I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at DFS Group (Venice) in May 2015
Interview
I was interviewed for a position as Sales Associate in Venice, Italy. The recruitment process involves different steps.
First you are involved in group activities. They did a short presentation of the opening of the new store and then asked us to introduce ourselves to the group talking a bit about our personalities and professional backgrounds. Then there are group activities with other candidates in which there will be role plays. They would present a problem to solve or a situation where the customer is angry or has a problem to solve and there are several complications so they ask the group how they would behave and each one gives an answer, then it is discussed with a group or the group is divided into smaller groups (teams) and you decide a strategy with your team mates.
All the different steps were anticipated in a very detailed email I got from the rectruitment office a few days in advance. I thought it was very professional. Eventually they only got back at me a few weeks later with a positive feedback asking me to come back for - I think - the final round but I already found another job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The last and more important step is a sales simulation you do in team with another candidate. The recruiters would let you two in a room with many different products and the would pretend to be customers with different necessities and doubts you would quickly need to address.
Asked if there is any prior luxury retail sales experience. And they will assign you to different category based on the experience. Currently beauty category has the highest chance to get hired.
1) Colloquio telefonico da parte di gigroup
2) Colloquio da remoto da parte di gigroup
3) Colloquio di gruppo, con role play
4) Colloquio individuale
5) Colloquio con team leader (opzionale)
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at DFS Group (San Francisco, CA)
Interview
There was a phone screening, interview, and then final interview. The interview was in person and the final was optional in person or virtual. The interview questions were about previous experience and also a role playing.
Sales Associate applicants have rated the interview process at DFS Group with 2.4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 67% positive. To compare, the company-average is 64.9% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Sales Associate roles take an average of 23 days to get hired, when considering 9 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at DFS Group overall takes an average of 29 days.
Common stages of the interview process at DFS Group as a Sales Associate according to 9 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 21%
Background check: 17%
Drug test: 14%
Skills test: 10%
Group panel interview: 10%
Phone interview: 7%
IQ intelligence test: 7%
Personality test: 7%
Presentation: 7%
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