I applied through college or university. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Sears in Jan 2009
Interview
The initial screening interview was 1-on-1 face-to-face. The interviewer asked every interviewee the same set of standard, behavioral questions... "Tell me about a time when you had to overcome a difficult challenge," etc. Then whoever got pass the first interview was invited to Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, IL, was given a tour of the headquarters, had to do a teamwork- and communication-oriented group assignment (sort of like a group interview), and was then given another 1-on-1 face-to-face interview (another set of standard, behavioral questions). After that, they notified us by mail whether we got the job.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when you had to overcome a difficult challenge.
I applied through college or university. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Sears (Provo, UT) in Oct 2009
Interview
I went to the career fair dressed and prepared to make a first impression. In about 30 seconds I listed what I was graduating in, some of my leadership experiences and the type of position I was seeking. At that point the recruiter wanted to gain my attention. He put a star on my resume at the end of our conversation and gave me his business card. I went home and immediately emailed him to thank him for taking time with me and inform him I had completed the online application. I followed up weekly by email (twice total) until a phone interview was scheduled. I had to take a required "how would you handle this situation" test. Then I was asked to come in and interview with the District and Store Managers. I dressed in a skirt suit, and came prepared to give many examples of my leadership and skill set. They were very friendly and interested in me. They wanted to know my long-term goals, and wanted me to share measurable goals I had accomplished. I asked for their business cards at the end of the interview and went home to send a "thank you for the interview email." Before accepting the job I only had 4 months of retail experience (internship), but I had years of leadership and people skills. I was direct, "I accomplished this in that amount of time exceeding this expectation and I did it by setting such and such smaller goals along the way. I also let them see my personality and that I was fun and easy to get along with. It was a great experience. I coordinated with corporate outside of that one on one interview.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time that you created a new solution to an old problem.
Tell me about a time that you were faced with someone who behaved unethically, how did you handle the situation? What was the result? What would you do differently?
National Management Trainee applicants have rated the interview process at Sears with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 50% positive. To compare, the company-average is 54.9% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for National Management Trainee roles take an average of 22 days to get hired, when considering 2 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Sears overall takes an average of 13 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Sears as a National Management Trainee according to 2 Glassdoor interviews include:
Drug test: 18%
One on one interview: 18%
Group panel interview: 18%
Background check: 18%
Personality test: 9%
Skills test: 9%
Phone interview: 9%
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