Interview Questions

  
If you have got an interview for a Sales Assistant role then you will be serving and selling to customers so will need to be an excellent communicator with a good customer service background. Sales assistants provide advice to customers and sell products to them. You could be working to targets depending on the store and may have incentives to boost sales etc.

Related: Sales Assistant CV Example

Do your research before the interview so that you know what kind of store you are hoping to work for, have you been in the store before? If not it might be an idea to go in and get an idea of the type of customers and products that you could be dealing with.

You can do a lot of research about a company from their website but you will get a feel for the atmosphere by visiting the store and seeing for yourself.

Related: Sales Executive Interview

Your interviewer will be looking to find out how you deal with customers and how good your communication skills are.

Sales Assistant Interview Questions

During your interview, you could be asked questions such as:
    What do you think about the products that we sell and who do you think our target market is?    What do you know about the company?    What sales targets have you worked to before and how successful were you?    Why do you like retail sales?    What would you do if the changing rooms were full and there was a long queue of people waiting to try clothes on?    To select a product and sell it to the interviewer.    A time where you have had an angry customer and how did you react?    What could you bring to this company    What are our brands and why do you want to work here?    What would your previous employers say about your character?    What are your strengths and weaknesses?    What do you find most rewarding about being in sales?    What do you least like about being in sales?    What makes you a good sales person?    What motivates you?    Have you consistently met your sales goals?     Do you prefer a long or short sales cycle?     How did you land your most successful sale?     How would your colleagues describe you?     How would your supervisor describe you?     What are your long term career goals?     What are your strengths and weaknesses?     What do you find most rewarding about being in sales?     What do you know about this company?     What do you least like about being in sales?     What interests you most about this sales position?     What is more important, a quality product or excellent customer service?     What makes you a good sales person?     What motivates you?You could be asked questions which are industry related for example if it is a footwear company looking for you to sell shoes they will ask specific questions about shoes and associated products.

Some of your interview will be centred on your previous experience especially if you come from a similar background. Your interviewer will want to know why you want to work for them and to find out what you can bring to the team.

Good luck.

photo by: molly dodge

  
As a Retail Manager you will be responsible for a store so if you have been offered an interview then you will have previous retail experience as well as being responsible for managing other staff. Your interviewer will be looking for you to be able to demonstrate this during an interview and will more than likely give you examples and want specific answers relating to your management style.

Top Tips for a Retail Manager Interview

Do your homework into the type of retail business you are looking to work for.
Consider what they sell, find out who they sell to, what is the target market, what is their footfall in that store like? Why are they looking for a new Manager?What can you bring to the store? If it is an established store how will you get the team to respect you as your new Manager when you are new to the business?It is important when doing your research to not forget the basics of going to an interview, if you have been to the store before then you will know what the staff wear. Is it formal, young and trendy etc?Related: Sales Assistant Interview Questions

Mirror this image in your interview but make sure you are dressed smartly and mean business.

Retail Manager Interview Questions
What do you know about this company?Give an example where you need to use you disagreed with your manager’s decision and hat you did to deal with the situation.Why do you want to work for us?Give an example of a situation where you have personally identified a business risk and personally implemented a solution to mitigate that risk.What makes you angry?What would you do if you had a difficult team member to deal with?Where do you see yourself in 5 yearsCan you manage a newsroom full of opinionated temperamental people with big egos?Would you describe yourself as an introvert or an extrovert?Your interviewer will be keen to know how your management style is, how do you get your staff motivated, how many staff have you worked with in the past, give examples of good and bad times with staff as you are bound to be asked questions on this.

And don’t forget that as a Retail Manager you are meant to be able to lead the team and improve sales so your interviewer will be keen to know how you can do this and give examples of when you have done this in the past. The more previous work examples you can think of the better as it shows that you have previous experience and also shows the person interviewing you what you can bring to their business.

You will need to be motivated and an excellent communicator to do this role well so it is important to be able to demonstrate this throughout your interview.

