How To Answer Supervisor Interview Questions

Supervisor Interview Questions And Examples Of The Best Answers

Review job interview questions, with examples of the best answers, about employee supervision, dealing with conflict, poor performance, and more.

When youre interviewing for a position as a manager or supervisor, its important to show the interviewer that you are an effective leader and problem solver. Prepare to answer questions about what makes a good manager, your own management style, solving conflicts between employees, dealing with poor employee fit/performance, and more.

Being A Supervisor You Will Face Challenges And There Is A Greater Possibility That You Wont Be Able To Overcome All Of Them How Do You Handle And Manage Workplace Failures

Failure strikes everyone, just like death, which is inevitable. You will rarely find a person in this crowded world who has always succeeded and never failed. Yet, failure leaves a devastating impact upon human minds and makes them literally go crazy. A failed person not only feels short of confidence but also delivers a sub-standard performance while being in employment. Thus, an interviewer is always interested in knowing the various strategies or techniques that you follow to manage your workplace failures.

Have You Ever Had To Terminate An Employee

Firing an employee is not always an easy decision to make, and the interviewer likely knows this. Your answer can allow the interviewer to gauge how your professionalism and interpersonal skills can help you in a situation like this.

If you have past experience with terminating an employee, you can use that example in your answer. Similarly, you can also describe how you would approach this situation if you have never had to fire someone.

Example:”I’ve been fortunate enough that I haven’t had to make that tough decision in my career yet. However, if I had to consider an employee termination, it would only come as a last resort after other disciplinary methods like probationary evaluations, performance reviews and implementing improvement plans.”

Read Also: How To Prepare System Design Interview

Management Interview Questions With Example Answers

The following list provides different managerial interview questions you may be asked. Your answers to job-specific questions like these allow the interviewer to gauge if you are a good fit for the position.

• How would you describe your management style?

• What strategies would you use to motivate your team?

• How would you handle conflict between employees?

• How would you handle underperforming employees?

• Have you ever had to terminate an employee?

• What skill areas do you feel you could improve as a team leader?

• Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision.

• How can you make sure you communicate with your team effectively?

• Have you ever promoted an employee? Why?

• How do you organize team projects and tasks?

Read more:15 Leadership Qualities That Make a Great Leader

What Skill Areas Do You Feel You Could Improve As A Team Leader

This question might give the interviewer insight into how you evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses as a manager. Keep your answer honest and related only to a management position.

Example:”In the past, I’ve been told that I can be somewhat overly motivated to meet objectives. This has led me to delegate more tasks than my team can reasonably handle sometimes, as well as situations where quality output was put at risk to meet set objectives. However, I have continued to develop my ability to prioritize objectives, which reduced team overload and the risk of lower-quality deliverables.”

Read Also: Questions To Ask The Cfo In An Interview

What Is Most Important For Your Store To Run Effectively

Being a leader requires you to spend time developing your team and helping them work well together. Think about the things you like to see from your employees and from your own manager.

The biggest thing that makes my stores run is teamwork. I truly believe that hiring the right people who work well together will give you an edge on the competition. We let our employees know that no one is too good for any tasks and that we are all working together to make the store a success. You can even find me washing the floors if we are short handed or busy. This type of environment encourages everyone to work hard and gives them a sense of pride in their work.

Can You Define Your Supervisory Style

The answer to this question depends on your style of leadership. Do you prefer liberal approach, or do you prefer to maintain a strong authority in the workplace? Either one you choose, you should be able to tell the interviews why you prefer it.

Ideally you should narrate a situation from the past, one on which you demonstrate your supervisory style, and show the hiring managers how it helped you to achieve good results with your team. Alternatively you may say that you are ready to apply both liberal and authoritative approach, and will decide according to the conditions in the workplace, and people you will have in your team. You will simply pick the style that will suit the team you will supervise.

Read Also: How To Prepare System Design Interview

Question #: Is There Anything You Would Change About Supervisor Roles In Our Organization

All processes can be improved even when theyre already great. A candidate who has actionable ideas that can improve the workflow and cut costs, save time, or streamline processes is a great pick.

A strong candidate will have done their research on your organization and should be able to answer this question. A red flag is a lack of ideas or knowledge of your expectations and the function of supervisors in your organization.

What Is A Behavioral Interview

Behavioral interviewing explores the workplace competencies that are required for successful job performance.

If the job requires a person to be able to analyze and find solutions to problems the interviewer will ask the candidate to provide an example of when they previously displayed that behavior.

