Retail Interview Questions & Answers

There are 3 stages pre-assessment centre:
1. Online application form, including competency questions. Tailor your answers to Tesco!
2. SHL verbal, numerical and situation tests. Standard schamdard.
3. Video interview: motivation and competency. You get a whole week to record and re-record, so be a perfectionist!

Describe a time when you stuck to your beliefs, even though it was unpopular.

1. Unseen presentation.

There are a few things you need to do. You're marked on them all. Firstly, stay calm, confident and hold your nerve under questioning. It helped me to think of the assessors as colleagues rather than examiners. Second, answer the question! Explicitly root what you're saying in all of the task's objectives and information, and in the company's values. Third, you'll need to think innovatively beyond the information you've been given. This is where understanding the industry and reading Tesco's yearly report will help! Fourth, know beforehand the general structure of a presentation. Don't forget to acknowledge the pros of the options you didn't take, and tackle the cons of the options and choices you did!

2. Group exercise

Half the marks here come from working with people well. That means you've got to put your points across and argue them out. Have opinions on each project and articulate them. Be willing to compromise. If you disagree with someone, remember to start your rebuttal by fairly summarising the person's viewpoint. Secondly, you need to draw everyone in. Ask each person for their opinion at some point. Ask or feedback on your ideas. Be positive, generous, let others speak. If someone's being unclear, ask them what they mean.

The other half of the marks come from saying intelligent things. Stay unswervingly focused on the objective, the criteria, the company's values. Keep those front, central, and explicit. But also make imaginative moves with the information you've been given. As with the presentation, that's much easier to do when you know about the industry.

3. Interview

Pretty standard competency and motivation questions. If you look these up and practice lots then you shouldn't be surprised by anything.

4. 3DCV

Tesco's not quiet about its own values, its passions, its style with colleagues and shoppers -- so make sure your attributes match theirs.

Also, they ask you to get creative. The easiest thing is to bring some objects and use them as talking points: the shoes you used to climb Kilmanjiro for charity (trying to make the world a better place), the boots you play football in (teamwork), the shoes you wore during an eye-opening summer placement (passionate and driven) etc. That works just fine.

The day was very relaxed. The assessors were fine and the graduate scheme coordinators are lovely. There were 3 (maybe 4) parts.

1. Unseen presentation. 40 minutes to prepare; 10 minute presentation; 15-20 minutes of questions afterwards. I was given a pack of information on three projects. My task was to pick one of three projects for the company to focus on, to explain why that one best aligned with the company's values and objectives (e.g. innovativeness, customer experience, turning a profit). I then had to outline how I'd implement the project practically.

2. Group exercise. 30 minutes to prepare alone; 30 minutes discussing in a group. This was very similar to the presentation. We were given a pack with information about six projects, and had to pick three of them according to some criteria and the company's values.

3. Interview. Motivation questions (why Tesco? why stores?) and competency questions.

4. 3DCV. A 10 minute presentation at the start of the interview. They ask you to talk about who you are, your achievements, strengths, values, passions, and style of interacting with others.

1. Submit your CV and answer additional questions on Morrison's website
2. Invited to complete situational strengths test
3. Was successful and then invited to complete verbal and numeracy tests
4. Passed the tests and then invited for video interview - this was a video interview where questions come up on the screen you have 30 seconds to a minute to prepare and then 1 to 2 minutes to answer the questions. The questions asked were why did you apply to Morrisons, why are you attracted to the scheme and then some competency questions (that are in line with their core values such as one team, fresh thinking) and then a couple of scenario questions (again answer these questions in a way that shows you have their core values) and then two minutes at the end to talk about anything you want - I spoke about why I was right for the role and a great candidate.
5. After the video interview I received an email inviting me to the assessment day, the assessment day was from 9am to 3pm, and involved a one to one interview, group task, group presentation, buddy conversation, networking lunch and a tour around a Morrison's store.
6. Few days after the assessment day, I received a phone call from the graduate recruiter given me all detailed feedback and offering me the offer of a place on their Retail Graduate Scheme!!!

"Give an example of when you have brought out someones individuality?"
"What are opportunities would you seize within your first three months at Morrisons?"
"How do you react when you are faced with rapid change?"

