Are you asking these 5 crucial behavioural questions in your retail job interviews?

Retail is one of those industries where you can get staff who are looking for career progression, and others who are just there for the pay cheque.

And, while there’s nothing wrong with using a job as a stepping stone or to support you while you study, managers hiring for permanent retail sales jobs need to interview in a strategic way.

Here are five crucial behavioural questions to ask in interviews that’ll give you the answers.

Question #1: Why do you want to work in retail?

It’s simple but insightful – and puts the candidate on the spot to reveal their true motivations.

For example, it’s a red flag if they say they’re looking for a job to take them through university and like the fact that you pay above award wage. You know they’ll probably be leaving when they graduate (to go and work in another field). Candidates who are invested long-term in the industry might tell you they’re passionate about retail or love interacting with customers.

Question #2: What do you know about our company?

A candidate who’s truly serious about landing a role will do the legwork to find out something about the company they’re applying to.

You’re looking for indications that they’ve frequented your store, are aware of your online store (if you have one), follow you and interact on your socials, are a loyalty customer or have applied for a job at the store previously. The more detail, the more motivated that candidate might be to work for you in a permanent capacity.

Question #3: What do you enjoy about working in a team?

In retail, no one can be a lone ranger – teamwork is everything, and it’s a soft skill you’ll want to recruit for when you’re hiring for retail staff.

Candidates who recognise the importance of teamwork will understand that in retail jobs, you might juggle lots of different tasks at once – from dealing with customers to trouble-shooting payment issues, And they’ll know it’s much easier to get through the day with a supportive team behind you. If they answer that they value and enjoy being part of a team and recognise the support other team members can bring to the job, that’ll tell you what you need to know.

Question #4: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

It’s the question every candidate dreads but it’s an important one for a retail manager to ask to determine an applicant’s true potential.

For strengths, you want to determine if the candidate has skills which can plug the gaps in your team, or bring more soft skills to the table, such as being calm under pressure.

Weaknesses shouldn’t be anything to do with key requirements of the role, but if you have doubts a follow-up question on how the candidate is working on improving their weaknesses can give you the assurance as to whether they’re the right person for the job..

Question #5: How would you handle…

Asking a question about some kind of tricky situation that the candidate is likely to face on the job and seeing how they might deal with it can give you good insight into whether they’ll be a good fit for your business.

It’ll also give you an idea of how they might act during a stressful situation, and help you compare to other candidates who may answer these types of questions differently.

Want advice on interviewing candidates? Chat to one of our recruitment specialists

There’s a skill to interviewing candidates and making sure you get all the information you need about a potential team member. And the more you ask a candidate in an interview, the better picture you’ll get of whether they’re perfect for the role you’re looking to fill.

A recruitment specialist can also help you save time by interviewing candidates for you and creating a short list – so if you’re time poor, it’s can be a great task to hand to the professionals. Get in touch today if you’d like to know more about what we do and how we can help you.

Psst! Want to set yourself up for 2023? Download our New Year New Job Guide today and keep track of your career goals and find your passion.