Walmart Sales Associate

Walmart Sales Associate Job Description & Interview

Job Description and Duties

What Does a Walmart Sales Associate Do?

As the largest retail chain in the world, Walmart must hire on and maintain sizable staffs of sales associates to provide customer service. Workers falling under the job title of sales associate take responsibility for greeting customers, locating products, price-checking items, and organizing store shelves and displays.

Daily Responsibilities

Sales associates also answer customer questions about policies, services, and products. Returning carts to store frontends also serves as a typical, daily responsibility of sales associates.

Salary and Compensation

How Much Do They Get Paid?

Walmart offers part-time hourly employees opportunities to earn enticing job benefits. Aside from complimentary uniforms and competitive pay, sales associates and other entry-level workers enjoy 401(k) retirement plans with company match, paid time off, and up to a 10% discount on merchandise.

Promotion Opportunities

Career advancement opportunities accessible through paid training programs allow motivated individuals to move up through the company into higher wages and the potential for more wide-sweeping employment benefits packages. The average sales associate earns minimum wage starting hourly pay. Introductory pay scales may rise to $10.00 or so per hour with experience.

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Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: So I was a cosmetic sales associate. That was one of the few different positions that I had done. That’s a good thing about Walmart, that you can switch your positions around if you’d like, you want to try something else out. Basically I worked at the Steel Yard Walmart and the cosmetic section is a separate section from the rest of the store. So there’s a register there, and a lot of things are locked up for theft reasons.

So a lot of times it’s a lot of just kind of walking around the cosmetic section, putting things away, unlocking things for customers and then ringing them out for them at the register you have because you’re not allowed to give it to them because it’s locked up.

But around that line, kind of trying to be a little bit knowledgeable, obviously be knowledgeable about cosmetic products in general because customer’s are going to ask you a lot of questions about like, “Hey do you guys have this?” Or, “Do you know if this is good?” My personal experiences working over there made me spend a lot of money because I just bought a lot of things that were over there. So I ended up being really knowledgeable on some of the things.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: It can kind of get overwhelming if it’s your first time over there because a lot of things are locked up and a lot of things that are locked up, people need like razors. So it’s like razors, shaving cream, things that are cheap. Sometimes they’re just locked up. So it’s a lot of trying to walk around to see if customers need anything or putting things up or trying to put things up at the same time while you have like 10 different customers that need something unlocked and that. So it can get a little overwhelming in that aspect.

But other than that it’s pretty relaxed. It was really relaxed compared to any other position at Walmart because it’s like its own specialized section, which you aren’t dealing with the customer back to back to back like if you were a cashier, but it can get overwhelming with the many items that you’re getting out and then some customers want their items taken to the front, some of the customers want to pay for their items now.

Then you get customers that are like, “Well why can’t you give it to me?” And it’s like, “That’s my job. I can’t.” So then it’s kind of like trying to balance with angry customers and explaining to them that, “Look, yeah. It’s a theft prevention thing.” And then they get upset because they’re like, “Oh, you think I’m going to steal.” It’s like, “No, but anyone could steal.” So it can get overwhelming for a first time, or if it’s your first job.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: I think my favorite part about working at Walmart was probably the cosmetic section because it was relaxed. My day went so smooth and then if there wasn’t anything for me to put back and it was a slow day and we didn’t have any customers, I kind of just walked around and just I would zone. So you would just kind of fix stuff and put it back where it belongs if it wasn’t in the right spot or straightened things out and stuff like that. And a lot of times like that, I would see new products we got and go, “Ooh, I want to buy that.” So I mean it was just kind of relaxing, a good time to like… And it also was a good balance between school because cosmetic section, there’s a register, so I would try to sneak and do homework sometimes like a little bit of homework, like some stuff that I only needed a piece of paper for or something like that.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: So when you apply to Walmart, you apply online and I recommend… I mean unless you want a specific position, then I would recommend applying for all because you can pick specific or all. So when I applied, I didn’t come in as a cosmetic associate. I came in as a cashier because when I applied, I did any position just so I can get the job and that’s usually how you get the job is you apply for any position. And when you come in you can tell them that I’d rather be at this position and they’ll work with you.

So, the application online is pretty easy. It just asks you normal things like an application would ask. And then there’s a little short quiz, like a math quiz for say if you were going to do a cashier position just so you know math pretty much. It’s just a little bit of a math quiz. If you fail the math quiz, then you can’t get hired at Walmart. That’s the one thing. If you fail that quiz, you can’t take an application again unless you use a different email. You can do that. You can use a different email to make it and do it that way. But their whole thing is like, “If you failed the math quiz, well, we don’t want you because you don’t know math.” Yeah, they’re a little…

Or say there’s, I don’t know now. I heard recently that there’s a new like… You know how McDonald’s has personality type quiz? I heard that there’s some new part that Walmart has that too, that they’ll deny you based on that. It wasn’t there when I took an application, so I can’t vouch for that. But some people have told me.

