Retail Interview Questions & Answers

My first interview was on the phone with a manager of the company. He asked me questions about my CV, the reason why I applied for the position, my motivation to work for the company. After successfully completing the first interview, I had been invited to participate to the assessment day. After group exercises, the face to face interview was with two managers. They asked specific questions about my CV, my knowledge about the role, the company, the different projects that I drove successfully as a leader, and so on.

Are you a team worker or a leader? How would you deal with a conflict?

Being yourself, knowing perfectly your CV and the company as well as the reasons why you should have the role.

We should have been more but for some reasons we were just three. During the morning, it was about presentations and group exercises. The most difficult part of the group exercise was the debate. Then, you have lunch with the others candidates and during the afternoon it was the face to face interviews with two managers of the company.

The interview was conducted online. You will see a question and have some time to think about it (usually between 1 and 2 minutes). Then your camera and mic will start recording over a certain period of time (1 to 2 minutes) during which you can give your answer. If you are done earlier, you can stop the recording and the next question will appear. As the interview in conducted via a program and there is no other person involved, you can do it whenever it suits you best.

There were a few unusual questions. However, unlike most other interviews that I have done so far, Morrisons gives you quite a bit of time to think about your responses. Some questions give you two minutes preparation time, which is a lot. Morrisons mostly wants to know how you think and act and questions are often hypothetical - so not even asking for real life examples, rather putting you into a certain situation and asking you how you would respond or act.

You need a paper and a pen for this interview as you will have to brainstorm during the preparation time you'll be given. While this might sound a little bit worrysome, you are given a lot of time to think about your answer before recording it - so that is good.

No assessment centre at this stage.

The first interview was a video interview to complete in your own time. It was quite straightforward, consisting of around three questions. You were given a short period of time to formulate your answer before the video starts recording. You do not have to use up all the time given by the software! Questions included introducing yourself, an achievement you were proud of and what you could bring to the company.

There were then two separate Skype interviews with A&F employees at their US head office. The first was mainly biographical, talking about your education and experiences such as team work, work ethic and leadership. The second interview was more technical, testing your knowledge of the role and the retail market. A project relating to the role of a merchandiser will be sent to you in advance and this will be discussed during the first half of the interview.

Talk about 3 trends you have observed recently.

Even though it is a Skype interview, A&F are a very image-conscious company - be prepared! It would be helpful to wear their clothes if you have any, or clothes of a similar style. You will be probed about your knowledge of fashion, current trends and competitor activity.

In comparison to other companies, the interviews are quite relaxed. Try to relax as much as possible when giving your answers in order to show yourself in the best possible light - this is a key part of the culture of A&F.

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First step was psychometric tests including numerical and verbal reasoning.

The next step was a telephone interview. This was with a member of their graduate recruitment team and lasted 18 minutes. I was told it was to last no more than 20 minutes. They asked me general competency questions, what I knew about the Partnership and why I wanted to be a Partner.

I was successful at the telephone interview so the next step was the assessment centre. This was with approximately 10-12 other candidates and involved 3 group exercises and a small interview which lasted approximately 20-30 minutes.

Why is working for a Partnership important?

Really investigate the company, its structure (particularly the partnership model) and its values.
The recruitment team stayed with you throughout the process so remember to maintain professionalism at all times.
Be very aware of the time - wear a watch - everything is timed.

There were 4 parts to the assessment centre.
1. Interview
2. Group exercise - decision making n a group of scenarios.
3. Presentation - regarding store scenarios - making decisions and discussing strategy.
4. Group exercise - work as teams to achieve goals.