I applied through a recruiter. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at The Home Depot (Atlanta, GA) in Dec 2014
Interview
I was contacted by a Home Depot recruiter about the position on LinkedIn. I sent my resume and got a phone interview.
After the phone screen I had to take two online assessments, one was more about my personality and the other was a basic math skills test. After this I waited about a week and a half and didn't hear anything so I reached out to the recruiter. That day I got a call back to set up an in person interview.
I had the in person interview about two weeks later. The first hour of the interview was a case study. I worked on the case study then after the hour was up I went in front of two senior merchants and one HR recruiter. They started by asking about the case and my analysis of the problems presented. The next part was the more standard interview about my background and about how I would fit in with the department goals. I was told I would hear back from them that night.
I got the call back that night, and the next step was a "fit" phone interview with a VP. That happened the next day. Then that next Monday I got a call that I was being offered the job.
Every person I interacted with from the security guards, to the receptionist, to the recruiters and merchants were nothing but nice and reassuring. They all put me at ease and made me feel really comfortable throughout the process. In total it took about 4 weeks, but after I had the in person interview I knew in 2 days that I had been offered the position.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Nothing really difficult. The case analysis was the hardest part. Know what the job is that you're interviewing for and the case was really in-line with what I expect to be doing.
Had a screening interview with a recruiter, she asked me to talk about myself and my experiences in my past jobs. Then asked me on a scale from 1-10 how familiar I am with excel. Also asked why home depot?
I applied online. I interviewed at The Home Depot in Oct 2025
Interview
I had a phone screen with a recruiter, the interview was more like a conversation and questions were pretty easy. I was selected at the end of the call to Interview Day!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
On a scale of 1-10 how familiar are you with excel?
There is a Phone call with recruiter, then a zoom interview with case study and typical interview questions, and a quick zoom interview with a director level person to determine “fit”
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A case study with questions to answer regarding merchandising strategy
Merchandise Planner applicants have rated the interview process at The Home Depot with 3.2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 83% positive. To compare, the company-average is 69.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Merchandise Planner roles take an average of 40 days to get hired, when considering 18 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at The Home Depot overall takes an average of 16 days.
Common stages of the interview process at The Home Depot as a Merchandise Planner according to 18 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 18%
Skills test: 15%
Group panel interview: 14%
Presentation: 12%
Background check: 11%
Personality test: 10%
Drug test: 8%
One on one interview: 7%
IQ intelligence test: 5%
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