If you just put an application you’re not going to get, because so many people put an application to Walmart every day, and there’s only one associate in the personnel office. Well, two. One at one time, at least at my Walmart. So that’s a lot of applications for one person to look through. So you have to call. Say a week after your application, I would recommend to call and be say, “Hey, my name is so and so and I applied for this position and I was wanting to know if you guys looked over my application. What’s the status of my application?” Just like you call any other job when you are calling to get a job and they’ll usually say like, “What’s your name? What position are you applying for?”
And usually right then, she’ll ask you to come in for an interview, at least at Steel Yard. If you call, they’re not going to tell you no or they’re not going to tell you, “Well we haven’t looked at your application yet.” She’ll pull it up right then and it’d be like, “Well, would you like to come in for an interview?”

And then you’ll come in for the first interview and the interview is a just quick interview, ask you a couple of questions, explain to you some, they ask you about your schedule and where you’ve worked, ask a little bit more if you… Whenever I apply for a job, I submit my resume and my resume’s pretty good because I just put a whole bunch of extra words on there to make my babysitting job seem like I was working at the Oval Office. You kind of got to use trick words, like trick them to think the job was better than it was.

So when I went in for my interview, they were like, “Well, you did good on your resume and you make yourself sound really impressive.” So they ask you more about your job experience, normal things like that. And then you come in for a second interview and the second interview is usually with the store manager or an assistant manager just so they can see your face and know who you are. And just to say like, “Yep, okay, my name is so and so. We’re going to get you on the schedule,” and they’ll give you your first day. So if you’ve got a second interview, you got the job.

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

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: Well yeah, they ask you what to clarify in your job experience. They ask you, “Why would you be a good fit for Walmart?” Everywhere asks that. Why would you be a good fit? What position would you prefer and why? What else did they ask me? That was a long time ago. Sorry. What position and why? That was really it. My interview was really fast. It went really quick. The guy who did my first interview used to work for… Because I was working for Days at the time and he worked for my manager like 10, 20 years ago he said. So we kind of talked about my old job a little bit and talked about how that manager was. It was short. So yeah, just asked about my… Yeah, what I said, asked about my experience and what position I wanted and why I’d be a good fit.

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

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: Well, yeah, after I left the second interview, he said that I could get a email within a couple of hours. And then a couple of hours I got an email saying, “Congratulations you…” It just kind of is a mass email sent to everybody they accept. It’s not a personalized email and I never got a phone call that was like, “Come in for an interview,” either. I hounded them to get the interview. That’s the point about… Walmart specifically, it’s hard to get a phone call from them, more so that you have to call them. Unless you called, and then they’re returning your call.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: Calling. Like I said, make sure you call. Call. Don’t feel like you’re bothering them because the point is to bother them. You have to show them that like, “Hey, I want this job.” So it definitely sets you apart from anybody else who just puts an application and waits two months and then makes a phone call. They’re going to look at you like, “Did you really need this job or do you really want this job?” As soon as a week hit after I put my application in, I called at nine o’clock that morning. Called at nine o’clock that morning, told her my name. She said she’d called me back. She never called me back.

I called later that day, talked to somebody else, turned out to be assistant manager. He said, “Okay, I’m looking over your application. Give me a second.” And then he told me to come in for an interview. And like I said earlier, make your resume seem amazing. Even if you worked at McDonald’s, make that nine to five at McDonald’s look like you worked for the president. Word it right to where it’s like, “Yeah I learned these skills. Teamwork skills, team building skills.” You just kind of pull a whole bunch of skills up, make up a whole bunch of skills that you learned from that job basically.

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

Walmart Cosmetics Sales Associate: If the phone call doesn’t work, you can go, you can show up. I know a lot of people that… I mean I’ve gotten a few people hired at Walmart because there was a time period when they were moving our personnel person to a different position and then they didn’t really have a new one yet. So it was kind of random managers going in there and doing the job. So it was kind of hard to bring more associates in when that’s not their position. They’re doing that job plus theirs.

So I recommended people to come in. Come in and go to customer service, say, “Hey, can I talk to a manager real quick? I put in an application and they got sent to person… At least one person, it was two people that did that. Second person. She didn’t have any job experience and she was under 18 so they told me like, “No.” They weren’t interested in her. They didn’t impress her in the interview. But first person, she impressed them really well and they took her to personnel to put her on file that day as soon as she showed up and once she talked to somebody. So just be persistent.