Overall, the whole process was really good and at the assessment day the assessors were really nice and made you feel really relaxed and enjoy the day. My advice would be prepare for all types of questions such as strength, competency and scenario based and why Morrison's, why retail and make sure you answer in a way that is specific to the company not generic, as that will make you stand out.
Also, from my impression Morrison's core values are very important to them and you can tell this from the assessment day - make sure you know their values inside out, what they mean to them and show them throughout the assessment day such as their one team value - constantly show support for the other candidates and team work.

Finally, just be yourself as that way if you get the job you know that company is right for you and your personality and you will culturally fit - which from my experience with graduate interviews this is the main thing that they want and they want you to be passionate about the company and the role.

1. Group task - given the task on pitching two new projects as a part of a group presentation, an assessor watches you as a group when you're discussing how you are going to work together, find out information and how you come up with those ideas and work together.
2. One to one interview - competency and scenario based questions and questions about yourself (education and strengths). Nice and relaxed interview and if you prepare for questions and answer in line with Morrison's core values, you will be fine.
3. Networking lunch - talking to all the assessors (about 8 assessors) and other candidates (about 10 other candidates).
4. Presentation - Prepare presentation as a group, give the presentation together as a group and asked questions at the end by the assessor on your ideas and final conclusions. I would say this is the hardest part of the assessment day, as their are strict time limits on the presentation slides and you're being observed by 5 assessors, which can be quite intimidating, but just remember to relax and be yourself.
5. Buddy conversation - you are paired up with one other candidate and observed by an assessor having a conversation on looking back at the day and how you could improve, what you did well and giving your buddy tips and support.

After completing the online application, I received a letter inviting me to attend a group interview at the regional head office in Darlington. When I arrived, there was about 16 of us. I'm pretty sure they left us so long in their reception to supervise how we were with the other candidates. Then we went into a room where we were given a questionnaire to fill in. This just asked basic questions like where i'd heard about the scheme, why I applied.
We were then given our first exercise- 2 minutes to prepare a 2 minute presentation on anything but ourselves, no less and no more. Some people really struggled with this. There were some awkward moments when people ran out of things to say, and the interviewee just stared at the person until the timer ran out. Those who talked about a hobby- and had a purpose/argument to their talk- did ok. 2 minutes constantly talking is longer than you think.
Then we were given two tests to complete in 6 minutes- a verbal reasoning test and a maths test. The maths was GCSE standard- but i know some who hadn't brushed up on their maths struggled a little.
We were then given a group negotiation exercise of being plane crash survivors. Firstly, we had to individually order a list of items in terms of their importance for survival and then as a group we had to compile a list. This is to look at how good you are at persuading and influencing others, because it was assessed on how different your list was from the group's. Everyone tries to shout over here and be the leader- but its more important to show that you are active (so make sure you say something) and persuasive, but you're not going to be a bull in a china shop as it were.
Then the interviewer talked more about the job, we were given an information booklet and were told more about aldi as a company. The group interview ended with a Q&A time, but we ended up going round all asking a couple of questions- by the time it got to the 12th person, candidates were frantically thinking of what else to ask and the questions got a bit silly- which the interviewer didn't really find funny.So my advice would be don't follow the crowd- if you don't have a genuine question, just say so.
The final stage was a one-to-one interview, again at the regional centre. This was a lot less formal (and scary) than the group interview, and was just more of a chat with the managing director. I had read before the interview, and expected, the questions to be quite personal- asking about where I lived, whether I had siblings, what my parents do for a living etc. However, he didn't really go into these questions like I expected.
All the contact I had with aldi was via letters and not by phone or email, so watch out for the letterbox. I put my home address on the application, and if it wasn't for my mum accidentally opening the letter whilst I was still at university it would have been missed. The letter also didn't give much away about what the interviews would consist of. I was disappointed that when I didn't get the job Aldi wouldn't give me any feedback on my interview performance, despite getting down to the final few.

What makes you the most happy? What makes you upset?

