General interview questions

What skills do you have on Excel?

-Adjusting information in cell boxes -Inserting formulas -Creating tables

Name a time where you were creative

During this semester we were given a project to pick an underserved market and create an apparel line for them as well as the concept for a store that line would sell in. We then had to create a theme for our line and create an inspiration board that the clothes would be based off of. We chose to serve the baby-boomer, plus-sized market and create a 70's inspired line. For the inspiration board we created a design that had the feel of the 70's with circles that were filled with inspiration we felt fit perfectly for our line.

Tell us about a time where you disagreed with your boss and how you handled that

There haven't been many times that I have disagreed with my bosses, Ive been blessed to work at a great company and had great leadership. But, at the end of my time at Madewell on 5th avenue we received a new manager who didnt treat me very nicely. We would wear walkie talkie's during work, and she would often be disrespectful to be over the walkie's, which was basically in front of all of the employees. It continued to happen, so I decided to have a private conversation with her. I pulled her aside one day at work and asked if we could meet privately at the end of my shift. She agreed, so we met and I eventually got to the point that I felt like my time and abilities were not valued. She explained to me that she thought I was a good employee and was doing my job well, but she told me that basically she was a really direct person and she's not very good at giving positive feed back. So, after having this conversation I no longer felt offended by the things she was saying to me and I was able to see that she just operates differently than my other bosses.

Where do you see yourself it ten years?

There is no exact or specific place or job I intend myself to be at in 10 years. There are so many things that could change my course between now and then. However, every year I would like to see myself continuing to grow in knowledge, skills, and experiences and continue to grow from positions I had previously. An ideal path I see myself taking would be to progress to be an allocation analyst after the training program, to a senior allocation analyst. After that I could see myself eventually becoming a buyer or working internationally in ten years or so.

What questions do you have for us?

-What is your favorite thing about working for TJX -I know Sierra Trading Post only has two bring and mortar stores and is sold online. Do you think Sierra Trading post will continue to develop in the e-commerce world, or do you think you will open up more brick and mortar stores in the future? -Since TJMaxx and Sierra Trading Post are the only stores offered online through e-commerce, do you think you will be developing any more e-commerce sites for the other stores? -What does your future expansion look like for Europe and Canada, do you think there are other markets you'll break into overseas that you haven't already?

When have you used analysis in your work and or school life to solve a problem?

-Work: Madewell -School: I had to analyze data about plus-size baby boomer women, to figure out how to better serve them in the market. We interviewed about 50 women and found that they felt that most plus-sized clothing didn't fit right, it wasn't on trend, and and they didnt like shopping in specialty plus-size shops, but rather in shops that also had "regular" sized clothing. So, we created a clothing line with new "standardized sizing" where our customers would be able to confidently order from online and know how each piece would fit them. And we created 70's inspired clothing for them, because this is a trend that is up and coming in the market so we wanted to extend it to our market as well.

How have your past experiences helped you prepare for this job?

1. Madewell: develop relationships with customers, learn more about selling seasons, hear and respond to customers thoughts and mind sets about why or why not they have been purchasing clothes 2. BCBG: work in a fast-pace, always changing environment with dead lines (especially during fashion week). And working in teams 3. Mosaic: Learn how to reach a certain target market and figure out how much they want to pay, when they want things, and how to merchandise the clothes 4. School: become analytically minded, work in teams, stay organized, work on deadlines 5. CRU: become a leader, create relationships, react to new decisions

Describe a difficult task you were faced with how you addressed it

A difficult task I was faced with was picking a school and deciding whether or not I wanted to stay at the school I was at. I hadn't started my AMPD classes at the time at BG, and was really feeling the need to move out west and go to FIDM. I had to weigh my options and what each school offered. Between price, reputation in the industry, the experiences and opportunities I would gain, and what would get me ready to enter the industry. I chose BG because it was cheaper than being at FIDM all four years, while still allowing me to spend one year at FIT and gain real-world, hands on experience, gave me great opportunities and is well known in the industry.

