I was contacted by a talent acquisition recruiter on LinkedIn and she asked me what positions I was interested in, I told her and she set me up with an interview for the next week. I was asked to bring my resume and print and filled out the application, meet with the Assistant merchandise manager in the AM at the store. I showed up and the AM was in the middle of merchandising, she stopped and said she was going to grab a senior stylist to interview me as well. Super unpersonal we sat in the middle of the loud mall, and as they were interviewing me the AM kept getting distracted by passers-byers.
I was well prepared for this interview, did my research on the company as well as the position. As the interview started they were just telling me about the position and what it entailed. They asked me to tell them about my self so I didn't tell them all the places I worked but rather all the experience I gained and they seems impressed and said I would need all those skills in this position and some were a plus. Next they asked me where I would think they get inspiration from for the men's Shop and I said Zara and explained why, she told me yesterday Zara is a good one but Topshop is who they follow for merchandising and styling! That was a huge turn off for me because honestly I am a truly creative person and I get inspired from several different sources but I never copy, or follow anyone else's ideas!
Next was the merchandise test. They asked me to build a wall in the men's department representing the guy I thought was missing in the department along with styles for mannequins to fit that same style. She gave me 30min. And when I was done i explained my concept and she said ok. She didn't look disappointed or like she approved either, but she took pictures, jotted down some notes and sent it off to whoever. I got a call the same day from the recruiter saying she wasn't sure what their reason was but I didn't get the position. I thought the interview went great.