TJX Europe Ltd Interview Questions & Answers

The first interview was a one way interview by Hirevue, where questions popped up on screen, you would get 30 seconds to prepare your answer and then give a three minute answer which was recorded.

Questions included things like "How does off price merchandising and buying differ from full price merchandising/buying?", "What is your understanding of the off-price business model?", "which of our stores have you visited recently and how do you think we allocate products to different stores?".

I was then invited to the assessment centre, where I had a one-on-one interview with one of the merchandisers that lasted around 40 minutes, where the questions included "Why have you applied to TKMaxx and the particular graduate scheme?" and then several situational judgement questions of the type "Describe a time you failed at something?", "Describe a time you took a risk and what the outcome was", "Describe a time you worked well in a team".

It was all very friendly, but it could be difficult to come up with good examples for some of the situational judgement questions.

Describe a time where you disagreed with how things were run/done?

How do you think off price merchandising compares to full price?

Be well read, both about the company and the off price business model and how it differs from other companies. Be curious and personable.

Think about the presentation you will hold beforehand - you will only have the evening to prepare it, so it's good, even though you won't know the topic until the same day, to think of ways to make your presentation stand out in terms of structure and presentation .

At the assessment centre I had one interview, then a data analysis exercise which was about allocating stock to particular stores based on data about each store, then I held a presentation for one of the assessors, which I had gotten the chance to prepare the night before, then we had two group exercises, one about discussing the data analysis exercise that we had done individually at first and the second was about picking out two products that would be commercially viable in a TKMaxx store. We also got to shadow a current allocation analyst.

The first couple of stages included a mixed numerical and verbal test, and through success in this led onto a one way video interview which was very nerve racking as you are given 30 seconds to prepare for each question then 3 minutes to present your answer. After this stage I was invited to the Assessment centre at Head Office in Watford. The individual interview at the assessment centre was very friendly and the assessors made you feel very comfort able and not under pressure at all. It was competency based but also included questions testing on your knowledge of TJX.

Describe a time where you veer away from the status quo.

Be prepared to give a professional presentation in a laid back environment in order to not come across in too much of a casual sense. Do your research into the company before attending.

We were split into two groups of 6 but the only time we used these groups was in the group exercises, all the other stages were on an individual basis.The assessment day included an interview with two assesors, one from buying, one merchandising; a previously prepared presentation on stores and trends again to two assessors; an individual data analysis exercise;a group discussion exercise and job shadowing of someone who is currently on the graduate scheme. Over the day was very beneficially to get an idea of the type of company you would be working in and the head office environment. The environment here was very laid back and they made you feel very comfortable in each stage of the process. I was very impressed at the organisation of the day but also the work ethics among all employees I came across.

After online tests the initial interview was a 30 minute recorded video interview which was conducted one way. There were 10 questions and each question shown on screen we would have 1 minute to think about the answer and it would start recording for 2/3 minutes. After it stopped it would go straight to the next one until all 3 questions were answered.
I passed the interview and was then invited to the assessment centre at their head office.

The interview was competency based so most questions were expected. However some questions which I hadn't prepared for were ones like "Describe some TK Maxx stores you visited and tell us how they differed from each other". Because it was a merchandising and buying graduate scheme the question didn't come out of the blue but before the interview, we were advised to visit a store. Luckily I visited the store in Central London but had also previously visited one at The Bullring in Birmingham so was able to describe how a South East and Midlands store differed in their stock.

If you are applying for a Buying and Merchandising role, always think what the implications are. For TK Maxx, it's important that they buy for local customers. This means it's useful to have an idea from the consumers point of view why store are different in the stock sell, depending on location. That's why it's a good idea to visit stores in different locations before an interview.

There were about 6 candidates, group interview style and activities were based choosing items to stock in the TK Maxx stores. The first one was selling a product, we chose a product from the table and had to rate the product on whether it would be suitable to sell in store. We presented to the rest of our team and a panel of 4 interviewers and discussed among ourselves if we agreed with each others ratings.

However, what made the exercises difficult was that we were assessed as a group and how we interacted with each other, as opposed to our own isolated performances. Each of us had the chance to present our own opinions and reasoning behind our decisions but the interviews were always asking each of us if we agreed with what our team mates were saying. This makes it a bit harder than an individual interviewer because candidates need to feel and speak with confidence because they can be influenced by what other candidates are saying.

Firstly we had a video interview - as this was my first interview of this type I did find it a little strange at first. But then after a few questions, I felt more at ease.

After this stage there was an assessment centre, which included a role play task where we had to give advice to another colleague that was having issues with another employee. There was also a one on one interview as well as a group task, where we had to discuss a problem and share our results with the team.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time and how do you wish to progress with your career?

Research the company well before any interviews, and have a clear understanding of the role

There was a group of about 8 of us at the assessment centre, it was very well run and we were all put at ease.

We worked both in a group and had individual tasks to complete also - this was good as it meant we could show how we worked in a team as well as on our own.

Video interview consisted of 30 seconds to read each question and about 2 minutes to answer each one. There were six questions in total. Questions were about the company, in particular their off-price model and competency ones, such as 'Describe a time when...' Useful to have a pen and paper near by to make notes while you're reading the questions and to have a few examples prepared.

The one on one interview at the assessment centre was very relaxed. It was in two parts: questions about the company and then competency based questions, followed by a general chat about the role and the company. I really enjoyed this and loved the opportunity to get to know a bit more about my assessor and what they thought about the company.

Describe a time when something didn't go to plan or your way, and what the consequences were.

- Research the company; go to their stores, learn about the off-price model and values they deem important
- Practice the online tests beforehand
- Be prepared with examples for competency based questions

Although it was quite a long day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. First of all we had a data analysis exercise, which we later had to discuss with an assessor. I had never done one before but it was simple and I enjoyed it. Then we had our one to one interviews. These were relaxed and you also have the opportunity to chat with them after you've been asked all the questions. I'd recommend thoroughly researching the company, stores, their off-price model and have a few examples ready for competency based questions. Next we had a job shadow, which was really chilled and great to chat to someone about the role you'll be doing. Finally there were two group exercises. I found these the most difficult as it is hard to be heard whilst not shouting over people. My advice for these, and in general, is just to be yourself and try and make sure everyone has the opportunity to speak. The first one was quite fun; we were all on a 'desert island' and had to try and get on the boat but there were only 7 spaces. The second one was more difficult; we were given 6 products which you had to price and rate.