Good luck.

  
Checkout Retail interview questions to be well prepared for your big day. It is very important to be fully ready for your interview because it’s the day that will effect your life and career.

You should be able to give answer that will impress the interviewer so review the questions below and try to find best answers for them.

5 Great Tips for a Retail Interview
Don’t be late for your interviewDon’t be too early for your interviewDress smart, what you wear is important for retail interviews.Be prepared!Send a thank you note after the interviewRetail Interview Questions

Tell me a time when you handled a customer issue and what was the outcome?How would you treat an incoming customer? How will you satisfy the incoming customer?What experience do you have with helping customers?What personal characteristics make you effective? How would you describe your interpersonal skills?Describe a specific situation where you have provided excellent customer service in your recent position.Give an example of work where you have worked in fast-pace environment?How would you ensure that we put our customers first?Tell me what is your weakness? And how you handle it?Give me an example about time you had to deal with difficult situations and what was the outcome?Give me an example about the time you had to provide good customer service. Give ne an example about a time you received good customer service. Give me an example about a time you dealt with an angry customer and what was the outcome? Give me an example of when you worked as part of a team. Give me an example of when you used your own initiative.Where you want to see yourself in the next five years.What is customer service, professionalism and customer management? Imagine a brick wall. Which brick would you be and why?What do you consider your most important professional accomplishment? Why?Are you available to work on weekends and holidays? How would you handle a drunk customer trying to buy beer?If you could be any animal, what would you be and how does it reflect your personality?Retail Job Interviews
Sales Assistant InterviewRetail Manager InterviewCall Centre Operator InterviewCheckout Operator InterviewBar Person InterviewCustomer Services Assistant InterviewFlorist InterviewCar Rental Agent InterviewGood luck.

  
If you have got an interview for a Credit Controller position then your interviewer will want to establish that you have experience of working in an Accounts department before and understand the accounting processes and procedures in principal.
A Credit Controller will look after all the invoicing coming in and going out of the business, follow up on late payments and make arrangement accordingly and deal with general Accounting queries.

Related: Insurance Claims Handler Interview

You will need a head for numbers and also have a thorough and accurate way of working.

Before going to your interview, make sure you have done your research into the company so that you know what kind of Accounts department they have. Find out how big the company is, what the structure of the staff is within the company and where your role sits within this.

If you have a job description, go through it matching it to your CV and outline the tasks that you feel that you can do well and the tasks that you would need some improvement on. Consider how you can make these improvements.

Credit Controller Interview Questions

You may be asked questions such as:
What payment terms have you been used to working to when sending invoices out?How soon do you begin chasing unpaid invoices?Who did you report to?What other accounting queries did you cover or deal with enquiries for?What does bloomberg do? Why Bloomberg?Why do you want to work with us?What makes you better candidate than others?When you would exercise a strike price, what is the difference between a call and put.Depending on what type of company you are hoping to work for will depend what other questions they may ask you more related to the particular industry to assess your knowledge in that area and see how much you know about their company from the research that you have done.

Your interviewer will be looking for someone who is authoritative and can deal with problems effectively and efficiently. You will also need to demonstrate that you are accurate and excellent with facts and figures.

Good luck.

  
If you have been offered an interview for an Insurance Claims Handler then you will come from a customer service background and maybe some kind of financial background or services. As an Insurance Claims Handler you will be speaking to clients/customers and advising them on every stage of their insurance claim from completing the claim to getting the money they are claiming for. You will need to be good at listening and communicating to do this role and have a good head for facts and figures.

Before your interview, please make sure that you have gone through all the information that you have been given including any job description and match this with your CV to highlight any areas you are unsure about your level of skill. By doing this before the interview you will avoid any embarrassing questions on areas you think you are not as strong on.

During your interview, your interviewer will want to find out how you will deal with the customers and how good your customer service skills are.

