help an unsuccessful employee?
7. How do you want your direct reports to view you?
8. How would you lead by example as a supervisor?’
9. How do you manage to work under pressure?
10. How do you communicate about a failure with senior management?

Conclusion

When you do enough research and study and get familiar with supervisor interview questions, you can perform better at the interview and impress the hiring manager or employer.

Some of these questions might seem challenging or even complex at first sight, but you can handle them if you spend enough time learning and preparing. Work on the questions and practice answers; we assure you will get the best result.

Some tips can help you to get the best outcome from your interview:

• Read the job description carefully. 
• Do some research about the company
• Evaluate your skills and experience
• Do proper research about the supervisor’s roles and responsibilities
• Preparing answers for interview questions.

This article covers the most common questions of a supervisor interview based on three categories general, in-depth, and background questions. But, besides that, it also explains a supervisor’s roles, responsibilities, and skills. It also discusses the necessary steps for becoming a supervisor and some tips which can help candidates to prepare themselves for a supervisor’s interview. All in all, it is a comprehensive guide for readers who are interested in starting their career as a supervisor.