Interview Questions Flashcards
Tell me about yourself
I am a self motivated person, a fast learner, and am always enthusiastic about my work and studies, aiming for a consistently high level of quality at all times. I am attentive and can be relied upon to complete tasks quickly and at a high standard representative of your company.
I always look forward to making new relationships, so I work well in a team and am always attentive to my colleagues. I enjoy making people happy and taking their needs into consideration.
I have a track record of achievement through my studies that I can confidently apply at work. For example, I have worked alongside teams to prepare difficult presentations and projects. I have experience putting personal relations with team members aside to focus on the task at hand.
I will always act as a positive role model, seeking to better myself and others.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I have been striving for a job in retail as I believe it is a job I can perform effectively alongside my studies at university. I care about both work and study equally, and want to find a balance between both.
I wish to progress my university degree to a doctorate, so I could easily stay in this position for around six years.
However this does not mean I intend my work in retail to be a means to an end. I will be devoted to my work and am determined to use any opportunities available to me in order to grow as an individual.
As a result, I would be grateful for any form of career progression.
I hope to be seen at this point as a trustworthy member of the company.
Give an example of a time you have had to deal with change, professionally or personally.
A good example of change in my life was at the beginning of May. My family were in difficult circumstances so we had to move house. It was unlikely at the time that we would find a two-bedroom house, so I was expecting to be without a room of my own until I moved out.
My final exams started just two days after the move, and I had began job hunting at this time as well. With the circumstances of the pandemic, it all became extremely overwhelming, and I doubted my ability to cope with change.
However, I kept in mind all my long term goals and aspirations, which helped me to bear the difficult couple of months. I am now very happy to have had this experience as I am much more confident in my flexibility, opening up more opportunities for my future.
Your are due to leave work at 5pm but your replacement worker doesn’t show up, what do you do?
I would happily stay on to ensure that the store runs as normal, and would take action to ensure my replacement worker is safe by trying to get in contact with them. The wellbeing of my colleagues is very important to me and will take priority over my personal engagements.
What do you hope to gain from this position?
As this would be my first job, it is incredibly important to me to gain new experience in any way I can. I want to find a job where I can learn something new everyday, and as a result I will seek out all opportunities available to me within your company.
I want to develop lasting relationships with those around me, and so I also seek a job with a strong sense of community around its co-workers and customers. I am determined to grow through this into a confident and independent individual.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I take a lot of pride in my academic work. I have achieved consistently high grades as a result of my ability to set goals, work independently, and work effectively under pressure.
I enjoy learning and studying, so I enjoy having grades that can reflect this to others. I want others to know that I am always working to my best.
How would you respond to rude customers or co-workers?
My number one priority will always be to diffuse conflict and maintain a pleasant atmosphere where everyone can feel comfortable in the store. If the conflict persists, I may speak to my co-worker, or ask the manager for assistance where I deem the conflict to be serious enough.
I have done research into resolving complaints as I am wanted to be prepared for challenges within this role, and have found a five step process which I believe will be of great use to me.
- It involved LISTENING to complaints carefully and ASKING QUESTIONS,
- APOLOGISING if necessary to diffuse anger,
- SUGGEST A RESOLUTION, perhaps a refund on a product or service,
- CONFIRM if they are happy with the proposal and see that it is done quickly,
- then take steps to PREVENT THE PROBLEM from happening again.
What do you believe are three essential qualities in a retail associate?
- Communication: retail associates must have good communication, both with customers and employees, in order to build strong and lasting relationships, with has a lasting effect on the success of the company.
- Integrity: I think retail associates should be genuine. I really want customers to understand that I am taking a genuine interest in their happiness. Integrity is also key to good teamwork, as we must be willing to help our co-workers out and strive to be our best.
- Motivation: Retail can be strenuous work, and so it takes someone with a strong and consistent mindset to see the benefits of working in this environment. Someone who is always committed to serving others and is unwavering in their resolve.
Tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure
When working as a team on an important presentation during school, we were working smoothly towards the deadline until our teacher pointed out while checking our progress that much of our research was incorrect, as we had been using invalid sources.
While we considered asking for additional time to redo the project, I came to the conclusion that we should instead try to work harder and complete it on time, as this would impress our teacher, so is aware of the problem, and would likely have an impact on our grade.
I posed this to my team and was able to motivate them to not give in under pressure. I am confident in my academic potential and found it easy to stay motivated. As such, I felt it was my responsibility to motivate others in my group who were less inclined.
I find working under pressure is a great way to better understand you’re strengths.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
For my strengths, I am able to manage a large workload, set realistic goals for myself, and work independently to a high standard, taking initiative for my own professional development.
Despite being new to this role, I am commercially aware, and understand I need to work quickly and efficiently in order to have a positive impact within your company. I am also adaptable to change, and understand that companies must grow and change in order to stay ahead of their competitors. I will be happy to help with this where I can.
Lastly, I am loyal and will positively represent the company brand.
For weaknesses, I am not confident with talking to large groups of people, and due to sometimes being shy, I can find it hard to say no to people. I have been working tirelessly to combat this as I do not want it having an effect on my future. I have been talking online courses, for example on LinkedIn learning, to learn how to better work in a professional environment with others, in the hopes of gaining more confidence.
I would be grateful for opportunities within the company to test my progress and develop these skills.
Why should we hire you?
- I believe I have the qualities required by the job description; I am hardworking, loyal and self-motivated.
- I embrace change positively and aim to be adaptable in my work to achieve the best possible results both in my own professional development and for the company as a whole.
- I will always take responsibility for my own development, and will use every means available to me in my own time to remain a cutting edge employee.
- I intend for you to see a positive return upon hiring me, and hope you will see value in my work.
Tell me about a time when you failed.
In my final year of school, I studied at home for the vast majority of the year due to the circumstances of the pandemic. As far as school work was concerned, this did not bother me as I was very confident in my ability to work independently.
I used my position as an opportunity to display this, by working with very little help, and not taking part in the online drop-in sessions that the school offered. I had achieved straight A’s so far and was perfectly confident that I could finish my time at school with a perfect streak, using nothing but my own initiative.
While I did get the A’s I wanted in three out of the four subjects, I got a B in art due to my overconfidence. I was devastated as this was the last grade I received and felt I had let myself down.
I now know to make good use of the help that is offered to me and not take it for granted to make sure I don’t make the same mistake again, and I am confident that I can carry my good grades through to university with this in mind.
How do you react to failure?
I always see failure as an opportunity to learn from my mistakes and develop as a person. I believe it is key to growth. It also can keep you grounded and humble, as it is important to understand that everyone makes mistakes.
If you react to failure by taking ownership of it, see what can be learned from it, and share the value in that lesson to others, there can be no shame in it.
Why should we not hire you?
I may not be the best person to hire if you are looking for someone with lots of experience in this role. I am very new to retail and will need a helping hand with getting started.
However, I do have good skills and qualities that I can bring to your team. The advantage to hiring me is that I am eager to learn, and therefore you can easily train me to however you like to be a high performing employee of this company.
I already have the dedication necessary, so I don’t believe you will find much trouble in doing so.
What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
What sets me apart from other candidates is my enthusiasm to begin work and the fact that I am effectively a blank canvas. You can train me up to be the model employee that you need to help your business succeed. I believe there is value in this, as well as in my determination to excel, which I can bring to this role if I am successful.
I will quickly become a productive member of your team as I am a fast learner. I understand that my lack of experience may pose a risk to you in hiring me, however I can assure you that this risk will be worthwhile once I can illustrate to you my commitment to this role. I will always be a positive role model for your company.
