Express Fashion Consultant Job Description & Interview
Job Description and Duties
What Does a Express Fashion Consultant Do?
Sometimes referred to as personal shoppers, fashion consultants working for Express primarily assist customers in picking out clothing and accessories. Additional job duties may include organizing or restocking shelves and ringing up purchases.
Knowledge and Training
Express fashion consultants stand for long periods of time and may need to reach clothing and accessories in high places for customers. The ability to maintain an energetic and motivated work ethic proves beneficial to applicants seeking Express fashion consultant jobs. A working knowledge of the fashion industry and a trendy personality also serve applicants well. Training involves learning merchandise, protocol, and cash register operations.
Salary and Compensation
How Much Do They Get Paid?
Fashion consultant associates typically make $9.00 to $10.00 in hourly wages. Many Express fashion consultant jobs consist of part-time schedules. During busy holiday seasons, Express may require employees to work nights, weekends, and longer day shifts.
Additional Job Benefits Offered by Express
Express employment benefits include generous discounts on clothing and accessories. The clothing retailer also offers medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage, 401(k) retirement plans, flexible scheduling, paid time off, adoption assistance, and commuter work benefits to eligible workers. Additional job benefits and eligibility requirements vary by retail location.
Next:
Review the Express Application page.
Express Sales Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Express Sales Associate: I was a sales associate, and I was primarily responsible for helping the customers with dressing, the wardrobes, dressing rooms, and basically the floor, so stocking and stuff like that.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Express Sales Associate: Very slow, not too much pressure. Everyone was pretty chill, not too much anyone can’t handle, basically.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Express Sales Associate: My favorite part about working there was helping customers shop, basically, so picking out items for them, putting together outfits for them. I really enjoyed that.
Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.
Express Sales Associate: Very simple. I went online, filled out an application, then they’ll give you a call back for an interview. They’ll tell you if they like you or not, and then if they do, you move forward with the important documents and stuff like that.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Express Sales Associate: Basically, “Have you had any retail experience? What qualities do you have? Leadership.” Things like that.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Express Sales Associate: If you want part-time work, this would be the perfect job for you. It’s not a Forever 21 or something like a more fast paced, popular store, it’s much more designed for working women. So if you want something a little bit more slow, chill, not something heavy with a lot of work, I feel like it’s a good job.
Express Fashion Expert Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Express Fashion Expert: So my primary duties and job title at Express… I was considered a fashion expert, so it was a little bit of an elevated position. It’s like a tier above a regular associate yet a tier below a store manager. My average day-to-day responsibilities were obviously selling on the floor, then recovery. Part of the elevated role was also helping with closing, and managing and monitoring some of the other associates.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Express Fashion Expert: It’s very fast-paced and fun, relaxed, but stressful at times. It was a flagship store, and we had certain performance goals to reach for our store.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Express Fashion Expert: Several parts. First of all, we got a discount, which is amazing as a college student. It’s always great to have discounts where you can find them. Also, just the overall college experience, because most of us were college students, so it was a stepping stone. I worked there for three years, watching people grow up and those relationships, and the fun environment was probably my favorite parts.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Express Fashion Expert: For my position, in any position in general, when you first walk in you’re chatted in by a manager. They talk about the numbers that you’re expected to meet that day, our target metrics for that day, and then if there’s any special promotions, you walk the floors to see what those are. And then to get to that point, you pretty much head into a zone, and those responsibilities vary based on the zone. But pretty much it could be anywhere from selling, or running the fitting rooms, or working at the cash wrap.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Express Fashion Expert: The application, there’s different forms. You can apply either online or in person. Either way, you call and they ask you to come in for the interview. When you interview in person, it’s either a group interview or a single person interview. The group is you all come in at the same time, and you’re interviewed one by one. You go in to the manager. There are a couple different parts. The first part is just general questions – why you chose to work with this company, and that type of thing. Then, one thing that we usually do is they’ll ask you to pick out an outfit based on a scenario. So, if you have a couple and the husband doesn’t like to dress up, but they’re going to a semi-formal event, pick me out an outfit. Then, they can get a sense of your style or sense of fashion. They can also see how fast you work on your feet and some level of customer service.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Express Fashion Expert: Definitely, if you’re able to work in a fast-paced environment. Your level of customer service and commitment to the customer is a big thing for the company. How quickly you’re able to learn and how responsive you are in that type of environment is really important, because a lot of time you have varying customers with different needs, and how you’re able to read the customer and see what their need is and make their experience unique is very beneficial to both the company and that person. Pretty much, they want someone that can build customer loyalty, and if you make your experience with a customer more personable and not just fake, they want genuineness. Learning the products is really important, and then being able to live the product through is something they really look for when hiring.
Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Express Fashion Expert: I’m very much into fashion, and I think the fact that I could talk about some of the reasons why. I was passionate about the company itself, and then just fashion retailing in general definitely was a leg up. Because a lot of the time, at our age, these companies know that we want just either a discount or some sort of revenue, so it stands out if you actually do have to have a passion for whatever the industry is, and in this case my passion for retail really separated me from the bunch.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Express Fashion Expert: Definitely whether you’re applying or just starting, dive in and don’t be afraid to be yourself. That’s one thing they look for – they like to have a uniqueness on the floor. And that way you are relating to different customers because you have different people on the floor. So be yourself. Let your personality shine through because they look for that. They don’t want someone who’s boring. Pretty much, the clothes sell themselves, but you’re the difference between someone going into Macy’s and someone coming into Express, is the caliber of associates that they hire. So, be yourself, be young, be vibrant, let that shine through, and that will make you be successful throughout the success of your entire career or whether you’re just starting.
Express Sales Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Express Sales Associate: As far as opening the store, I have to make sure all the clothes are put back where they go, sweep the floors, and clean out the fitting rooms. Sometimes, I would open cash registers, but because it was an entry-level position. They don’t usually let people at that age do that.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Express Sales Associate: I’d say definitely the discount. It was a pretty good discount; I think it was at 30 or 35%. So, that was definitely a plus.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Express Sales Associate: When I worked there, I’d just go in, clock into the register, walk around and help customers out, put clothes that were left in the fitting rooms back on the floor. Other than that, it was mostly just interacting with customers, seeing if they needed help finding anything. That was mostly it.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Express Sales Associate: It’s just a basic paper application that you would do for any job, like your school and job experience and references. I didn’t have to submit a resume, but I think it’s optional. Also, after you get hired, you go in and they do an orientation with you. With the application process, there’s an interview also. After your orientation, you come in for your first day and kind of learn the ropes.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Express Sales Associate: They just really wanted you to be familiar with the brand. I definitely did my research online beforehand, but mostly they were concerned with Express and how it’s different from any other retail store.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Express Sales Associate: I’d definitely say to do your research. A part of the orientation process is actually spending a day watching videos about the company, so if you already know that kind of puts you ahead of the game.
