Fossil Interview Questions & Tips

How to Get a Job at Fossil

With more than 400 stores and 13,000 employees worldwide, Fossil remains a popular option for job seekers looking for work in fashion retail. Applicants must successfully navigate the interview process to qualify for employment with the American retailer of watches and other accessories. The fashion retailer usually interviews each candidate individually, regardless of the job title sought. Entry-level job seekers normally interview a single time to become eligible for hire. Management positions available frequently necessitate multiple rounds of interviews to fill. The entire hiring process generally takes about two or three weeks to complete from submitting the necessary forms for employment consideration to accepting a job offer after the concluding interview.

Answering Interview Questions

Fossil interviews commonly feature straightforward questions asked in a laid-back, relaxed manner. Interviewers frequently want to know: "Why does Fossil interest you as a potential workplace?" and "Why should we hire you over other applicants?" Hiring managers also take an interest in previous employment and often ask candidates to share the best and worst aspects of past jobs. Interviewees regularly have to explain how they would handle an unhappy customer or sell a watch, as well. In addition to answering interview questions coherently and completely, candidates should look professional when meeting with hiring representatives. Dressing up for the interview, smiling regularly throughout the session, and asking your own questions about working at the fashion retailer generally signals professionalism and often leads to employment.

Fossil Retail Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Fossil Retail Associate: At Fossil, I just worked as a retail associate. Basically, what that is I’m pretty much a watch salesman. I get educated on all the different bags, jewelry, and mostly watches. Not so much the jewelry, but the watches that are there, all of their names, what’s special about them, and things like that. Then when the people come in, we become salesmen.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Fossil Retail Associate: The work environment for Fossil is probably one of the best I’ve had in terms of dealing with coworkers, because we are all very genuine people. We all just love to hang out and talk, and it was a very social environment, too, because a lot of times, you’re not busy, you have time to talk to each other. So, it’s a very friendly environment.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Fossil Retail Associate: I was a part-time associate, so I would come in, before opening, make sure everything is set. You kind of get OCD making sure everything is set. But besides that, you’re pretty much waiting for people to come in. When people come in, you find out if they need help with anything. If they do, you help educate them on finding the right watch, finding the right wallet or handbag, and that’s pretty much it.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Fossil Retail Associate: My first interview with Fossil was probably the longest I’ve ever had with anyone. But, it was definitely enjoyable, because our general manager is a very social, dynamic person. So, half of the time, we were talking about the job, and the other half, life and our personal experiences and things like that. She had told me I should feel special working at Fossil, because everyone there is very genuine with the way they interact with people.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Fossil Retail Associate: They probably had the most planned questions. List of multiple questions they were going to ask. I got asked some of the same questions a couple times in both interviews. So the type of questions they asked was how I would respond to certain conflicts, or if someone were to return an item, how would I react to that. And basically, what they wanted to hear was that if a customer returned an item, they wanted to know I had done my job correctly, because if they didn’t like the product, obviously I lead them to the wrong thing. So, depending on whether or not I was willing to take responsibility for a customer’s return, and understand my role as a retail associate.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Fossil Retail Associate: If you like fashion, and clothes, and talking to people, it would be a great experience for you. But, because Fossil has a lot of high-end products, a lot of stuff that is expensive, so not everyone that comes in is going to be willing to buy something right off the bat. Which means that you, for one, definitely need to know what you’re doing when you talk to them and tell them about the product. Secondly, how well you do, how much you sell depends on how many hours you get. So, obviously when you’re new, you may not get that many hours until you pick them up. But, after the holiday rush, no one is trying to spend any money. So just because of that, you’re not going to have that many sales if you work. So, because of that, your hours drastically drop, the holidays and dead periods like that. So, it’s kind of an hours issue, too.

Related Links:
Fossil Application