Retail Interview Questions & Answers

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.

The initial stage is an online assessment which consists of three stages including 1) Numerical Reasoning Test – This is a multiple choice test 2) OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire) this is a self-report questionnaire and finally 3) Graduate Scenarios – This test is designed to assess your judgement.

The next stage is the assessment day which is split into 4 tasks. The one-on-one interview was with one of their seninor staff at the Boots headquarters. The experience itself was quite calm because my interviewer was chatty and relaxed. I felt that even though I was still under pressure to answer questions, the process was not as daughting as I expected.

Describe a situation when you have had to strive for something to achieve the outcome you want?

Ask loads of questions about the role and the company to show how much you’re interested. Also build up some knowledge to demonstrate commercial awareness - they look out for that in their candidates.

I do not live near Nottingham so I travelled their the night before and stayed in a hotel which I would recommend if you do not live nearby.

The assessment centre was full day from 8.30am-4.00pm at the Boots head office in Nottingham. Straight away I felt at ease because the other candidates were really lovely and the staff at Boots were very welcoming.

We were given a de-breif about what the day would entail and then split into two groups of 4. My first task was the one-on-one interview, followed by a negotiation task. For this task, we had 30 minutes to read a booklet on a pharmaceutical store that wants to introduce a new drug. There was infomation on the local population, the store itself, the side effects of the drug and the costs involved. We then ask to be the pharmaceutical sales representative and needed to pursade the local pharmacist to stock this new drug. We had 15 minutes to convince the ‘pharmacist’ to stock the drug. This was in a private room with one assessor and the other actor.

We then had a lunch break. The next task was the group presentation, we were given 5 scenarios with 5 options for solving the situation, we had to make a group decision within 5 minutes and were observed by 8 assessors sat opposite us. My group were really nice so everybody managed to have their say for each of the scenarios.

The final and probably the most difficult task was the analysis and presentation task. We had one hour to analyse a booklet of information on how we would introduce a new business venture, in my case this was a wine club. We were given a lot of infomation to analsye in a short space of time, we were allowed to make some notes and then prepare a presentation to present to one of the assessors. We were then asked questions about our winery idea.

There was an online application which asked several questions like "Why do you want to work here" and some comptency based questions too. You also had to include a cover letter and CV.

After that application there was a numerical reasoning test. You get to do some practice questions before hand, then the test is timed, and you have to complete as many questions as you can (correctly) in the allotted time. I didn't answer all the questions, but I got through - so just do your best to answer well and do the proper working out!

Then there was a telephone interview. It only lasts about 15 minutes because you only get 4 questions. They were quite similar to the online application and included, why would you be a good addition to Boots, and competency based questions.

This one was difficult because I wasn't expecting it (at the assessment centre) -
Describe a time, when you were part of a team, and you actively helped aq member of your team to grow.

Make sure you do your research on the company and the job role. You need to be able to say what you can bring to the role and the company as an individual.

The hardest parts are the unknowns - like the role play - so just try and use your initiative and stay calm. During the interview, make sure you give good examples, but don't talk too much or give more than one for each questions, because you get asked a lot of different things.

The best advice is to be prepared and then you can try and enjoy it on the day!

In the assessment centre there was an introductory presentation to start the day. This is a good chance to settle into the day, so try to enjoy it and listen well.

Then we went into individual interviews. These were one on one with one of the assessors. It was mainly comptency based questions, and there were a lot of them. The interview lasted for around 40 minutes. Several of the questions were based around teamwork, but different aspects (leading a team, part of a successful team, helping team to grow) so try to come up with different examples for each one, otherwise it will get very repetitive! The assessor had my CV in front of them, so the initial questions were asking you about things you have done and why you have done them. If you've done something unrelated to retail, make sure you can show how the skills you learnt are useful and will help you on the scheme.

After the interview we had a group task. There were 5 Assistant Managers profiles, and you had to decide who was the most impressive and the least impressive. You were given 10 minutes to read the information individually and make a decision. Then you got taken into a room with the assessors and had to discuss your ideas as a group. At the end of the task, you had to explain how you got to your group decision and why. Then they asked you questions about the task like, what do you think you did well on as a team? what would you have done differently? These questions were asked to the whole group, so make sure you answer something and don't let the others do all the talking. Show how you can be reflective of the group and be honest - if you think it went bad then tell them, and explain why and what you could do to improve.

Then we had a presentation, which we had to prepare before the day. These were individual, just in front of the assessors. You had 10 minutes to talk about how No. 7 could appeal (or currently does) to a younger audience. Do your research, visit multiple stores and really engage with the products. There is time for them to ask questions afterwards. Some candidates got asked things about their content, some got asked about the stores, or to give more information on a particular part of your presentation. We didn't get asked the same questions - so be prepared to talk about anything you say, or any questions they might come up about how you could improve.

Finally we had a role play task. This was also individual. You were taken into a room with one assessor who would be taking notes. Then another assessor knocked on the door and they were the angry customer. You were the store manager at Boots. They basically came to you with a problem about a product and the customer service they has received and you had to solve it. Stay calm and just react appropriately. Don't try and impress them with what you think they want, they want to see how you deal with things as an individual. Its quite intense, so just try and go with the flow as best you can.

Firstly completed their application form and personality test online.
The interview was a set of competency based questions such as "What is exceptional customer service and tell me about a time you have expereinced it"

"Describe a time when you did not do something properly or did something badly and had to re do it"

Look up some competency based questions and prepare answers before hand. Go in with some notes of things you want to remember to say. Also make sure you understand the role you are applying for.

