How to prepare for your interview using a smart strategy that will get you hired!
You Need These Two Things Before Each Interview
Take these actions to win your “Retail Store Manager” interview! Research the company you are going to interview so that you can translate that information into a highly effective interview. Know in advance the questions the interviewer is most likely to ask and be ready with great answers for those questions.
Before we get started, I want to talk about what makes a great answer. It’s simply this: a great answer is a result of having researched the company you are interviewing and knowing what answer they are looking for within the interview.
So, we are talking about developing your competitive edge by using business intelligence and advance preparation. I am going to show you how to do both. So, here we go:
There are really only two types of interview questions: tell me about the past, and tell me about the future.
One of the most important moments to prepare for is “tell me about yourself,” which is about the past, or is it? In actuality, the interviewer just wants to condense these two subjects, past, and future, into knowing just one thing, and that is “if they hire you, how will you likely perform?”
This, of course, is a question about the future, and for most interviewers, these are the most difficult questions to find an answer to, and they are also the most critical questions. If we step back and look at the interviewer’s underlying goal of “tell me about yourself,” even though this question falls into the past, it really is about what can be expected in the future!
Consultative selling is an approach where, based on the prospect’s own response, a need is identified, followed by a discussion about that need, leading to their strong desire for your solution.
During your interview, using advanced knowledge of the employer’s needs (gained via your research) you can use “tell me about yourself” as the opportunity to present yourself as the exact solution. Interview won!
This means you are not going to spend your precious time sharing your baby pictures with the interviewer and talking about all of your wondrous histories when you are given the opportunity to tell about yourself.
Instead, you will take all of the information and intelligence you gathered about the company and use this opportunity to show how your past accomplishments fit with the employers’ needs, making you the perfect choice for the future. So “tell me about you” is really “tell me how you will perform in the future,” which you can knock out of the park if you have done your research.
How to Research a Target Employer
Analyze The Job Description
Start with a careful read of the job description and the employer’s wish list of traits and qualifications. These will be skills and assets, that provided you have them, should be worked into your talking points.
Use a Word Cloud
It can be revealing to copy the entire job description and paste it into a word cloud that displays the word sizes relevant to their frequency of use. This can make things that are important to the employer leap out. For example, take a look at the word cloud below. It was generated using monkeylearn.com a free service. The first thing I noticed was the frequency with which company dress code and company standard appear, represented by the font size, as compared to say, general operating requirements. I think its safe to say this company is not going to appreciate your new interest in the grunge look. Dress sharp for them!
Research the Company Website
Pay careful attention to the Mission Statement and make sure that your comments and answers are not counter to their published Mission Statement. Quoting from the Mission Statement is a great way to establish common interests. Know what the company’s current news and social profile say about the company so that you can demonstrate a strong interest in the company by commenting or asking a question about current affairs, goals, and projects. Know who the CEO, President, and other top management are, by name, and be fully aware of their political beliefs. If they are counter to your own, do not engage in counter-point discussions. Be aware of recent acquisitions and the current trend of their stock, ie 12 months of freefall to the basement, or, 12 months of increased value, or somewhere in between.
After investigating the company website, spending a little time on LinkedIn can be very rewarding. After looking at top officers and management, see what you can find out about the department you are targeting for employment, and, if possible, the person you will be reporting to. You can check for any groups they may belong to and join the group. Here is a hidden benefit tip: if you join the same group your target is a member of, you can send them personal messages through the group connection, without having to send a connection request.
I am not suggesting that you stalk anyone. Far from it. You are only looking for a professional contact within your network, and to ask perhaps a single question or seek a single piece of advice. Where time is of the essence, you can send a private message via a mutual group, right away. Otherwise, requesting a connection and waiting for them to approve your request may not happen until after your interview date.
Another worthwhile investigation is to find previous employees who have moved on. Just a simple note, saying,
“Hi Mary… I see that you left xyz and I am currently trying to gain employment there. Not asking for any secrets or improper information, but could you tell me anything that might be helpful in getting hired? Much appreciated! Thanks, John”
In fact, if you notice a trend of xyz employees all migrating to the same employer, you might check out that employer as well! There could be a good reason in the form of opportunity!
Most Popular Interview Questions for Retail Store Manager
We have already discussed the number one most asked question, “Tell me about yourself,” and you have some ideas and smart strategies as to how to prepare for it.
Here is a list of questions I compiled by reviewing comments from a list of career counseling thought leaders and my own observations. Take a little time to read and reflect on each question and your probable answer. If you would like to see a consensus of the best rated answers for these questions, click the blue button below or send me an email to: [email protected] with Subject: Q&A, and I will be happy to send it.
1 Tell me about yourself.
2 You are off at 5:00 pm but the shift worker is a no-show. What do you do?
3 Describe a specific time, and result when you dealt with an unhappy customer?
4 Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
5 How would you handle a customer with a bogus return?
6 Which is most important, great service or great product?
7 How would you train a sales clerk to make change?
8 What times and days are you available to work?
9 How would you deal with conflict between workers?
10 Why are you interested in this role?
11 What are the most important duties of a retail store mgr?
12 What personal qualities are needed for retail management success?
13 What challenges did you face and how did you solve them in your last role?
14 Describe your daily routine.
15 What strategies and mindset are needed to be successful in this role?
16 What is the biggest challenge you foresee in this job?
17 How do you stay motivated in your work?
18 Describe a time when you failed as a manager.
19 Why are you the one most suited for this role?
20 What is your greatest achievement?
21 How can you assure us of customer service improvement?
22 How would you maintain discipline in the store?
23 How do you handle pressure and stress?
24 What is your motivation strategy for the staff?
25 What is your greatest weakness?
I have suggested answers and the best strategies for all of these questions. You can request them here, use Subject: Q&A
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