I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Macy's (Tacoma, WA) in Oct 2012
Interview
I applied online and got a response in about a week asking me to set up an interview. My interview was pretty short (about 15 minutes). I got asked the following questions: "Why do you want to work at Macy's?" "Think of a situation in which you saw someone at work do something that you knew was wrong and what you did" "Tell me about a time in which you were in a work environment that was constantly changing" "How would you go about persuading a customer to sign up for a Macy's card?" "How would you celebrate a purchase?" I think the interviewer was most impressed by how much I knew about Macy's and the Macy's card. (I told her that one of the reasons I wanted to work at Macy's was because I know it is a good company since it's been around for about 150 years. Apparently I taught her something new.) After the interview, she told me that she would send my interview results over to HQ because they make all the hiring decisions, and that I would hear back from HQ once they reviewed everything. About an hour after my interview had ended, I got a call from the person who had interviewed me, and she told me that she wanted to just go ahead and hire me and to come back to fill out some papers. I guess I made an impression with all my Macy's knowledge :) So if you want to apply, I would definitely recommend researching Macy's and the Macy's card. It makes you seem really enthusiastic about wanting to work there.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The most difficult question was probably the one about seeing someone doing something wrong. I don't have much job experience, so I didn't really have an answer to that question. The interviewer didn't seem too upset about my lack of an answer though.
Was interviewed for a seasonal position. Was told they have no seasonal positions, once they found out I was a college student. Made no sense to me quickly ended the interview.
The interview process was straightforward and fairly quick. It started with a phone interview from a recruiter or hiring representative who asked general questions about my background, availability, and interest in the role. The tone was professional but conversational, and the interviewer focused on making sure I could handle a fast-paced, customer-facing environment.
I had one interview with the store manager and it lasted for about 45 minutes. The interview was all standard behavioral questions. I was offered the job on the spot.
Sales Associate applicants have rated the interview process at Macy's with 2.1 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 64% positive. To compare, the company-average is 63.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Sales Associate roles take an average of 6 days to get hired, when considering 2,121 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Macy's overall takes an average of 10 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Macy's as a Sales Associate according to 2,121 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 45%
Background check: 11%
Personality test: 11%
Skills test: 8%
Phone interview: 7%
Presentation: 6%
Drug test: 5%
IQ intelligence test: 4%
Group panel interview: 3%
Other: 2%
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