It was individual interviews with myself facing the assistant branch manager(taking notes) and the branch manager asking questions.

My phone interview was with a member of the HR team in which we went through certain aspects of my CV and there were also some competency questions to answer at the end

Describe a time where you failed to meet an objective

Try not to be nervous and do plenty of research about the company beforehand

We were split into teams of 5 and each given a title of something which we had to discuss and then go on to debate between team members

My initial telephone interview was with a member of the recruitment team, this lasted around 15 minutes - this covered what I knew about Ocado, my CV and why I applied for the role, I was immediately invited to a Assessment Centre in around 10 days time.

Give me an example when you overcame a challenging situation?

Make sure they hear you speaking up and arguing your point in the group exercises.

The assessment centre had three stages and had around 25 candidates. The first stage involved a numerical and a verbal reasoning test and group discussions, after this some people were asked to leave and the rest of us went on a tour of the warehouse followed by 2 group exercises (One was a survival task and the other a building exercise) - I left at this stage but the final stage was individual interviews for around 5 people.

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.

Competency based phone interview based around knowledge of Ocado. Followed by full day assessment centre. Morning - presentation, two group exercises and competency interview. If successful in the morning you get through to the afternoon which is three more interviews with senior members of the team

Explain a time when you've dealt with ambiguity. What was the situation and the outcomes?

Seemed quite disorganised after the assessment centre as one of the current graduates who was helping to run the graduate recruitment had moved onto their next rotation- not their fault!
They said on the day I would hear in two weeks but after 4 weeks I decided to phone them, and it was difficult to get hold of the correct person, after leaving several messages. I didn't get onto the scheme but was told there was another role in the company which would suit me but didn't hear anything else from them.
Left me with a poor impression of the company and as a result did not chase up the other job, and have found a job elsewhere since.

One ice breaker group task to build a spaghetti and marshmallow tower which isn't assessed. Then the actual group which is nothing to do with knowledge of Ocado- it's a puzzle so you can't prepare for it.
Had to pre prepare a 15 minute presentation on a new Ocado product followed by 10 minutes of questions. Then there was an hour long competency interview with members from different departments. The three afternoon interviews were quickfire 15 minute interviews with senior members of the departments that the scheme rotates around.

I received an email in December 2014 from Aldi telling me I was successful with their initial CV check, and was asked to attend a group interview with their at their North-West headquarters in Neston. I arrived with plenty of time to spare and slowly more and more people filtered into the waiting room. Eventually the twelve of us were invited through into a board room - very corporate looking - and we sat round a table waiting for our interviewer, who ended up being their managing director of that region.

When he arrived he seemed relatively laid back and informal. He began by asking us to go round, each briefly telling him our name, where we are at university (if we were), when our degree will be completed, and to explain in 30 seconds why we had applied for this role. This seemed simple enough, giving us an opportunity to speak directly with him, and I found the more relaxed speakers came across the best. Some people seemed very wooden and rehearsed which was surprising.

After this brief introduction he explained that this would be not be a conventional assessment centre, and the interview would proceed with him asking some questions about the company, before giving us a chance to ask questions and invoke discussion.

He asked simple things like the history of the company, whether it is privately or publicly owned, how the company is split (Aldi North and Aldi South), and about the produce they supply to the customers, etc. These question were fairly simple for those who had done their research, but it also meant that those who weren't sure on some answers weren't caught out given they were open questions to the group, and plenty of people were fighting to get their voices heard.

This took 45 minutes to an hour, before asking if we had any questions. He explained that this was a tough job and we need to ask our questions now so each person can assess whether Aldi is right for them, as well as whether they are right for Aldi. This process took another hour (so 2 hours in total) and those people who were calm, collected and asked good, honest questions appeared to be the most applicable for the job.

I heard back within a few weeks and was asked back for a second, 1-on-1 interview with the same manager. This process began, however, with a 15 minute assessment on basic mathematical reasoning, verbal reasoning and logical deduction. For example there were questions which followed the structure 'in a museum, if exhibition A is on a floor above exhibition B, and exhibition C is above exhibition D, but C is below A, and if exhibition E was moved from above B to below C, then what exhibition is on the 4th level?' They were basic questions, and if one used a piece of scrap paper then all the questions were deducible and answerable.

I was then lead upstairs to the interview room and met with the managing director once again. This interview was more personal, and it felt somewhat relaxed as he simply wanted to get to know me. He began by asking me to run him from the age of 0 up to the age of 21. So this was easy, telling him about my family, where I grew up, went to school, etc. Adding in relevant things about my work experience, etc.

He would ask question as I went through, and asked me questions at the end. None about the company, just personal questions which were easy to answer. Once again he finished by asking if I had any questions for him. There was an emphasis on making sure I knew everything I needed to know, so ask as many questions as you can think of!

I received an email the next day telling me I had been unsuccessful, but they declined to give any feedback which seemed odd given I had met this man twice already.

Overall the interview process was wide-ranging, giving you and them the best chance to get to know each other.

No classic interview questions.

Simple business questions like 'Why might it be better to be a privately owned business than a publicly owned one?'

The position appeals to a lot of people for the money and the perks, but as I reached the latter stages of the process I realised the job may only suit a select few. So go ahead with the process but be aware that the position at the end of it will be extremely hard work, and don't expect to have your hand held. I realised when I was eventually rejected that I was relieved.

The company is all about efficiency, and that is what you ought to expect; an efficient, corporate organisation. This may not suit everybody.

The assessment centre was termed an 'assessment centre', but in fact it was a basic question and answer scenario; not at all what I was expecting.