I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Nordstrom (New York, NY)
Interview
I applied online & got an email to schedule an over the phone interview, which was very simple & only lasted 10 minutes. The lady scheduled me for an in person interview & told me to provide more info online. I got to the interview 15-20 minutes early & I was told to wait in the break room. I was first interviewed by the HR manager who was really easy to talk to & then by the floor manager who was very direct & was no bs, but still really nice. I remember fumbling on one of the questions but I remained very relaxed & really tried to explain myself in all of the questions. The floor manager gave me her card & told me to wait 7-10 days but I got a call 4 days later asking if I would be open to working in shoes instead of cashier bc there were no positions & I said yes. Two days later I got the job & I'm waiting for another call for my schedule :). This is my first job, but my advice is to remain confident & don't get flustered by the questions especially if you're being interviewed by a woman. Also make yourself seem really available.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Describe a time you made a lasting relationship with someone you just met?
I applied online. I interviewed at Nordstrom (Atlanta, GA) in Oct 2017
Interview
The interview is very detailed and the leadership confirms that candidates can effectively communicate with potential customers. You may be asked to describe your actions in a scenario involving selling merchandise.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Nordstrom (Costa Mesa, CA) in Jun 2017
Interview
Nordstrom is a highly respected retailer and although the interview was somewhat formal, it was also very relaxed. I felt I was able to maintain a nice conversation with my interviewer and it was mostly stereotypical interview questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How familiar are you with different shoe brands/what are some of your favorites?
I applied online. I interviewed at Nordstrom (Pittsburgh, PA) in May 2017
Interview
I applied online, got an email back saying they want to do a phone screen. The phone screen was literally just them scheduling an in person interview. I got to the store and I and about 9 other candidates sat in a seating area outside of the restrooms where the manager offices were (not everyone was interviewing for shoe sales). We were called back a few people at a time for a "group interview," which was really just 1 on 1 interviews happening in the same room. I have never worked retail so my recruiter skipped all the retail related questions. I'm guessing if I had worked retail he would have asked me to sell him a pair of shoes or to describe my retail experience, but we spent about 5-10 minutes in the interview room, he asked me non-retail related questions (very basic interview questions), showed me the shoe floor and stock room, and I left.
MAKE YOURSELF STAND OUT. This is huge. I wore a bright orange dress and floral patterned heels while everyone else was dressed in muted tones (someone was wearing jeans...). It draws your recruiter's eye immediately to the person who looks different. And in a job where a great sense of fashion is a must, there's no reason why you shouldn't show off your personal style (even if you think it's unprofessional to not wear black).
Shoes Sales Associate applicants have rated the interview process at Nordstrom with 2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 71% positive. To compare, the company-average is 73.2% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Shoes Sales Associate roles take an average of 10 days to get hired, when considering 25 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 Shoes Sales Associate according to 25 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 31%
One on one interview: 31%
Background check: 9%
Personality test: 9%
Skills test: 9%
Drug test: 5%
Presentation: 2%
Group panel interview: 2%
IQ intelligence test: 2%
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