Walmart Sales Associate Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.

Walmart Sales Associate: At Walmart I was a sales associate so I just helped customers find what they were looking for, try give them the best deals and help them out. Just satisfy each customer, that’s basically my job.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?

Walmart Sales Associate: I actually love it though, everybody was cool. Our coworkers were pretty cool, I met new people, and they was all nice and stuff. It was one of my best jobs for real, honestly.

Interviewer: What was your best favorite part about working there?

Walmart Sales Associate: Probably the coworkers, I liked the people there. It was really a friendly environment, you got a whole bunch of elderly people. Real cool, the people my age real cool. Even the supervisors and stuff they were really cool and nice too. So, it was pretty cool.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.

Walmart Sales Associate: We had to do an assessment, about like a 20 minute assessment. I don’t know, yeah assessment. Then after that, call you in for an interview. Then after the interview is orientation which is like half a day. Then you watch videos on the computer and stuff like that and teach you what you’re about to be doing and stuff like that. It’s a pretty smooth process.

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

Walmart Sales Associate: How skilled are you at the position? Previous work history, what else questions did they ask? Just the background, have I done it before, stuff like that.

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

Walmart Sales Associate: We did an orientation and stuff. During orientation, they made my schedule out for me. So, the orientation … I went to orientation three days after they called me, and flipped on my schedule, and I picked my hours too for the next two weeks. I picked the days I wanted to work for the next weeks and I just went along with that.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?

Walmart Sales Associate: I’m in the National Guard, so I feel like being in the military gets you an edge over everybody else. I think that’s what separated me from everybody else.

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

Walmart Sales Associate: Definitely apply. It’s a nice job, but I would say, actually they hire various type of people. So, young, old, Caucasian, black, they hire all people. So, as long as you don’t do any drugs, or have no background history, you probably have a good chance of getting in at Walmart.

Walmart Sales Representative Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties?

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: I worked in the Meat Department within the corporation. Duties were fairly broad. So, we had a fairly small staff just because it was a smaller department. So my store specifically, I can’t speak for other stores, but we did not work with grinding anything or anything like that. That was the Deli. So I worked within the Fresh Meat Department where you would get your ground beef, things of that nature. We watched temperatures of everything out on the floor, so making sure everything was at a safe temperature, making sure it didn’t rise into that danger zone of 36 to 65 approximately, so that the customer was getting a fresh product and a safe product. We would also weigh the products and put stickers on them for pricing, things of that nature. Everything did come pre-ground, prepackaged, things like that. So we didn’t handle anything like that.

But things still do have juices, so sanitation was a constant thing. You would work with beef and then you would sanitize everything and then you’d work with pork, and chicken, turkey, so on and so forth. We did also have kind of a customer service aspect. So people would come and say, this is what I’m making, what do you suggest that I use for that? Or ground beef has different types or different levels of fat in it, so you would kind of be expected to have some of that knowledge to be able to suggest something to the customer. And then just keeping the department faced and clean, making sure everything’s front facing, looks nice, stocked, things of that nature.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: I don’t want to say it was slow paced, but there was definitely times where I could just kind of walk around and make sure everything was a nice, a slow paced walk, do my facing, but also interact with customers. It wasn’t a bad work environment. It wasn’t very fast paced at times. There was a fast pace during holiday seasons when everybody … there was a mad rush to get your turkeys. We would have three of the deep freezers of turkeys and they would empty in two hours. So just kind of dependent on the time of year.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: So when you apply, you’re actually applying to both Sam’s Club and Walmart. They are one corporation all owned by the Walton family. So kind of the option was open to move to either. I chose Walmart just because it was closer to me. It was about five minutes down the road. The closest Sam’s Club was approximately 20. So during the application process, I filled out a fairly lengthy application just, I think, due to the fact that it was the Meat Department working with sharp objects, with cutting packages open and things of that nature. There was background checks and things like that. The corporation I will say is fairly detailed in their application process, which, I mean, I appreciated just because I knew the individuals that I was working with were skilled and I didn’t have to worry about them interacting with anything harmfully that could harm me in any aspect or any way.

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

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: So my application was online and then the interview process was in-person and I actually did a group interview, which was fairly odd. So customer service questions, also ServSafe questions, making sure we knew what temperatures, things of that nature. They did expect us to come in with a little bit of knowledge just because, I mean, if you’re going to work in a specialized department like that rather than just general stock, you probably should have a decent amount of knowledge coming in. So having us interact with each other and giving us certain scenarios, kind of like a role play sort of interaction with both worker to worker, customer to worker, things of that nature.
And then we also had individual interviews with Human Resources, kind of going through a personal background, background checks, things of that nature. If there was anything that came up on a background check, they would kind of converse that with you and talk it out. I do not know their specific policies on what comes up on a background check. I didn’t have anything pop up, but they still do pull everybody aside just to kind of keep that fair employer, not singling anybody out should anything pop up.

