Interview Questions to Hire Inventory Managers

Inventory managers are usually responsible for stock management, rotation, ordering, and negotiation of contracts and pricing with various suppliers/vendors and service providers. They usually have an educational background in business and should demonstrate relevant experience in the industry you are hiring for. 

Inventory managers need to have strong attention to detail, be data focused, and should have experience with programs like Microsoft Excel. Inventory managers should also demonstrate strong communication skills and negotiation skills.

Skill-based questions

It is good practice to ask various types of questions, including skill-based, role-specific, behavioral and situational questions, to identify strong candidates.

• Why is stock rotation important?
• Why is it important to order new stock when stock is low?
• Have you negotiated rates/contracts with suppliers before?
• What computer systems are you most familiar with using to track inventory?
• How do you organize your workload?
• How is your attention to detail? Have you analyzed large amounts of data for long periods of time?

Situational & Behavioural questions

• You notice stock on an item is low, and the supplier has a wait time for new items. What do you do?
• When looking through the data of the inventory, you notice anomalies. What do you check?
• You need to operate the hose on the fire truck. Explain the steps on how you do this safely.
• A supplier or vendor has increased their prices. What do you do?
• Tell me about a time you had to work under pressure. What was the situation, and how did you manage it?

General Questions

• What are some things you would like to achieve in your work career within the next five years?
• What have you done in your career so far to learn and develop yourself professionally?
• Why did you decide to enter the stock and inventory industry?
• What are the top three skills you have that you think you can transfer to this role?
• Why have you applied for this role? How do you think you will benefit from working in the role?

Conclusion

The questions above will help you to identify quality candidates who are going through your recruitment process. Remember to look for candidates who demonstrate strong communication and negotiation skills and a strong eye for detail.