Applying for a supervisors role - need some interview help.

£15

£15

£15

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I've been doing my job for about 3 years now and know it pretty much inside out. There have been a few changes management-wise in my department: the manager was seconded to another role over 18 months ago and I don't see him coming back and we've just learnt the deputy manager (been in post less than 12 months) is also being seconded to a development role for 9-12 months.

They've decided to introduce one, maybe two, 'supervisor' roles to take over certain duties. They say the supervisor(s) will report to the deputy manager, still have to perform their day to day duties, but also take over certain managerial duties like holidays, training, issue-resolution, workload management...

They're describing the person they want as someone that can do the day to day basics, but also take the lead with the more complicated jobs/issues and liaise with other departments. This is something I do anyway, even more so than the rest of team (bar one and he is applying as well). So it's pretty much money for old rope.

So what I currently do will become 'official', as in, I can't hold my hand up and say, 'this is too much', 'above my pay-grade', 'I need to pass it up the chain', etc, (not that I did that, but it was always an option ;) ) but the major difference is I'll be expected to supervise the team and it's this last bit that I'm lacking in experience and confidence.

We're a good team and we've always been able to organise ourselves with very little management involvement. In fact, we survived, thrived, without a manager for nearly 9 months. But a couple of the team could do with pulling their socks up and doing more (they're being carried by the stronger members), and I think this'll be one of the supervisor tasks required and I find this quite stressful to contemplate.

I've been asked to apply for it by several people from within our department and others, and been told I'd be good at it, but it's proving it in an interview...

I understand from two people that have already been interviewed that they're asking no questions about the job we do, but asking for examples of where we've managed people and situations, e.g. what would you do if someone in the team was being consistently late? Or you walk back into the office and there's been an argument? Or someone keeps making mistakes...

I guess, after all that text, I'm looking for some guidance on how to structure answers to questions like that.

Thanks.

Oh yeah, it's going to work out as an extra £85 pm take home, which I will admit makes me wonder if it's actually worth it. :(
 
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Late / Mistakes: Talk to them directly to find out if everything is OK. Could be due to circumstances outside work they are being late/making mistakes. Have an informal conversation around their timekeeping and see if it improves. If it doesn't, issue them a warning

Argument: Give people time to cool off. Have private conversations with the people involved to understand their version of events. Get a feel for whether this is a one off or something that could boil over. If there is a personality clash consider looking at whether it is feasbile to keep them apart or not.

In general terms, have some examples of whether you have managed/supervised others, and how you leveraged that for success.
 
Definitely the first approach is fact finding - which you can feedback to your manager. Stuff like timekeeping you can address to the team in a brief, spelling out the problems it can cause for the business and other colleagues who might have to try and cover for someone, etc., without singling people out but doesn't necessarily mean the people who need to take it onboard will or even realise you are indirectly addressing them.

Moving from being a "regular" colleague with to managing people is very difficult if you've been peers with them for a long time - sometimes you won't be able to keep cordial relations with everyone while effectively doing the job but to a degree if people don't cooperate with you when given some informal nudging then you have to realise they aren't your friends (assuming you are being reasonable in the first place :s).

It is something I struggle with a lot as it isn't a natural fit for me but I've been supervising people and standing in for the duty manager for a few years now.
 
I was warned about this (managing former peers) but didn't find it too bad. My former boss once told me he noticed things changed when he stopped getting invited out for drinks after work etc.
In some ways it's easier because you know more about them, what motivates them, you have their respect (hopefully) for being competent rather than just a random manager parachuted in. Going to manage a completely new team in a new organisation, it can be hard not to feel like a bit of a charlatan in the early days when you don't know much about the people, organisation, workload etc.
 
Thanks guys.

What are people's thoughts on new supervisors/managers taking on the post and immediately wanting to put their mark on the department?

I'm sure one of the questions will be along the lines of, 'What are your thoughts, goals and aspirations for the team?'

Personally, I'm not the sort of person to go in guns blazing and want to turn everything upside down and rebuild it in my 'vision'. We've had quite a few changes over the last 12-18 months and one of the team has been through a major grievance with the business and is only just coming out the other side; some issues resolved, many not. So the last thing I want to do is add fuel to that fire.
 
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BadMojo said:
Thanks guys.