Insurance Claims Handler Interview Questions

You could be asked questions such as:
How would you go about telling a customer that their claim had not been successful?Have you had any experience of dealing with difficult customers?Do you know three things that customers frequently claim for on their insurance?How would your previous Manager describe your work ethic?What do you understand about Insurance?Name a time you had to use an unusual method to get something done.Tell me about a time where you changed something within a company for the better?Give an example of Best and Worst customer service experienceHow do you deal with a difficult stakeholder?Tell me about a time you had to alter your work style to meet a diversity need or challenge?Why you applied for this positionWhy do you want to work with us?What is the biggest change you have made in your life?There will be many questions maybe around particular products and services so it is important to ensure that you have been very thorough when researching the company and their products and services.

Whilst you are doing your research it is important to think about the basic things such as location, how you are going to get to your interview etc so that you are as prepared as you can be and always take all the documentation you have and a spare copy of your CV and or application form.

Good luck.

  
If you have got an interview for a Mortgage Adviser coming up then you need to prepare well and do your research thoroughly. As a Mortgage adviser you will be advising customers on the best mortgages for them and advise them on what amount of mortgage they will be able to get for their income and what the repayment terms are and for how long etc. You will need to learn very detailed information and keep up to date as mortgages change frequently and if you are hoping to work for an independent company you could be working with many different mortgage providers.

Related: Credit Controller Interview

Your interviewer will be looking for you to demonstrate excellent customer service skills and be able to learn good product knowledge quickly. Maybe you have had some previous experience in a financial setting that you can use to your advantage.

Carefully go through your CV and the job description and match the skills that they are looking for with what skills you have already learnt and what you could do with improving upon.

Mortgage Adviser Interview Questions

Your interview could consist of questions such as:
What does the term “Mortgage” mean to you?Do you have a mortgage and what type is it?Do you know how to calculate a person’s income with how much they can get as a mortgage value?How do you work?What do you make of the current housing and mortgage market?List 3 different types of mortgage rateIf you are working for a bank or an independent place will depend on the exact detail of your interview questions as these will be tailored specifically to that industry and will see how much you know and how you will fit in with the other people in the team.
It would be important to see if there is any qualifications that you could do to further your career in the financial world and if this would benefit the role that you are going for.

Good luck.

  
If you have got an interview for a Payroll Administrator coming up then you must understand the role of a Payroll Administrator and have some previous experience in a financial or HR Assistant role. As a payroll administrator your role will be to do the administration work of a payroll run such as gathering timesheets, hours, working out any overtime hours, deductions such as holidays, sickness, maternity  or staff deductions etc. You will need to be very organised and thorough and understand the complex workings of payroll and have some experience of using payroll software to a good standard.

Related: Credit Controller Interview

Before going to your interview go through your own CV with the job description for the role or at very least the advert in which you applied for and highlight any areas that you are very comfortable in doing and the areas that you feel you may need some work on improving. Consider how you could make these improvements.

As well as processing the payroll each week/month and keeping very accurate employee records in line with the HR department, you will need to understand payroll to be able to explain any queries that employees have over their pay, tax or national insurance etc and for this you will need strong communication skills.

Payroll Administrator Interview Questions

During your interview you could be asked questions such as:What experience have you had of payroll software and what type?What deductions have you been used to calculating each payroll run?What types of queries are you used to dealing with each month?How many staff have you done payroll for and how long did the run take?How do you plan your month?Tell me about yourselfWhy should we hire you?What motivates you?What is your weakness?What makes you a better candidate than others?Why do you want to work with us?You could be asked industry specific questions during your interview to find out what you know about the industry or if you have worked in that industry before what you have learnt and how it overlaps etc.

Good luck.

  
If you have been invited to an interview for the role of Payroll Manager then you will have a solid background in payroll and also of managing other staff. As a payroll manager you will be ultimately responsible for your staff running payroll and you performing checks on the payroll and dealing with any difficult queries and always trying to learn from any mistakes and re evaluating the best way to run the payroll each month.

