How do I Choose the Best Supervisor Position?

In an era where many people find it difficult to get work, it’s fairly lucky to be analyzing more than one offered supervisor position as a possible career choice. For those people who do have several offers on the table, there are plenty of things to consider when choosing the best position. These include work environment, feeling or sense about employers, level of responsibilities required, opportunities to advance, benefits and pay.

Work environment can refer to many things: the look and feel of a company, the degree to which employees seem happy and content at work, and the types of work that is being performed. Each person may have different criteria about what matters in a work environment, but certainly the idea of types of work may inform choices about whether a supervisor position is a good fit. Many supervisors are expected to know a lot about the work employees perform, and sometimes they’re even former workers, tapped for promotion by management. In order to effectively get those supervised to do their work, having knowledge of how the work is done may be vital.

Another factor when choosing a supervisor position is considering who your supervisor will be. Supervisors will work with employees and manage them and also satisfy the needs and demands of their managers. This is a difficult line to walk, and if there’s any indication that management will make it more difficult, another job could be better. It’s not always easy from job interviews to determine how management is viewed, but people can ask questions about things like the rate of turnover in supervisor positions. High turnover rate might suggest former supervisors were unhappy with their jobs.

Other questions in the interview include what management will be requiring from a supervisor. Do the demands seem realistic? Occasionally work will seem near impossible to perform, or might indicate the person will never get a full day off again. While some people like constant, difficult work, others do value relaxation time, and may want to seek out a supervisor position that supports this lifestyle.

Supervisors often want to advance to upper management positions. In interviews, job candidates should find out how promotion procedures work. It’s possible that some jobs are stagnant, seldom leading to promotion. It may be wise to ask how many upper level managers held supervisor positions at one time, to get a good sense of promotion likelihood.

Clearly benefits and pay are important considerations when choosing a supervisor position. People living in countries reliant on a private health insurance system, should be certain that fair insurance coverage is offered, and they should review any plan details prior to accepting a job. Pay for the work ought to be comparable or slightly above market rate of pay for type of job performed. Understanding any form of bonus structure or methods for raising salaries is also valuable.