Sales Associate applicants have rated the interview process at Payless ShoeSource with 2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 68% positive. To compare, the company-average is 63.5% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Sales Associate roles take an average of 11 days to get hired, when considering 199 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Payless ShoeSource overall takes an average of 13 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Payless ShoeSource as a Sales Associate according to 199 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 36%
Skills test: 12%
Drug test: 11%
Background check: 11%
Personality test: 8%
Presentation: 6%
Group panel interview: 5%
Phone interview: 4%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Other: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at Payless ShoeSource in Jan 2012
Interview
There were two 1:1 interviews; first with the store manager, second with the district manager on separate days. The two are very nice people. I highly recommend going over all questions posted by other users on here and researching possible answers an search engines to help you come up with your own honest answer (or else the interview/s may be difficult). The first interview asked about 10 questions found in this site and the second had questions not found on here.
First interview:
Tell me about yourself.
Why Payless?
Describe a time a customer/person caused you stress.
What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you helped someone make a decision.
What was the outcome?
Tell me about the best team you ever worked with.
What was your role?
Tell me about a mistake you made.
What was the best customer service you had?
I passed and started quickly. The process was simple and not intimidating. Everything felt straightforward, and I would definitely recommend it to others looking for an easy experience. I enjoy working here.
I applied in-person. I interviewed at Payless ShoeSource (Anchorage, AK) in Aug 2025
Interview
Easy basic questions like job history, availability, and why you chose to interview.
Interview was less than 30 minutes and hired same day. They will almost always hire on the spot im a teenager and they still gave me a job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Whats youe job history and do you have customer service experience?