How to List Supervisor Skills on a Resume: Best Skills and Examples

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If you’re pursuing a position as a supervisor, show hiring managers you possess strong skills and experience that make you qualified for the position. By creating a supervisor skills resume, you can effectively highlight these skills to make them stand out to employers. Learn why supervisor skills are important, how to list these supervisor skills on a resume, which skills you should list and how to improve your supervisor skills.

Why hiring managers want to see supervisor skills on a resume

Highlighting supervisor skills on your resume can showcase your leadership and management skills so hiring managers will consider you for a supervisor role within their company. Supervisors oversee the tasks of their employees, answer any questions they may have and ensure their employees have the resources they need to successfully complete their tasks and remain productive. Hiring managers want to ensure you’re a strong fit for their company and can effectively lead and motivate their employees.  

How to list supervisor skills on a resume

Follow the steps below to properly list supervisor skills on your resume:

1. First, review the job posting to find keywords

Before you list your supervisor skills, review the job posting. It may help to print the job posting and highlight or circle any supervisor skills mentioned. Try to mention these skills in your resume and demonstrate how you use the skills they’re looking for in your current position.

2. Second, mention your skills in your summary or objective 

An important section to feature your skills is the summary or objective found at the top of your resume. You can explain how you used these skills in your current or previous position and how you plan to apply them toward this position. This helps hiring managers understand how you plan to use these skills at their company. 

3. Next, use examples of when you applied these skills to your experience 

As you create your experience section, provide examples of how you used your supervisor skills and qualifications to complete your previous duties and responsibilities. Include detailed explanations as you describe the work you completed and the results you brought to your company using your supervisor skills. For example, you can explain how your supervisor skills motivated employees and boosted productivity or efficiency in your department. Use numbers to make your results and examples more specific and accurate. 

4. Finally, list additional skills in a separate ‘Skills’ section 

After adding supervisor skills to the experience and summary sections of your resume, you can add the remaining skills to in a separate ‘Skills’ section. List the skills you match with the job posting and any relevant skills you believe may be beneficial to the role you’re applying for. Seeing the skills employers list in their job posting may impress hiring managers and allow your resume to stand out from others. 

Listing these skills on a resume allows the hiring manager to gain more knowledge about your qualifications and experience using these skills. This helps them better picture you working as a supervisor on their team. 

Best supervisor skills to add to a resume

Below are the best supervisor skills you can add to your resume: 

Communication and listening 

Supervisors regularly communicate with members of their team, board members, clients and other leadership professionals. Supervisors should hold strong communication and listening skills as they communicate job performance evaluations to employees, listen to and resolve any issues employees are facing, present budgets and projects to leadership and run meetings with their team members. 

Time management 

Supervisors complete various tasks throughout the day that can include financial reports, assigning and reviewing team members’ projects and making significant decisions that impact their department or the company. Making big picture decisions often requires attending numerous meetings throughout the day as well. To balance all this, supervisors should know how to use time-management skills to prioritize their tasks and complete time-sensitive projects efficiently. 

Attention to detail 

Since supervisors may constantly submit important documents that significantly impact the company, they should have strong attention to detail to catch any errors before they submit anything. For example, supervisors review and approve documents, and they often have the final say in whether a project or campaign can be viewed by other leadership professionals or launched publicly. 

Leadership 

Supervisors are in charge of leading their team and encouraging them to improve their skill set. To do this, they need effective leadership skills that motivate employees to succeed. To be a strong leader, they need to know how to delegate tasks well and ensure their team can create valuable projects and remain productive without constant supervision. 

Problem solving and critical thinking 

Supervisors can be faced with difficult decisions that may affect the company or their department. Employers may expect supervisors to quickly find ways to solve challenges and provide solutions that benefit the company and its employees. They should hold strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to make them more dependable and effective leaders.

How to improve your supervisor skills

Follow these steps to learn how to improve your supervisor skills: 

1. First, observe other supervisors  

Watching other supervisors lead their teams and make important decisions can be an effective way to learn what methods you should use as a supervisor and what to avoid. You can meet with a supervisor whose leadership styles you admire and ask for advice and tips on how you can use the same management styles to improve your own supervisor skills. 

2. Second, request feedback from employees 

As you manage your employees, you can learn how you’re performing by asking them their perspective. Conduct in-person or anonymous surveys to learn their input and opinions on your leadership style and methods. They can help you better understand what improvements to make and what skills you’re using well. 

3. Lastly, attend training and workshops 

As you supervise your department and company, continue enhancing your skills by attending workshops and training sessions. Research these events online and attend any local workshops to help improve your skills and learn new ones. 

Improving your supervisor skills shows a dedication to your team members and the work you’re willing to contribute to make yourself a more efficient and motivated supervisor.