Whether the job is for a sales supervisor, a production supervisor, a warehouse supervisor or a team leader the same basic competencies and supervisor skills are required to successfully carry out the duties and responsibilities in the supervisory role.
Feel confident about your job interview by knowing which interview questions to expect for supervisor jobs.
SUPERVISOR Interview Questions and ANSWERS! (How to PASS your Supervisor Interview!)
1 What Is The Primary Purpose Of Chaplaincy?
The main purpose is to promote the well-being of the Border Patrol workforce. It not only aids in physical and mental health but also assists in stress management of the Border Patrol workforce. The program offered under Chaplaincy trains the workforce through education resources on tough topics that even include suicide. The training revolves around prevention and awareness on such stressful areas to make sure the mental health of all Patrol forces is okay.
How Do You Maintain Confidentiality In Your Work?
In this field, NDA is the way to maintain confidentiality at borders, especially the risky borders where the flow of illegal immigrants along with smugglers is high!
8 Supervisor Interview Questions and Answers
What are some successful ways you’ve been able to motivate employees?
One of the best things a supervisor can add to your team is keeping other employees excited about their work and prepared to give every day 100 percent. Learning how the candidate approaches this task will tell you a lot about how prepared they are to take on the role.
What to look for in an answer:
- Evidence they have been in charge of successful teams
- Willingness to adjust their motivation techniques as needed
- Understanding of their role as a supervisor in regards to morale
How would your previous direct reports describe your supervision style?
How a supervisor is able to mesh with their team can make or break their success at your company. This probing question will reveal if they’re a good culture fit for a supervisory role.
What to look for in an answer:
- Self-awareness about how they are perceived by other employees
- Indications they have asked their direct reports for feedback
- An alignment with your company culture
Has your supervision style changed over time? How?
Learning to adapt management styles and techniques can create an exceptional supervisor. This question helps you figure out if the candidate is able to receive feedback and adjust their style if needed.
What to look for in an answer:
- Indications their supervision skills have grown over time
- Proof they have received feedback well and adjusted their style as necessary
- Confirmation they are self-aware about their need to evolve
How would you describe your leadership style?
A strong supervisor should have impressive leadership skills to motivate their employees to deliver valuable work. If the candidate has had many years of experience working as a supervisor, they should have a clear leadership style and strategy that they regularly use to successfully inspire and lead their team. Look for a candidate who confidently answers this question and expresses pride as they explain their system for motivating and improving their team members’ performance.
The candidate’s answer should emphasize:
- A clear and comprehensive leadership style
- Their delegation abilities and tactics
- How successful they are as a leader and motivator
An answer to this question could look like this:
Have you hired an employee? Describe the factors you think are important when hiring someone.
Some supervisors are responsible for hiring, while other companies leave those decisions to department heads and HR. This question will reveal if the candidate has had the responsibility of hiring, and how they would handle it even if they’ve yet to do it.
What to look for in an answer:
- Evidence they know what to look for in a good hire
- Awareness about the steps required to build a solid team
- Indications they are motivated to take part in the hiring process
When was the last time you had to deal with an employee who was not performing and how did you handle it?
Unfortunately, even good employees can falter sometimes and you need a supervisor to be able to identify poor performance and address it. This question gives the candidate a chance to prove they know how to manage the task.
What to look for in an answer:
- Indication they understand the importance of setting employee goals and standards
- Evidence they know how to cultivate talent in their staff
- Proof they feel comfortable addressing problems on their team
What is one important decision you’ve had to make as a supervisor? Why was it critical?
Supervisors need to feel comfortable making decisions, even if they serve under a department manager. This question allows the candidate to illustrate their ability to step up and make important calls as needed.
What to look for in an answer:
- Confirmation they feel comfortable making decisions independently
- Evidence they have taken on more decision-making responsibility over time
- Confidence in their thought process behind making important choices
How do you resolve disputes between employees?
Supervisors are often expected to resolve issues between their direct reports to avoid escalation. This question gets to the heart of the candidate’s ability to negotiate conflict on their team.
What to look for in an answer:
- Evidence they have handled employee disputes in the past
- Confirmation they have had success resolving issues on their previous teams
- A style of resolution that aligns with your company culture
To help you prepare for a CBP job interview, here are 35 interview questions and answer examples.
CBP was written by Kevin Downey and updated on June 23rd, 2022. Learn more here.
11 Essential Supervisor Interview Questions
1. What are the essential qualities of a good supervisor?
In your interview answer include these key competencies or supervisory skills that apply to all supervisor jobs.
2. What do you consider to be the role of a supervisor?
“The primary role of the supervisor is to plan, coordinate and oversee a group or team of people to efficiently use available resources and maximize productivity in order to achieve set objectives.”
3. Describe your supervisory style.
When answering supervisor interview questions around your personal supervisory style remember that there is no wrong or right supervisory style.
The only criteria is that it should be appropriate to the situation. Your ability to adapt your style to the demands of the person you are dealing with, the task at hand and the circumstances is key to success as a supervisor.
Provide examples of how you have had to adapt your supervisory style to meet different needs.
4. What are your strengths as a supervisor?
This complete list of employee strengths will help you answer this common interview question. Make sure you highlight those strengths that are relevant to the job opportunity.
Relevant supervisor workplace strengths include:
You may be asked which areas you would like to improve on as a supervisor. This list of common workplace weaknesses can help you with this.
5. How do you motivate your employees/team members?
The more your employees or team members understand about their jobs and responsibilities the more motivated they are. Show how you ensure each subordinate has clarity about his or her role and responsibilities.
6. Tell me about a time an employee made a significant mistake. What action did you take?
This is a behavioral or situational interview question. You are expected to provide an example of how you successfully managed a difficult employee or team member. Find out more about handling the behavioral interview.
In your answer to this supervisor interview question focus on your ability:
7. Describe a time you had to introduce important change in your last job.
Your ability to persuade and influence your employees or team members to accept change is key.
Show how you were able to gain support and commitment from them:
8. Describe a time you had to manage conflict within your department/team/group.
Your example can show how you identified the source of conflict, used the conflict situation as a constructive process to exchange opinions and ideas and clarify roles and responsibilities.
Discuss how you kept the focus on the desired outcome rather than on personal grievances.
9. Tell me about a time you had to coach an employee to perform a task.
Coaching and developing others is part of the supervisor function.
Supervisor interview questions about the development of employees should include your ability to:
10. Tell me about a short term plan you developed for your department/team/group.
These supervisor interview questions explore your ability to plan and organize. Your interview answer should demonstrate your ability to:
Good time management interview questions and answers
11. When evaluating an employee or team members performance what factors are most important to you?
This question is designed to assess your performance standards. Show:
You will also find these pages useful for your supervisor interview
Supervisor interview questions will also include common job interview questions. Find out how to answer frequently asked interview questions.
FAQ
What questions are asked in a supervisor interview?
- Have you hired an employee? …
- What is one important decision you’ve had to make as a supervisor? …
- How would your previous direct reports describe your supervision style? …
- Has your supervision style changed over time? …
- What are some successful ways you’ve been able to motivate employees?
How do I prepare for a supervisor interview?
- Why do you think you would be a good supervisor? …
- How would you describe your management skills? …
- What three factors improve teamwork and success? …
- What is your management style? …
- Describe the toughest challenge you’ve faced at work and how you overcame it.
What should I expect at a CBP interview?
Why are you interested in a supervisor position?
