Interviewing For a Supervisor Position: Tips And Sample Questions

What is a Supervisor’s Role?

A supervisor manages a team, ensuring tasks are completed effectively and meeting quality standards. They delegate responsibilities, provide guidance, and evaluate employee performance. Supervisors also link upper management and staff, handling scheduling, training, and workplace issues to maintain productivity.

Hiring for a supervisor role can be challenging. Do you hire someone experienced from outside of your company? Or do you promote an exceptional employee from within? Due to the unique nature of work and the hefty responsibility of this position, it’s hard to know if someone is the right fit from just an interview.

HR teams must be proactive in their screening when hiring for a role that will directly impact company profitability, efficiency, and morale.

Interview Tips for a Supervisor Position

If you need to hire a new supervisor, it’s important to take a strategic approach to the hiring process. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind during your search:

1. Have a clear job description

The Bureau of Labor Statistics outlines some supervisor duties s as being to “directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers.” This is a great start for your job description, but it’s also incredibly vague.

Just like with other jobs, you should make the expectations clear and describe any unique circumstances. Is the supervisor role for a retail store, a corporate office, or a warehouse? The duties and necessary knowledge would vastly differ depending on which one.

If you’re trying to attract an outside hire, a clear job description will engage more qualified candidates.

2. Consult your employees

Current employees are a great resource for explaining the qualities a new supervisor should have. No one understands the day-to-day processes better than they do, and they can often list what is needed for the role and new supervisor tips.

At the same time, employees might have some grievances from their experience with past managers. Open up the discussion and note personality traits that would be more likely to be successful in motivating the team to achieve company goals or improve culture.

If you’re considering promoting an internal employee, existing staff are also a great resource. This can be one of the best hiring options if an existing employee already has the respect of their peers and demonstrates the skills required to lead a team.

3. Consider hiring mature workers

Seeking older workers for supervisor roles can benefit your business according to the Harvard Business Review. Seasoned workers can apply their extensive prior work experience to these positions.

Leadership skills that supervisors require can be hard to obtain, but it’s likely that an older employee would have developed them through years on-the-job. Especially if you hire new college graduates, these seasoned candidates can teach employees new skills and share their wealth of knowledge.

4. Use skills based testing

To ensure you’re hiring the best candidate, one popular screening tool is a Supervisor Aptitude Test. Resumes and interviews can’t reveal a candidate’s confidence or reliability for the supervisor duties. 

Current employees may think they would make a great supervisor, but knowledge about the work doesn’t always translate into being a strong leader. This quick, 15-minute test can help ease your concerns and bring stand-out candidates to your attention. 

Not only will it evaluate and rate some of the aforementioned supervisory qualities, but it will also ensure that the applicant is being truthful on their resume and in the interview.

The Supervisor Aptitude Test can be used at the beginning of the hiring process, after an initial interview, or even administered to existing employees. 

Using this insightful tool can reduce the time it takes to weed through numerous applications and score reports allow you to easily compare candidates’ aptitudes.

15 Interview Questions for a Supervisor Position 

When interviewing candidates for a supervisor position, it is crucial to assess their leadership skills, problem-solving abilities, and management style. 

The sample questions in this list are designed to provide valuable insight into these critically important aspects.

Download your free printable Sample Supervisor Interview Questions here!

1. How would you describe your management style, and how do you adapt it to different situations and team members?
2. Can you share an example of a challenging situation you faced as a supervisor, and how you handled it?
3. What strategies do you use to motivate and engage your team members?
4. How do you handle underperforming employees, and what steps do you take to help them improve?
5. Can you describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team? How did you approach it?
6. What do you consider to be the most important qualities in a successful supervisor, and why?
7. How do you ensure clear communication and transparency within your team?
8. Can you share an example of a project or initiative you led as a supervisor, and what was the outcome?
9. How do you handle conflicts or disagreements within your team, and what steps do you take to resolve them?
10. What do you see as the biggest challenges in this supervisory role, and how would you approach them?
11. What methods do you use to monitor and evaluate your team’s performance?
12. How do you stay updated with industry trends and best practices in your field? What resources do you rely on to continuously improve your skills?
13. What strategies do you use to foster a positive and inclusive work environment?
14. How do you identify and develop talent within your team? Can you share an example of a team member you helped grow and succeed?
15. If hired for this position, what would be your top priorities in the first 30-60 days? How would you go about assessing the team and identifying areas for improvement?

Interviewing For a Supervisor Position: Summing it Up

Don’t settle for a micro-managing boss when you can hire a game-changing leader. While figuring out which candidate is the best may seem like a big ask, you can make it efficient with some planning and the right tools.

One powerful tool you can leverage is a Supervisor Aptitude Test. This quick assessment helps you identify candidates with the key qualities to be an effective supervisor, such as leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills. 

With these interview strategies,questions and insightful tools in your arsenal, you’re set to find a supervisor who’ll transform your team from good to exceptional.

So go forth, brave HR warrior, and find that supervisor who’ll make your employees actually look forward to Mondays!