Be confident in whatever you can do. Aldi want leaders who will go on to be directors within the company. I think where I fell down is that in the final interview I was very nervous and I think this showed through.
Aldi aren't secretive about the amount of work and hours the job involves, and you need to show that you are prepared to work hard. I've been told that the Darlington area managers tend to work 60-70 hours a week, whereas in other areas this differs, such as in the middleton where its 60-80 hours a week. Don't bother going through the process if you're only in it for the car and the salary; you won't get far.
In the group interview, you don't necessarily need to try and lead - its more important to show that you're getting on with doing the actual task in hand, and have the ability to justify your points and persuade others.
Finally, just be normal as it were. As well as emphasising their need for hard workers, throughout the interviewer just said they want friendly people who are good with others. Show your personality and people skills off- the more you interact with the other candidates the better. After all, the job is not just logistics and running of the store, its looking after Aldi's people too.

See description above. There was 16 of us, had 2 minutes to prepare a 2 minute presentation, had 6 minutes to do a maths and verbal reasoning test, had 6 minutes to order a list of objects in importance for survival, then 8 minutes to order a group of the same objects, then there was a Q&A session to finish the day.

The initial phone interview lasted around 40 minutes, including time at the end for me to ask questions about the role and the company.

The first questions were biographical, ensuring the details on your CV concerning your education were correct and up-to-date and then more practical questions about your available to start work.

The second part of the interview was based around Amazon's leadership principles and was a similar format to the competency questions asked by many graduate recruiters. It is good to use the STAR framework when answering (Situation, Task, Action, Result), in order to guide the interviewer through your answer logically.

There were also business-related questions relating to Amazon and its competitors, so it would be useful to do some background research about the company and current issues in the retail industry.

Talk about a time when you have made an improvement to a process.

The leadership principles are an absolutely key part of both the recruitment process and careers at Amazon - make sure to familiarise yourself with them before both your telephone interview and the assessment centre. Try to think of an example answer for each of the principles and structure your answer around the STAR framework.

Do some background research about Amazon, its competitors and the retail environment in which it is operating before your interviews, to enable you to offer informed answers about business-related questions. Although it seems obvious, also ensure you are familiar with Amazon's website, including all product categories, postage policies and additional services. This will help you to speak confidently about the company under pressure.

2 x one-to-one interviews (CV and competencies)
Group exercise
Individual exercise and presentation

1. Online application
This included employment history, and questions like where you have obtained leadership skills, etc. Very straightforward.

2. Group interview
Around 12 of us in a room. Started off going round the room taking turns making a speech about ourselves, our degree and why we were there. After that, it mainly focused on what we knew about Aldi as well as any additional information given by the regional manager.

3. Psychometric testing
Online personality questionnaire which assessed suitability to the job.

3. Two-on-one interview
This interview was around 3 weeks after the group interview. Started with a 3-part test which included assessment on verbal reasoning and numerical tests. Followed by an hour-long interview with the regional manager (who led the group interview) and the logistic director. Was rather informal and focussed on my life story and experiences as well as questions like "Why Aldi?". Was also shown the results from the online psychometric testing.

4. Meeting with current area manager in an Aldi store
Awaiting final stage to interview process.

Your degree is in ... so why Aldi?

I would read up as much as possible about the company beforehand which should include looking thoroughly through the website and their business model.
It's also very important to visit a store and to see what offers etc. they have on.
Definitely prepare answers to any difficult questions and maybe revise GCSE Maths for the tests just to be sure, and feel extra confident!

Not given any group tasks as such, just the 3-part test which I was given 15 minutes to complete as is impossible to complete on time.

First was a phone interview which was questions about work experience and why I wanted the job. Then I had a branch interview to meet with the team of the branch I'd be working in and the manager there to see if I liked it and if they'd get on with me. After that I had the assessment centre which was from 9 until about 3. There were 7 of us there, 4 for the grad scheme and 3 for internships. The area manager of the area I'd applied for was there and took me for all of my different assessments. First was a group exercise where we all had a project to pitch and a budget so we had to choose between everyone's projects. Second we had to do a day in the life of a manager so had a load of sheets with different information and had to make a schedule for the branch for the day. Then we had a one-to-one interview with the manager about situational role-play to see how we'd interact with customers and if we had the people skills required. Finally it was just an interview about why we wanted the job, and a chance to ask questions about the role and the company. It was a really informal assessment centre and everyone was really approachable. They gave really good feedback on performance too, followed up by more feedback in the call offering the job.

