I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Nordstrom (New York, NY) in Oct 2019
Interview
I applied online and about two weeks later received an email to set up a phone interview. The next week I had the phone interview, which went really well as the woman was very friendly and likable. By the end of the phone conversation I was asked if I would want to continue to the next step of the interview process and come in to meet with the team leaders. We set up a time and I received an email with the start date (which would be the following Monday) and a bunch of other information about the role. I assumed that since the start day would be that next Monday, I would be hearing back ASAP after the in person interview whether I got the job or not.
I went in for the interview and met with two team leaders. The interview felt a little awkward as they both had very different interviewing styles. One of the team leaders seemed genuinely uninterested in everything I said. I sent a thank you email and never heard anything back. I didn't hear anything by the end of the week, and considering that the start day was that following Monday, I assumed I just didn't get the job.
Exactly one week after that interview I received an email asking for a third interview, this time with the head of the store. The only times she gave me for the interview were literally the very next day, so less than 24 hours notice. Thankfully my schedule was open so I was able to come in the next morning, but when I showed up the woman interviewing me didn't even have me on her schedule. When I showed her my confirmation email with her assistant who set up the interview, she said she could move some things around and then talk with me. I felt like I was inconveniencing her by just showing up for the interview. However, she was sweet once we actually began the interview. The interview felt rushed, it lasted maybe 15/20 minutes.
I heard back about a week after the final interview and more than two weeks after the alleged start date saying that I did not get the job. I didn't understand why they had me come in for a third interview when they probably had already hired people for the initial start date two weeks prior. There were many inconsistencies in the process and clearly a lack of communication among the higher ups. From the time I applied to the time I got an answer, the process took about 1 month.
It was a speed hiring event where they brought a group of candidates into a room and each person met with a department manager for about 10 minutes. It sounds messy but it seemed pretty effective.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They placed a garment in front of me and asked me to sell it to them as if they were a customer.
It was not a lengthy interview process. Most of the interview questions were related to any prior retail & customer service experience. There were a few scenario based questions regarding customer engagement and customer service, etc.
There was none. The links to schedule the interview never worked. I emailed and no one ever responded even though I constantly got emails reminding me to schedule an interview - the links never worked and there was no one to contact. Not sure how anyone was hired.
Nordstrom interviews FAQs
Stylist applicants have rated the interview process at Nordstrom with 2.5 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 81% positive. To compare, the company-average is 73.2% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Stylist roles take an average of 14 days to get hired, when considering 36 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Nordstrom overall takes an average of 14 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Nordstrom as a Stylist according to 36 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 36%
Phone interview: 24%
Group panel interview: 8%
Skills test: 6%
Other: 6%
Drug test: 6%
Presentation: 6%
Background check: 5%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
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