“Tell me about a problem you uncovered in your previous job. What steps did you take to sort it out?”

It is often difficult to think of good examples within the time constraints and stressful context of a job interview.

Know which behaviors are required in the position by reviewing the job description and requirements.

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare System Design Interview

The Supervisory Role Can Put You Under Pressure How Do You Handle Work

Working conditions can be stressful, and sometimes, these conditions can hurt employee performance. The candidate should reveal why they believe they can work under pressure and still yield the desired results. What to look for in an answer:

• Previous handling of a stressful working situation
• Ability to work under pressure
• Instances where stress was a motivator

Example:

I have experienced the pressure of managing employees, especially when their performance is below the desired level. However, I learned that being supportive and motivating the employees even when they are underperforming boosts their morale and improves their productivity. That’s something I try my best to do.

How Do You Discipline Someone In The Workplace

Hiring managers can use this question to decide if you make consequences clear and hold your employees to accountability standards. When answering, consider the disciplinary structure you use with your teams.

Example:”As a shift leader, I noticed one employee in particular was always late. I met with her to find out her personal reasons for tardiness, but she didn’t have any. I created a consequences list that addressed how we would proceed if she didn’t start coming to work on time.”

You May Like: Questions To Ask Cfo During Interview

What Can You Say About Your Supervisory Style

Tip: There exists no right or wrong supervisory style and so there is no wrong or right answer to the question. However, it is important to note that the way one deals with the person in front of him is different from the way would deal with people.

Key word is adaptability, ability to adapt your style to the circumstance, demands of the task and person involved is what defines a supervisory style. Supervisory style should be particularly appropriate to the situation at hand.

If you have examples, you can cite them to buttress your point.

Prepping For The Battle Ahead

Yes, we said battle, but before you start polishing your cosplay armor and trying to figure out how to fit a siege machine in your office, were talking mental battlenot physical battle. Regardless, you need to both prep and strategize how youre going to tackle this new challenge.

The first thing you need to do is realize that the types of questions youll be getting are not all the same sort of questions youd be getting in a traditional job interview. Whereas before you were asked questions about your specific skills and experiences as an employee, your questions now will be more focused on your ability to get results from the teams youll be leading.

Speaking of leading teams, dealing with diverse personalities is another aspect of project management, so expect some questions regarding leadership roles and conflict resolution.

Finally, be prepared to answer some traditional interview questions as well. Areas that are likely to be covered include your long-term goals, your ongoing role with the company, and where you see yourself down the road.

Now that weve gone over what to expect, lets focus on building your answer arsenal so youre ready for the actual interview.

Much like the behavioral questions weve gone over time and time again in other blogs, project manager interview questions should always be accompanied by concrete examples from your past. Your goal is to demonstrate to your interviewer that youre not just knowledgeable, but that youre experienced .

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare System Design Interview

Additional Interview Questions To Ask:

Theres a great supervisor looking for a job with your company. Connect with them today using Betterteam, by publishing a job ad that reaches candidates across multiple channels.

Operational And Situational Questions

• How would you teach your team to respect company policy and regulations?
• What would you do if, by the end of the day, there were products in the daily batch that werent up to standard?
• If you saw employees werent using protective equipment, how would you handle it?
• Imagine two of your subordinates have a rivalry that affects their performance. What do you do?
• How do you handle undisciplined or disruptive employees?
• What would you do if an employee was consistently late at the beginning of their shift?

Read Also: Cfo Interview

How Did You Respond When An Employee Made A Mistake Or When There Was Conflict Within Your Team

Tip: The interviewer asks this question to know your approach to uneasy situations and you need to be as clear and as possible without mincing words because supervisors are bound to face these situations at work.

Answer: Mention the mistake made by the employee and how you constructively managed it while getting to the remote cause of the mistake and turning it to a learning point to the employee and to those who were aware of it. Discuss the conflict and how you resolved it without creating a rift in your team. Make the interviewer understand that you motivated the team adequately in spite of the conflict or mistake, ability to motivate and move the team in times of hitches makes for a fine supervisor.

What Are The Qualities That A Custodial Supervisor Needs To Be Successful

The interviewer wants to know what qualities you have to make you successful in this job. Talk about the key attributes that you think a custodial supervisor should have.

Sample Answer

Other than having the qualifications, a custodial supervisor must have personal qualities that will make them be successful in this role. A good custodial supervisor should be able to communicate well, be ready to teach others strategies that they think are the best for quality work, be able to lead by example, ready to learn from others regardless of their position in the organization, good observer and ready to respond quickly to matters that need priority. I believe that these are qualities that I have and can help me be successful in this position.