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

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: I want to say it was an email notification. I don’t remember the exact timeline. I wouldn’t say more than a week. They were hiring fairly quickly. They were looking to fill the position immediately, so they were fairly up-to-date with everything and started the process immediately with all of my paperwork and training. We went through an online training and then some in-person training as well. All of their positions within the corporation have an online training with multiple modules that you have to go through before actually gaining the position. You have to pass that in order to get that position.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: I did come in with a decent amount of knowledge. I worked food previously and I’ve worked in restaurants, things of that nature. So coming in with that knowledge and a fair amount of it. I also came in ServSafe Certified, so that’s kind of just your basic food certification, knowing your temperatures, knowing what to look for if something is spoiled or bad, even if it comes straight out of the box, just making sure you’re not serving that to the customer and allowing them to buy that product.

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

Walmart Meat Department Team Member: Definitely just coming in with that knowledge. Possibly look into your ServSafe, but also know that you will be in a chilled environment. So if you’re someone who’s fairly cold, that may not be the best option for you. If you’re looking for similar, there’s always the Deli, there’s the fresh foods with the Bakery, things of that nature. But kind of coming in with an open mind. You will have a fairly large department for a single individual if you’re working by yourself, but also be willing to find tasks if you do have that downtime. Because if you’re not doing anything, they’ll send you home. So if you’re not needed then they don’t really need you there, so make sure you know how to find those tasks should you need them.

Walmart Sales Representative Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describer your job title and primary duties.
Walmart Sales Representative: My job title is simple. I’m a sales clerk, or sales representative. I basically just go around, introduce myself, ask customers if they need any help finding any items and assist them. I also help sometimes stocking, if necessary, but basically my thing is to introduce myself to the customers, make them feel as comfortable as possible with finding items they need in the store, and just assisting them with any type of help that they need.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Walmart Sales Representative: The work environment I would describe as steady work; it’s constant but easy going. There’s always things to do, such as finding people that need help, you can always assist other employees – team work. There’s no one specific job or specific thing for you to do. If someone else needs something done, like… I’m also a clerk, so if you see someone getting behind, especially around the holidays, I can also go and run cash register. If there’s an accident or someone spills something, I’ll multi-task. I’m always able to do something. I’m a team member. I’m always out helping others; I’m always doing more than just one thing.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Walmart Sales Representative: I think assisting people, making their shopping easier, as convenient as possible. As long as their happy, I know they’re going to return and it’s also going to give me a job. That’s what I think it is, just helping the customers, making shopping easier.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an associate.
Walmart Sales Representative: A typical day is holidays a lot of times, extreme large crowds. They try to have as many employees as possible for those occasions because there’s going to be a lot more customers than usual, but it can be typical because we can do multiple tasks and jobs, and sometimes you may be doing one thing and one person may be calling for you: “We got a line up here. Can you come assist with the cashier?” We might have a spill, and that’s about as typical as it gets, having to multi-task. That’s typical, especially around holidays, and that’s expected.

Interviewer: How would you explain the application and interview process?
Walmart Sales Representative: The applications are done now online, so it’s pretty easy for everybody to get a fair opportunity because they’re not able to see you and judge you on that. You can kind of work your way in by doing it online. The interview part, I feel… when you go to the interview, you need to go as you’re presenting yourself for the actual job. Go ready to work – your slacks, decent dress shirt, ready to show them that I have communication skills that I need for this job. I’m going to be reliable, and you’re able to do the task that they’re going to want. With the application, you should already be prepared for the interview because the application is thorough. They know what they’re looking for, they’re going to ask you if you’re able to perform your duties, they’re going to give you a brief description of the duties. And when you go to the interview, you need to explain to them that you’re not only able to do this but how you’re going to be able to perform and why they should hire you and not the next person. How are you going to benefit their company at Walmart?

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seekers looking to gain employment?
Walmart Sales Representative: My advice to someone else would be to make sure that when they read the duties or the requirements as an employee to make sure that they’re able to perform them, to make sure they know how to do what is asked of them before they go in trying to get this job, that they’re able to communicate with people, that they’re going to be reliable, that they’re going to be observant, alert, motivated, all of the above. To become a good employee at Walmart, they need to be all of the above. We need time-efficient workers, reliable people. We just look for reliable people.

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