Sears Interview Questions & Tips

How to Get a Job at Sears

After going through a rigorous online-evaluation process, Sears job hopefuls may then be selected to participate in interviews. As a large department retailer that receives hundreds of employment requests a day, Sears may take a week or two to contact prospective employees with interview offers. Usually, candidates receive notification over the phone and set up interviews at convenient times.

Structured Interview Process

Sears offers a vast assortment of jobs across career areas like store sales, home services, distribution, and corporate operations. The large retailer uses department-specific interview processes, which often vary by job title. To keep the process fair and organized, Sears follows structured guidelines for each job interview. Sears also recruits staff members through well-recognized military and collegiate programs.

Entry-Level Interviews

Hiring most commonly occurs for department store jobs like cashier/sales associate. To attain the entry-level Sears positions, applicants generally go through two rounds of one-to-one interviews. In the first interview, applicants sit down with assistant or store managers and answers common interview questions that address sales and customer service experience. Typical questions candidates face in the initial interview include:

• "What made you apply to Sears?"
• "What do you know about Sears credit cards?"

In the second interview, applicants talk with general managers and respond to questions designed to evaluate personality and salesmanship. Candidates may be asked:

• "Can you tell me about a time when your attitude affected a sale?"

Applicants may also be asked to "sell" Sears credit cards or objects in the room to managers. For a department store job, an applicant may earn a job offer after the final interview.

Interviewing for Managerial Positions

Upper-level positions with Sears, like assistant manager and store manager job titles, require more in-depth interview processes. Managers go through at least two interviews. The first interview is typically with a store manager or district manager. The second interview may be with a general manager, regional manager, or panel of managers and recruiting personnel. Sears uses both interviews evaluate manager abilities in driving sales, satisfying customers, and supervising potential staff. Managerial interviews usually start off with candidates giving brief self-summaries. After that, management applicants are asked to describe specific past experiences. Typical Sears interview questions include:

• "What are some of the biggest challenges you've overcome?"
• "When was a time you held yourself accountable for a task?"

What to Wear

Job hopefuls should dress appropriately for Sears interviews. To get the best idea of what to wear, applicants should observe what current employees are wearing and model their looks accordingly.

Making a Good Impression

If applicable, Sears job seekers should bring copies of their resumes to hand out to recruiters. When responding to interview questions, candidates need to keep answers honest and direct. Applicants should show confident demeanors by acknowledging and holding proper eye contact with each interviewer. A few days after the final Sears job interview, candidates may check on personal hiring status by calling or emailing Sears.

Sears Stock Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.

Sears Stock Associate: When I worked at Sears, I had to unload trucks; put up merchandise; when people came in and got merchandise, we would load it onto their vehicle; and help keep the warehouse clean.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?

Sears Stock Associate: The work environment was pretty good, friendly people. They were willing to help you when you needed it. Everyone got along and pitched in and did their part, so I believe it was a good working environment.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.

Sears Stock Associate: The application process. You would put in an application online. Then after you put your application in online, you would go in for an in-person interview. After the in-person interview, you would get a call back, “Hey, we’re going to go further with the interview process,” or find another candidate. If they decided to go further with the interview process, you would get a background check and they would run your background. I think that would take about a week, week or two, at most, two and a half weeks. Once they got through running the background check, if everything came back clean, they would call you back and set you up with a starting date. Then from there, you would start working.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?

Sears Stock Associate: How would you benefit the company? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What is your time? Are you dependable? Are you on time? How do you interact with other people? They also asked, what are your likes, dislikes? And they would ask you scenario questions like, “If you see a coworker taking something from the place, would you tell or would you report it?” They just want to know, are you an honest person? Are you laid-back? How do you handle situations when the supervisor is not around?

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?

Sears Stock Associate: I’ll say, when I found out I had a job, about a week.

Speaker 3: And how did they contact you exactly?

Sears Stock Associate: They called me, and then they emailed me.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?

Sears Stock Associate: Be open, because the shifts change daily. You work the same shift, but your times change, so you have to be flexible with that.

