Blog

25 Job Interview Questions for Supervisor Positions

As you help your company build a top-notch team, you know that finding talented supervisors is crucial to organizational success.

A supervisor is more than a mediator between executive and management personnel and employees. This professional works alongside staff, holding it all together to encourage and ensure peak communication, productivity, innovation, and harmony.

Top supervisors commit to bringing a company’s policies and strategies to life, transforming and translating them from abstract concepts into meaningful and tangible actions and results.

Are you searching for a supervisor who knows how to effectively lead a team while working easily with management and C-level executives?

If so, we hope this blog post will help you develop the perfect job interview questions for supervisor position candidates to get the best hire for your entire team.


RELATED: 10 Best Phone Interview Questions to Ask Candidates


What Qualities Do Top Supervisors Possess?

The best supervisors are equipped with a range of skills and qualities that help them lead teams, manage projects, and contribute to the success of their company.

Let’s look at some of the most vital qualities supervisors need for success.

Effective Communication

Supervisors need to clearly communicate expectations, provide effective feedback and avoid misunderstandings, and actively listen to team members’ questions, concerns, and feedback.

Leadership

Supervisors should inspire and motivate team members to work diligently to achieve their best performance.

Problem-Solving

Search for supervisors who can analyze complex problems, come up with effective solutions, and make informed decisions under pressure.

Emotional Intelligence

A supervisor needs to have empathy, understanding and relating to the emotions and needs of team members. Self-awareness and recognizing one’s own emotions are just as important. They should know how to temper their emotions as needed, as they may have an impact on others.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are nearly inevitable in any workplace. Supervisors must be tactful in addressing and resolving conflicts, doing so in a way that enables and fosters a positive working environment.

Additional Skills

Additional skills supervisors need to thrive include time management, organization, adaptability, technical expertise, team building, accountability, and customer or client service.

Job Interview Questions for Supervisor Candidates

Developing a list of questions is essential as you plan for future interviews with prospective supervisors.

Here are some supervisor interview questions to help you prepare.

General Questions About the Supervisor Role

For every job, you should ask some core questions. The same is true for a supervisor. It’s important to understand their basic ideas about work in general, the role of a supervisor, and how they feel about themselves in that role.

  1. What do you think are the essential characteristics of a strong supervisor? What are your top strengths as a supervisor, per the characteristics you listed?
  2. In your previous experience as a supervisor, what did your typical day look like?
  3. Is this your first time seeking a role as a supervisor? If so, what skills and experience do you have that make you feel you can successfully perform supervisory duties with our company?
  4. Why did you leave your last position as a supervisor? For example, did you feel you didn’t have enough responsibility?
  5. How do you view the various relationships you will need to manage as a supervisor, such as those with the management team and your direct team members?

Leadership and Team Dynamics

Now it’s time to determine how your supervisor candidates approach various leadership and team dynamics matters in their role.

  1. Do you see yourself as a natural leader? Can you describe a time when you demonstrated strong leadership skills within a team?
  2. Do you have a specific management style? If so, what is it?
  3. Have you experienced any office conflicts before? If so, how did you handle conflicts between team members? What was the outcome?
  4. How do you build and maintain a cohesive, energetic, and motivated team?
  5. Can you describe your planning strategy?
  6. How many team members have you supervised in previous positions? Were your teams large or small? Which one felt more natural to you, and do you feel like you can work with either?
  7. How do you welcome new team members? Do you introduce them to your team with a meeting on the first day? Do you introduce them to each team member individually?
  8. Can you give an example when you have led a team through a significant change in the workplace?
  9. How do you handle mistakes or failures among your team members? How do you let them know about their errors while encouraging them to proceed with more care to achieve success?
  10. Do you lead your team members by example? Do you feel like this has been effective? Do you ask or accept feedback from team members about your leadership?

Introspection about Challenges in Various Situations

Self-reflection and personal responsibility are important traits of a strong supervisor. You should find out if your supervisor can identify their team’s and their own strengths and challenges.

  1. How do you address a decline in team motivation or productivity? Do you speak to start by observing and analyzing what is happening, or do you schedule a team meeting?
  2. What do you do when you make a decision only to discover your team disagrees with you and the decision?
  3. How do you react if your team falls behind and is unable to complete an important project on schedule?
  4. How do you delegate work responsibilities? Do you feel like you do it effectively and equitably?
  5. What do you do when a customer or client is dissatisfied with your team’s performance or results?

Technical Considerations

Like any job, there are several technical considerations associated with working as a supervisor.

  1. How do you stay up to date regarding the latest trends in our company’s industry? Can you tell us what you know about our business and how we help our clients?
  2. Have you taken advantage of upskilling opportunities that previous employers provided to gain more technical abilities in their industries?
  3. How do you manage complex projects with many moving parts from start to finish?
  4. What is your approach to quality assurance? How do you work with your team to ensure they meet or exceed organizational standards?
  5. Do you work with data analysis, and how have you used data to make decisions?

Building Your Strong Leadership Team

A strong supervisor will lead your departmental teams and your whole company to success. Contact us to learn more about Insight Global and how we can help you build a strong leadership team!

Need Expert Hiring Help?

Fill out the form below, and our team will contact you in as little as 10 minutes! Questions? Call us toll-free: 855-485-8853