General questions
Interviewers ask general questions to get to know you better. These questions help them learn more
about your personality and interest in the position, and they provide some insight regarding your
background and qualifications. Some examples of these types of questions include:
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What do you consider your biggest strength?
What do you feel is your biggest weakness?
How long have you worked in maintenance?
How did you hear about this position?
What inspired you to apply for this position?
What are qualities you believe every good leader has?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Can you explain this gap in your resume?
Why are you interested in working as a maintenance supervisor?
Tell me about yourself.
Do you have any management experience?
What motivated you to pursue a career in maintenance?
Why do you want to work here?
Questions about your experience and background
Interviewers ask these questions to gain a better understanding of your qualifications and background.
They may ask a mixture of questions to learn more about both your leadership experience and your
experience working in maintenance. Some examples of these types of questions include:
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What do you enjoy most about working in maintenance?
How did you become a maintenance technician?
Describe the duties of your current or most recent maintenance position.
Tell me about your experience with HVAC systems.
What type of maintenance or repairs do you have the most experience with?
Describe your PLC experience.
How comfortable and familiar are you with preventative maintenance regulations?
Have you ever completed electrical system repairs? If so, how many or to what extent?
What is ISO 14001, and what can you tell me about it?
Do you have any certifications?
Do you have any leadership responsibilities in your current position?
Describe the most difficult installation or repair you worked on.
How can a supervisor set a good example for their subordinates?
Tell us about a time you showed initiative in the workplace.
In-depth questions
Interviewers ask these questions to learn more about the specifics of your maintenance and leadership
experience. These questions tell them more about your leadership style and decision-making and
problem-solving skills. Some examples of these types of questions include:
1. Describe how you fairly delegate work to your team.
2. How do you ensure your team understands their instructions and responsibilities?
3. Do you have any recruitment experience? If so, how did you do it? What qualities did you look
for in the technicians?
4. Describe a situation in which you could've provided better leadership. What would you do
differently?
5. Have you coached a technician before? Describe your process.
6. How do you decide between repairing or replacing a machine?
7. Describe a situation where you identified a problem and fixed it before it became an emergency.
8. Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem without your manager.
9. What would you do if one of your employees had an accident while working?
10. Imagine you had to create a training plan for new employees. What would you include in your
plan?
11. Tell me what you would do if you needed to make a super important repair, but the cost of the
repair might exceed your budget.
12. Describe your method for storing and tracking equipment and inventory.
13. What's your process for conducting safety inspections?
14. Describe how you handle disagreements between workers. This can be a time you disagreed
with a co-worker, or you mediated a disagreement between two workers.
15. What's your process for completing multiple tasks with strict deadlines?
16. What's the biggest challenge you've faced while working in maintenance? How did you handle
it?
17. How would you describe your leadership style?
18. How do you motivate technicians to complete their work efficiently and correctly?
19. What would you do if a technician continuously ignored your instructions?
20. What would you do if you need to complete an installation on Friday, but multiple technicians
called out and you do not have enough people to finish the task?
Example maintenance supervisor interview questions and answers
It's important to provide answers that demonstrate your understanding of the question and highlight
your skills. Try to come up with answers that also reflect your personality to make a great impression on
the interviewer and help you stand out from other candidates. To help you prepare for your interview,
here's a closer look at some of these questions and examples on how to answer them:
What inspired you to apply for this position?
Interviewers may ask this question to gauge why you're looking for a new job. To answer this question,
think about what first inspired you to begin your job search and then what about this position attracted
you to apply. For example, you may look for a new job because you're unhappy with your current
position, you're interested in a promotion or you've always admired their company. However, it's
important to speak positively about your current position to create a good impression.
Example: "I applied for this position because I'm excited about the opportunity to grow both as a
maintenance technician and a supervisor. I've worked as a maintenance technician with my current
company for over six years, and I'm looking for new challenges in my workday. I believe the ability to
serve as a maintenance supervisor for this hotel will provide exciting challenges every day and help me
improve my leadership skills."
Tell me about yourself.
This is a common question for interviewers to ask at multiple stages in the interview process to get to
know you better. It's an ambiguous question, but it allows you to answer how you want to. Prepare an
answer that provides the interviewer with a brief summary of your experiences, skills and goals.
