Supervisor 

How did you get your current job?
I drove by the store before it opened and there was a trailer in the parking lot with a hiring sign.

What was the application process?
Filled out a paper application, interview on the spot of about 20 minutes and was hired.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. My supervisor interviewed me. The next day she spoke with the store manager to discuss the interview and then offered me the position.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
How would I handle an irate customer? How would I handle the employees? Would I have respect from the other associates if I was moved up into this position?

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. I watched the other supervisors and asked questions before I became a supervisor. The job really is very simple so training did not take very long. There were also sheets to follow step by step for the cash register drawer procedures. Any questions I had were quickly answered by my boss.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. Basically I needed to learn the computer process for balancing the cash drawers at the end of the day and opening store procedures. I also needed to learn how to use the RF gun to receive truck merchandise and the computer program to complete the necessary paperwork.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. Basic education from high school is all that is needed for this job. Basic math skills from school. Computers were not in the school when I went to school and therefore learned basic computer skills on my own which worked for this job.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
There was no internship available for this job.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would suggest trying out as a cashier and see how you like interacting with customers and stocking shelves. A person should work in a store where they feel comfortable with the merchandise sold. Using the products yourself will help sell to the customer, but reading about the merchandise, looking at it and testing it out in the store will also help. If this is a retail store that you are comfortable with, then proceed to take the steps for more responsibility until you reach the supervisor status that you wish.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Organizational skills are very useful, the ability to work independently, to teach others, allowing yourself to be taught additional skills or techniques from your fellow co-workers, have very basic computer knowledge, have basic math skills for balancing money drawers and giving change to customers, be a person to care about the people you come in contact with every day, be friendly with your employees, but still have the authority to make sure the jobs get done in a timely, efficient and correct manner.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
No. Most of the work envolves common sense, treating customers and employees how you wish to be treated and learn a few procedures for how the store runs such as computer program to look up merchandise and entering money amounts into the computer to balance the drawers for the night.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Make sure you are not afraid of people. You need to be a people person. If you don’t like working with people, then this field is not for you. You need to have passion for the job that you do and to make sure that can meet deadlines and be able to handle doing many different tasks at the same time.