Tilly’s Interview Questions & Tips

Casual Interview Process

Action sports clothing retailer Tilly's maintains strong retail teams by hiring talented, diligent workers. To evaluate potential hires, the company uses a casual interview process that takes into consideration personality, interests, and job skills. Interviews remain brief, and applicants often receive job offers within the same week of interviewing.

Typical Interview Questions

Applicants seeking sales associate jobs usually need to participate in group interviews. Two managers usually conduct group interviews, which take place at the back of the store and feature between five and ten candidates, in most cases. Interviewers usually start group interviews with personality-gauging questions like:

• "If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?"
• "What is your favorite memory?"
• "If you worked at a circus, what part would you play?"

After the personality questions, managers ask behavioral questions regarding loss prevention and customer care. Some examples of interview questions related to behavioral traits include:

• "Do you think theft is a problem in retail? Why?"
• "What is your biggest accomplishment?"
• "What is the difference between selling and customer service?"

Once questioning ends, applicants are then asked to pick out outfits and give mock sales pitches.

What Tilly's Looks for in an Employee

An edgy, action sports brand, Tilly's represents alternative lifestyles and activities like BMX, motocross, skating, and surfing, which applicants should show personal interest in or with some type of alternative culture. The retail chain looks for highly enthusiastic and energetic individuals. During the interview process, smile often and maintain an upbeat attitude. Customer service represents one of the most important qualities hiring managers look for in applicants. Express abilities in maximizing customer service.

Tips for a Successful Interview

The best way to demonstrate customer service skills is through anecdotes from past work experiences. Past experience isn't required for most jobs, but a history in retail or sales may give an applicant added hiring consideration. Proven abilities to reach sales goals especially impress hiring managers. Loss prevention is held as a top priority at Tilly's, and applicants should demonstrate honesty and strong morals during job interviews. The retailer also looks for workers with strong communication skills. Be sure to sit with good posture and speak intelligibly whenever responding to an inquiry.

Tilly’s Sales Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Tilly’s Sales Associate: I was a sales associate. I would help customers make sale decisions and also help them out at the cash register. If they had any problems, I would try to help them as much as I can. As well, I would help my supervisor with shipment that would come in and place it on the sales floor, stuff like that.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: Everyone got along. It wasn’t stressful at all. You can talk to the manager if you had any problems.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: For me, I actually applied because I saw it before the store actually opened. They had a website to go to and apply online. I applied online and a few months later, I got a call. Then they were saying that they were opening. I started off working before they actually opened like helping setting up the store and as the store opened, I work … I was a regular sales associate.

Interviewer: What was the interview like?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: We had group interviews actually. That went pretty well. I feel like it was more … it took a lot of tension off of me, a lot of nervousness off of me.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: They would ask questions like why would you like to work at the company and stuff like what do you think represents a good employee and what would be an ideal work environment, stuff like that.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: I told them that I was able to set apart my work life with my personal life as well as I enjoyed helping others. I feel like that was a position that I would enjoy.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: I would give them the advice of just being themselves because the workers they like, when you’re comfortable in your environment and you can work with others and stuff like that.

Tilly’s Sales Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Tilly’s Sales Associate: My job title there, starting out, I was just a basic Sales Associate. After about a year and a half, I had an evaluation and I was actually asked to be a Lead Salesmen there. Lead Salesmen, you’re actually kind of in charge of all the Sales Associates. You’re right under the – We had our store manager, our assistant manager and our visual managers and I was right under them, who can kind of ran all the sales associates. Kind of ran the cashier, the cashier duties. Just kind of roamed the store, make sure everything was running pretty smooth between all the associates.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: The work environment was … It was a really kind of laid back job. It wasn’t hard at all. You really, you don’t need a lot of work experience to work there. That was my first job and it was definitely kind of an eye opener to the real world just seeing how like how I’m now getting paid for skills that I have. I would just walk around. I would fold anything that was unfolded. I would just do anything my Visual Managers or Assistant Managers would ask me. Nothing, usually, too big. It was very easy, general questions they would ask me to do and pretty easy task. I could manage.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: Yeah, the application. I actually applied there October of 2012 and I was offered an interview about three weeks later. I came in for the interview. They just kind of took us all back – It was a group interview, there was about eight of us. They took us back to the back, to the back storage room and asked everybody certain questions. “Why Tilly’s?” You know, just stuff like that. The interview went really well. I could tell I was definitely – I stood out in the interview. After the interview, she told everybody that if you received a call a week or so after, then congratulations. If not, just to reapply. About a week or so after, I got a call saying that I was offered a position as a sales associate. It was really cool. Definitely that was a great experience and it was really … Yeah.

Interviewer: What should an applicant wear to the interview?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: What I wore? I wore a, like a long sleeved buttoned down polo. Even though they don’t sell Polo, it’s still standard like interview attire. I had a long sleeved polo on, I had some jeans, and I had boat shoes. Boat shoes, which Tilly’s sells, and jeans, which Tilly’s sells. Even though they don’t sell Polo, it still looked dressy and still looked somewhat in Tilly’s style. And so I definitely thought I stood out a lot, too, from what I wore in the interview.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Tilly’s Sales Associate: Really just go in there and be yourself in the interview. They’re very, very straight forward questions. You can’t beat around the bush on any of them. You really just have to give them your straight, honest opinion. Really that’s about it. It’s not the hardest job to attain. But it is, once you do get the job, it is a fun job and it’s a very easy, laid back job.

Related Links:
Tilly's Application