Sears Sales Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: please describe your job title and primary duties.
Sears Employee: I was a consultative sales representative. Basically, you man the store like you would any other clothing store. They’re big on driving sales and add-ons so they can meet their goals, but we weren’t commissioned. We were just commissioned for direct orders online.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Sears Employee: It really varied. Sometimes it was really fast paced around weekends and holidays, but when it wasn’t, it was kind of slow, kind of laid-back. You just talk to your coworkers and tried to get stuff done when the manager is there.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Sears Employee: Definitely the people. They don’t really hire anyone with no personality or who are super boring, so the people definitely make it interesting.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Sears Employee: You go in and you look at the floor plan. It has where you’re supposed to be every hour, and you go to that section. You make sure everything is faced and there are no holes, and you just make sure the department is presentable to standard. Until you have a customer comes in, we have a “ten ten rule,” where you greet them within ten seconds or ten feet, make sure they get what they want, take care of them, do online orders, phone orders, then go back to fixing stuff when they’re gone. Pretty much do that until your day is over.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Sears Employee: There are two interviews. The first one is more to see if you’re right for the company. Just fairly generic questions that you would ask at any interview: why you applied, why this would be a good job for you. The second one is more geared toward your specific position. Since I was going to be a salesperson, they asked me a question, like: “Sell me this pen.” Then, you had to do a sales pitch about the pen she was holding. It was a little more difficult, but it gives the manager a good idea about how you would go about something you aren’t really used to doing.

Interviewer: What should an applicant wear to the interview?
Sears Employee: Probably khakis and black pants, like slacks, maybe a button-down shirt. Business casual, I guess.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the interview?
Sears Employee: Why you applied, why you would be good for the position. They gave you a lot of situational question, like: “What if a customer did this,” or “If this happened, how would handle it?” Asking what resources you would use if you didn’t know the answer to a question. Problem solving.

Interviewer: What set you apart from the other candidates?
Sears Employee: Probably my personality because I had no retail experience at all going into it, and for a sales position, I feel that’s pretty important. But, she said, “You seem like you would be pretty good with people,” so that’s pretty much the main thing when you’re in customer service. You just have to be personable with anyone you’re working with, and I think that’s what landed me the job.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking for employment?
Sears Employee: Just be yourself and use common sense when answering questions, and just try and showcase your skills, abilities, especially with the internet/doing sales on the internet, and the way that you deal with people and difficult situations.

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Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: My job at Sears: I was in shipping and receiving, so we would get the product in to the docks, and go to the appropriate departments shipping out. So, it’s real intense sometimes, and other times it was real slow, but it was really a good job for me starting out. I was just home from the military, so it was an excellent job for me to just get into. You didn’t have to over think it, and the people were nice, and it was just a good shipping and receiving job.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: The work environment was pretty team-oriented. I think the supervisors had a real god handle on the team concept. It was never a day where I didn’t have any help. We worked together as a team. The work environment was pretty friendly, the building was clean, and it was safe. So, I was pretty comfortable there.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: The application and interview process was interesting. I thought it was well-orientated, because they made sure that you’re the right fit, as far as not over thinking the job. They made sure that you were healthy enough for the job, that you’re a people person, that you knew how to communicate with others. So, I though the process was fair. Really fair.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: They pertained to more like personalities. If you saw somebody take an item, would you tell on them, things of that nature. Making sure that you’re an honest, upfront person, things like that.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: I think the demeanor of me wanting the job, not being afraid of the challenge, me being able to talk to people. I’m a people person, so I talk to people well. So, I think that set me apart a little bit.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Sears Shipping & Receiving Associate: I would tell them to expect kind of a fast-paced job. It’s not a job where if you’re a very sickly person. If you have health issues, this would not be the job for you. But, if you’re just your average person, I think this will be a great job starting out. I came from the military, and I wanted to do something, so I did shipping and receiving, so it was good for me, because I like that kind of fast-paced work. So, if you’re just starting out at Sears, I think this is a good starter job for a person that’s just looking for some decent hours, good pay, and a friendly environment.

More Sears Interview Videos:

Related Links:
Sears Application
Sears Manager
Sears Sales Associate
Sears Cashier
Sears Auto Center Service Technician
Sears Auto Center Customer Service Associate
Sears En Espanol