The most difficult questions on the phone were about relevant experience as I'd never done anything similar before. I just highlighted transferable skills and tried to make experiences relevant. In the assessment centre the day in the life of task seemed to be difficult for everyone but I did it in about 15 minutes and was told it was a really good way of doing things. I think there's a variety of challenges that depend on all different skills so you just need to be ready to adapt quickly and turn things to your advantage.

Have a list of skills and experience written down for your phone interview so you have something to answer with in the situational questions. Be friendly and approachable, they're laid back and want people that fit in personality-wise not just academics. They really value social skills.

The first task was the group exercise. We had 30 minutes to pitch our case and argue it to the group. Once decided, the group had to nominate spokespeople to take the decision to the managers who questioned the decisions and asked us to justify them. I was nominated as spokes person but it wasn't too intimidating. They just look for people who get involved without talking over other people.
The day in the life of task was about 30 minutes then once you'd made the schedule you had to present it to the manager and justify it, along with get asked questions which may indicate flaws that you hadnt thought of in the plan.
The interviews and role plays were quite informal and they gave really good feedback.

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.

I applied through Morrison's website and after a few days got an email asking me to fill out a 'values questionnaire' this gave me scenarios with multiple choice answers and asked me to say which of the options I would most likely do. This was a fairly straight forward exercise. I then received an email for the next stage which was a video interview, this was done online via a webcam. You were able to do some practice questions before doing the real ones and could even do some practice questions then log out and come back later to do the actual interview. The interview was one way so the question would be printed on the screen and you were given between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to read them, I would suggest using this time to work out what you are going to say. You then have a set amount of time to answer but there was a timer on the screen so that you can see how much time you have left, you didn't have to use all the time and could stop it before the time was up. The interview lasted about 15-20 mins and was only 7 questions in all. It began with a few competency based questions however the last 3 were scenario questions which required you to think quickly as to what would be best to do.

There were a couple of scenario questions such as: "An offer is on lamb legs. It is a very busy day and you sell out. A valued customer who rang up and ordered some for his wife's birthday BBQ comes in to the store late and you realise the legs he reserved have been sold, what would you do?" and another "You are manager of a store. You are having a school outreach program and there will be a class of children coming to work in the store for 3 days. Each department will be assigned 2 children. How would you make sure that everyone was aware and everything ran smoothly?".

Read up on what they are doing as I had a question asking what do you know about Morrisons and what is going on in the retail industry at the moment? Also try to think of scenarios they might throw at you and your answer. I would make the most of the time given to read the questions to frame your answers in your mind.

No assessment centre.

The competency based interview included questions on the role- what do you understand about merchandising? how good are you with excel? Alongside more general questions like what makes a good team?
There were two interviewers (both from the merchandiser section at Matalan) and the interview was informal with an option to ask questions at the end.

When have you to explain something complex top people? give and example of a time you have received bad service?

Practice as much for the competency based interview as you do for the presentation, as you need to pass all elements of the assessment to be offered a job. Bring a hand out for the presentation as well.

The assessment Centre had 3 stages- first was a 10 minute Presentation in front of two interviewers (both from the merchandiser section at Matalan) on how a Merchandiser can help Matalan, followed by 5-10 minutes of questions. Next was the Competency based interview for about 20 minutes. Last was the group exercise were you work in a team to decide who to save in a theoretical cave in.

filled out application form, attached my CV and Covering letter. was called to assessment for a group interview. had a chance to introduce myself. followed by a presentation (2 min) about anything at all. they give you some time to prepare prior to that. there was Q&A session.they want to know whether you are really motivated enough for this job.

survival exercise.. were given a list of things to choose from.

they want to know if you have done in-depth research about the company so everything from latest news to competitors. also, how aldi can improve services. whats good/bad

just be confident. do your research on the company. make sure you know what the role is all about and you will be expected to do in your role as an area manager. they expect people who are hardworking with leadership skills.

it was tough. there wasn't enough time to prepare for the presentation bit. had no idea what to talk about. i had already spoke about my educational and work experiences when presenting some facts about myself in the beginning.