To start: I was career switcher and didn't have any Merchandising experience when pursuing an Assistant Merchant job, but I did have 10 years of management and director level experience in operations. That was very hard to overcome since I was viewed as "over qualified". I was prescreened by HR, which consisted of a 15 minute conversation covering high level qualifying questions for the position and pay. I was then scheduled for a day of interviews with 8 hiring Directors. Each interviewed was a two person panel that lasted about 45 minutes. The interview style varied but the core questions were the same from all. I didn't receive an offer. The feedback I received from a few interviewers: internal candidates offered more relevant experience; not having retail experience put me at a disadvantage; my level of experience over qualified me. The result: I got a 9th interview a few weeks later and received an offer. That interview stemmed from recommendations given by a few of the hiring Directors.