Related: Payroll Administrator Interview

Your interviewer will be looking to see how you have done payroll before, in what kind of team and set up and how your management style is and what experience you have had of managing others.

Before going to any interview you will need to research your company well, this even applies if you are going for a promotion within the same company as your employers will want to know that you are fully aware of everything that you need to know within the business.

How good are your communication skills? How do you feel that you communicate with people who report into you? How do you deal with any staff issues and what experience have you had in this?

Payroll Manager Interview Questions

Your interviewer could ask you questions such as:
What amount of staff are you used to running payroll for?What kind of problems have you been faced with each month?What systems are you used to using and how many years experience have you got?What have you been responsible for in the past and what makes you think you are ready for a management role now?How would your colleagues describe you?How do you organise yourself and how would you organise your team?You may be asked industry specific questions so it is important to research the sector and company details carefully through their website and any company information that you can find including any other locations of staff to where you will be expected to do their payroll.

Good luck.

  
If you have got an interview coming up for a Management Accountant then you will be a qualified and experienced accountant who manages and looks after substantial company’s accounts on a daily basis.

You will need to have a proven track record in accountancy with good grades when passing your exams and qualifications. You will want to continue to progress your career in accountancy and continue learning and updating your financial skills.

Related: Mortgage Adviser Interview

Before going to any interview you need to research the company well and make sure that you dress appropriately to show your interest. This is a client facing role and you will need to wear a suit and be very smart at all times. You will need excellent communication skills and be able to explain technical and financial details to your clients in a simple language.

Management Accountant Interview Questions

Your interviewer will be keen to ask questions such as:What is your highest accountancy grade and how long have you been practicing?Why do you want to be a management accountant?Why (name of company)?How would your previous manager describe your communication skills towards your clients?How many clients and of what size have you been used to dealing with?Giving examples of relevant progressions in accounting standards related to the roleHow would you work under pressure?What do you find difficult?How do you record in Balance sheet?Tell me about a time when you had to think on your feet to make a decisionOne of the core values of the company is integrity, How would this affect the way you work?Can you give an example of when you created a cost?Why do you want this role?What is the final stage of the product development process?Describe the cases you have worked on recently.You may be asked more questions about your training and practical experience and more about the clients you have worked with and any feedback you have had.
Make sure that you do not overlook any details of your interview and look at the details that seem most basic such as how you are going to get to the interview and if you are driving get a few options of where you can park to avoid any last minute hiccups. Also ensure that you have all the correct information including a spare CV or application form so that you are not caught out.

Good luck.

  
If you have been offered an interview for a Money adviser or Debt counsellor then you will have had some previous experience in providing advice to a variety of people in good and bad circumstances. You will need to have a compassionate nature and be able to communicate well remembering that not all your clients will understand the information that you are telling them.

Related: Mortgage Adviser Interview

You will need to not judge your clients; you are there to provide advice on how they can make a difference to their worries and lives and to turn their lives around. Having debt is one of the biggest worries that people have so it is important to understand how bad some people will be feeling and how you can help them.

Your interviewer will be looking to see what experience you have had of counselling people before, what qualifications and courses have you been on to enhance your skills. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you are compassionate to other people and that you act in a very confidential manner at all times as you will be privy to some very confidential information.

Money Adviser (debt counsellor) Interview Questions

During your interview you will be asked questions such as:
What training have you done previously in counselling or providing advice to customers?What is your understanding about debt, amounts, limits etc?What advice do you think we provide here?What do you understand about our company?Depending on the size and set up of the company you may be asked about the dynamics of the office and how you work with other people, in an open plan setting, in private meeting rooms etc.

You will need to be able to demonstrate what types of meetings you have been in before and if you were responsible for running these and to what level etc. This is a client facing role and you will need to dress and act professionally at all times so dress the same to your interview.

Good luck.