You May Like: Interview Questions For A Cfo

Could You Please Tell Us A Little Bit About Yourself

This is not exactly a job interview question, but a typical interview opener especially when the job interview is being conducted by an inexperienced or unskilled interviewer. Logically, a good interviewee would think of asking the interviewer to confirm exactly what information they want answered, but there is a better way to answer this question professionally and succinctly.

The key point is to not repeat everything youve stated in your resume. Recruiters will have read your resume prior to asking you this interview question, therefore you dont need to recite it. However, you should make reference to impressive achievements or relevant work experience when touching down on your professional background.

I suggest you learn to answer this question with a three part, pre-planned marketing statement that can more or less be reused from interview to interview. Start with a brief summary of your career history I am a Marketing Manager with 10 years of experience working for global software companies in the UK and abroad.

Then, talk them through briefly how your career developed but dont just repeat what they can see on your resume. Talk to the interviewer more in terms of what youve learnt or achieved. Mention a recent accomplishment that you are proud of that will also capture the potential employers attention . You really want to focus on what makes you exceptional and how your skills and experience match the requirements of the job.

Being A Supervisor You Will Be Assigned Targets That Need To Be Completed By Your Team Which Measures Do You Use To Motivate Your Team Members

Through this question, an interviewer wants to know what are the various monetary as well as non-monetary measures that you follow to motivate your team members.

Sample Answer

Sir, I generally use a combination of both monetary and non-monetary incentives, which are:

• Recognition of the employees who have performed excellently and have delivered an ideal performance at the workplace
• Extending monetary incentives, upon achievement of targets and assigned goals
• Offering family benefits and rewards, such as coupons, reimbursements, etc.

Read Also: Questions To Ask Cfo In Interview

Production Supervisor Interview Questions

A production supervisor has important duties like overseeing daily operations and resolving problems. The setting they work in calls for deep technical knowledge as well as understanding of HR practices and quality management.

When interviewing, focus on assessing three key areas: leadership, problem-solving and relevant expertise. Present them with hypothetical scenarios and discuss their past experience. See if they can explain how they use different methods and concepts.

Questions about their knowledge or technical expertise should be tailored to the company and position. You may want them to have experience in electrical systems, assembling etc. Ask them a few questions to evaluate their technical knowledge. Alternatively, if you find a candidate with technical aptitude and strong supervisory skills, you can train them yourself, even if they dont have relevant background.

Tell Us What Happened When You Had To Implement Or Initiate A Change

Answer: People in a work environment can be resistant to change just as people tend to want to maintain the status quo. By telling the interviewer this you have informed him of the hard work you did. Describe how you influenced them to see the good reasons why you want to implement the change and the great results that await the employees and the company when they all accept the new idea.

Also tell the interviewer how you went to drum up support for the change and how it pulled through. As a supervisor you didnt let the change divide your team between the deferring sides, you carried everyone along and achieved great results everyone was proud of.

Read Also: Interview Attire Womens

What Is One Of The Most Important Decisions You’ve Made As A Supervisor

Hiring managers may ask this question to discover how comfortable you are making decisions for your team without direct orders from owners or someone else above you in the management hierarchy. How you answer can confirm that you’ve had previous decision-making responsibilities and that you’re confident in your process. When answering this question, think about a specific situation where you had to make the ultimate choice on a project or initiative. Share the factors that guided your decision and the overall outcome.

Example:”In my last position as a marketing manager, my team spent a lot of time researching and creating content for a new vegan restaurant campaign. After rollout, the client told us they learned some of their offerings weren’t vegan at all. I had to decide how to handle changing the content that we’d already published and how to address the retraction. I ultimately addressed the issue directly on the client’s social media channels and website, and we created updated content with source lists and links to preserve customer trust.”

How Would You Handle Underperforming Employees

This question can give the interviewer an idea of how you approach the tougher aspects of managing a team. It can be difficult to tell an employee they are not meeting expectations, and how you do this as a manager can allow the interviewer to gauge your potential efficiency working for their company.

You might answer with an example of your past experience, or you can highlight how you would discuss underperformance with your team members.

Example:”I’ve been fortunate to have managed productive and hard-working teams. If I had to approach an employee who wasn’t meeting expectations or was generally underperforming, I’d first describe the ways they have met expectations, then offer to develop an improvement plan that outlines the steps my employee would need to take to improve their performance.”

Also Check: Prepare For System Design Interview