What are people's thoughts on new supervisors/managers taking on the post and immediately wanting to put their mark on the department?

I'm sure one of the questions will be along the lines of, 'What are your thoughts, goals and aspirations for the team?'

Personally, I'm not the sort of person to go in guns blazing and want to turn everything upside down and rebuild it in my 'vision'. We've had quite a few changes over the last 12-18 months and one of the team has been through a major grievance with the business and is only just coming out the other side; some issues resolved, many not. So the last thing I want to do is add fuel to that fire.
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It depends how you want to make your mark.

Going in and trying to change the world in your first 30 days is a sure fire way of alienating everyone.

You'll know what the team hates/loves... the balance you need to find is creating a challenge for them without adding guff. When I join an organisation I like to question every task I'm given and ask "does this add value?". If the answer is no then I'll push back.

On the flip side, the question I always ask at interview is "what are you looking from me in the first 90 days?".... this way, you know if they expect quick results or if they're content to let you find your feet. As someone who knows the team they may well expect specific things done but you can always fire one back at them and ask "are you worried about the team dynamic if someone comes in and wants to change lots?" ;)
 
I had my interview yesterday and it went ok. I wasn't amazing, but at the same time I don't think I bombed.

It was all management of people type questions. 'What would you do if you had people on leave and someone called in sick?' 'What would you do if another department came to you reporting mistakes from members of your team, but it wasn't them?' (It's that sort of company.) 'What position would you like the team to be in after 30 days in post?'

I stumbled on one of the bigger management questions and simply said I can't answer that.

Should find out by the end of the week.
 
It sounds like they want people to do the old managers job without making them managers or paying them as such. I presume there will be an uplift in wages to go with this additional responsibility?
 
I agree with MissChief and £85 pm extra seems hardly worth it. About 12 years ago I was promoted to supervisor. Although it was a low paid job at the time (19k, with 7 years experience in the non-supervisor role), I jumped 6k in pay once promoted to supervisor.

Be careful not to get taken advantage of though. Shortly after and whilst I was still on probation, I also had H&S co-ordinator pinned on me (a lot of extra work) as well as line management of the team (only 8 staff). 12 years on, my manager has moved away completely from the department and I am left picking up the slack. I've received many performance related pays over the years so I am on a good salary in comparison (and still a 'supervisor') but it still gripes me.

If part of the job is having line management of staff, have a really good think about that before taking the job. Perhaps find out exactly what is required of that role too with regards to that - annual appraisals, dealing with staff grievances, poor performance procedures, meetings with HR etc etc. It's not for everyone, 11 years on and it is definitely not for me!
 
I suspect you're going to end up doing the majority of the managers duties very quickly without the title or pay. Don't let them take advantage of you and if you feel they're going beyond the initial job scope and trying to make you a manager on the sly, tell them so.
 
Thanks for all the input. It's certainly food for thought and since having the interview I find myself dwelling on the 'manager in all but name/pay' aspect. They told us on Thursday that they require more time to assess the candidates and it'll now be next week before we find out.

They actually mentioned in the interview that they haven't ruled out second interviews! They recently recruited a shift manager in an adjoining department and they had to do a presentation. If they start talking about that, then I think a conversation about expectations and pay will be called for...

Our (deputy) manager was away most of last week and I found myself yet again performing duties that I feel fall under the supervisor/manager role and thought to myself do I want to do this all the time for an extra 73p per hour (gross)?
 
It's taken a while, but I found out on Friday that I didn't get the job. They've decided to take on one supervisor, not two, and they went with the other guy on team. Main reason is I don't have the supervisory experience they're looking for. It's really frustrating, as they're continually talking about career progression and giving us somewhere to go and not be stuck in the jobs we started with, but here we are in a catch 22.

I'm both really annoyed and relieved. Maybe this is a sign to move on?

Oh yes, and when I went to congratulate him he said he's looking forward to making changes and wants me to be part of the process. I like the guy, but, 'I didn't get the job. You did!'
 
You should be glad you like the guy, and that it sounds like you're probably going to have opportunities to stand in for him in the future. Nonetheless, you're making all the sounds of a person who needs to develop a bit more (whether that be through work or otherwise) and move on for their own good relatively soon.
 
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