Example: "For as long as I can remember, I've loved to work with my hands. My dad owned and
operated his own maintenance company for over 30 years, and I grew up watching him fix machines.
This inspired me to pursue a technical degree program with a focus on maintenance.
After I graduated, I completed an apprenticeship at an apartment complex. This allowed me to solve a
variety of maintenance issues and collaborate with other technicians. I enjoyed my experience so much I
stayed on as a full-time employee, and I've worked at the complex for over eight years and served as a
mentor in our apprenticeship program.
I'm hoping to further my skills as the maintenance supervisor for this high-rise office building. Working
in an apartment complex provided me with the skills I need to be successful, but I am excited about the
new challenge of leading my own team of technicians."
Read more: How To Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" (Tips and Example Answers)
What motivated you to pursue a career in maintenance?
This question is your opportunity to tell the interviewer more about yourself and your passion for your
trade. Consider including an anecdote about how you chose this career. You may also include details
about your education and training.
Example: "As a kid, I loved to take apart my toys and electronics, figure out how they worked and put
them back together. I enjoyed problem solving and tactile learning, and my high school counselor, Dr.
Green, suggested I consider enrolling in our technical program. Attending technical school helped me
learn a variety of skills that I enjoy, but helping people and solving their problems made me love working
in maintenance."
Why are you interested in working as a maintenance supervisor?
An interviewer may ask you this question to better understand your personality and your professional
goals. It's important for you to show your consideration for the success of the company. Provide an
answer that highlights your leadership skills and real-world successes.
Example: "I'm interested in working as a maintenance supervisor to combine my passion for helping
others with my technical abilities. I've worked as an independent contractor and my own boss for the
last four years, and I miss the camaraderie of working with a team. I admire your company's dedication
to their employees and customers, and it would be an honor to help you achieve your goals."
Read more: How To Answer: Why Do You Want To Be a Supervisor?
How do you ensure your team understands their instructions and responsibilities?
This question helps you show your leadership skills. Discuss how you've previously done this or how you
would approach this with your team. Interviewers may also ask this to verify your technical skills.
Example: "As a leader, I value open communication. I like to start each workday with an opening
meeting for the entire team to review their daily schedules and encourage them to ask questions. If a
technician arrives later in the day, I have a one-on-one meeting with them to review their schedule. I
keep my work phone on at all times and encourage technicians to contact me with any questions."
What's the biggest challenge you've faced while working in maintenance? How did you handle it?
Interviewers often ask about difficulties you've experienced to learn about your problem-solving skills
and how you deal with challenges. They may want to know about a problem you had in the workplace.
It's important to be honest about your experience, and your answer can show your perseverance.
Using the STAR response method can help you discuss the problem in a positive way. With the STAR
method, you discuss the situation, task, action and result. Framing your answers with this format may be
helpful for answering any of your interview questions.
Example: "When I worked on the maintenance staff at the local state university, we often completed
large projects during summer breaks. Two years ago, we updated the plumbing systems in every dorm.
However, it was a Friday, and students were due back to campus the following Monday, and our project
wasn't complete.
I suggested we contact the maintenance staff at another nearby state university with a later student
move-in date than us. The universities were able to reach an agreement to borrow ten members of their
maintenance staff to finish their project over the weekend. In return, we assisted them in the planning
and execution of a similar project the next year. Also, our supervisors were able to secure overtime pay
for everyone involved."
Read more: How To Use the STAR Interview Response Technique
Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem without your manager.
An interviewer may ask this to evaluate your decision-making skills. They want to understand your
thought process and how comfortable you were making a decision as an authority figure. Your answer
should show an understanding of what your manager would do and a reasonable, successful decision.
Example: "At my previous position, residents often had issues with their hot water heaters. One
apartment required three different repairs in one month for their heater, the last of which was during a
cold week over the holidays. Our manager was away on vacation, but I decided we should replace the
hot water heater rather than continue to replace it. When he returned, our manager thanked me for the
decision because the family no longer had hot water issues and our technicians could make better use of
their time with other repairs."