Tell me about a time you used resourcefulness to solve a problem

At FIT, when we were preparing to get internships we were assigned to and had to meet with an internship counselor in order to help us along with the process; like reviewing our resume, getting numbers of the HR directors at the places we were applying, and helping us create thank you letters for the people we interned with. When I met with my counselor I was told to give her three places I would want to apply and my resume and cover letter so that she could review it. (in the meantime, we had to be timely about this because there were deadlines for a lot of the companies approaching fast). She took over two weeks to review my resume and cover letter, and had still not gotten me numbers and e-mails to contact the HR directors. So, I asked her if we could set up a meeting, in hopes that she would understand my eagerness and assure me that she was working. However, when I got to her office she told me that she had not gotten the time look up the numbers and e-mails for these companies, and that I would have to wait my turn. I understood that she was probably busy at this time, so I took it into my own hands. I started asking around to classmates, and my roommate about who they had contacted and/or not gotten an offer at when interviewing for a company and simply asked for the numbers or e-mails of the HR directors there, and I also looked up e-mails on linkedin and connected with people that way. Though it took a lot more time and effort on my part, I was able to reach out to the HR director at BCBG and set up an interview for the position. (and ended up accepting the offer and interning there the next semester)

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Getting in to and graduating from FIT

Tell me about yourself

I am a senior apparel merchandising ad product development major at bowling green state university. I will be graduating in December with my bachelor's degree. I also have an Associate's degree in advertising and marketing communications from the fashion institute of technology. I am very involved in a Christian ministry on campus called cru, and our school recently started a National Retail Federation club last year while i was at FIT, so I have joined that this year. I am very passionate about fashion, business, and analyzing numbers which has led me to have an interest in allocating. I am very organized and work the best when I know I have a deadline to meet. I enjoy change and the changing environment the industry offers. I strive to always grow as a person and I strive to work for a company who does the same-and wants growth for itself, like TJX. I am hardworking and enjoy working with others and combining our strengths to deliver the best. Overall Im a positive, happy person.

What are your skills?

I am a strong leader. I work well in a fast pace environment. I am extremely detail oriented which has made me very organized. I love analyzing trends and numbers in general. I have strong math and excel skills. I am very analytically minded. And am proficient in adobe photoshop and illustrator and Microsoft excel and powerpoint.

Have you had any other interviews?

I am still pretty early in my job search, but Ive applied to a number of opportunities that will allow me to use my analytical and decision making sills. Other places I have applied are Patagonia and Anthropologie. But this position is the most exciting for me because of my skill set and past experiences and all that this program has to offer.

What differentiates you from other applicants?

I am very outgoing. I love talking and collaborating with people. I am able to adapt to change and my surroundings quickly and efficiently. And I would say Im an overall positive person, which is always a great addition to have in the workplace no matter the day or situation.

Tell about a time you considered multiple options in work or project and how you came to a conclusion

I had to create a product line for my product development class and also create my own store concept including the name of the store. I worked in a group for it and we all had come up with different names, and it was really hard to narrow it down. We decided to go with the name that fit the target market and the line concept the best. Our target market were women baby boomers and our line was 70's themed. We decided to name the store Magnolia, because its a flower and felt that fit the 70's theme well as well as appearing to older women.

What challenges are you looking for in this job?

I think just the overall fact of it being my first "big-girl" job comes with a lot of challenges: -Being away from family -Working everyday from 9-5

When was a time you took a risk and it paid off?

I took a risk moving to New York. There was only two other people from my school who did this program at the same time as me, so I went knowing very few people. And I also didn't know much about the program I was going in to. It was so far away from my family and from the familiarity I had with my school in Ohio. But I think this risk paid off so much. From the people I met, the experiences and opportunities I had, and the skills I gained moving to NY for a year was one of the greatest decisions Ive made in my life thus far.

Name a time you had to use your negotiating skills

I wasn't able to give the customer at Madewell their money back for her purchase because she didnt have her receipt and she didnt have a customer account set up with us. So, I had to negotiate with her in order to come up with a solution that would satisfy her, which ended up being that I put money towards a merchandise credit for her.

Explain a time where you had to use negotiating skill to solve a problem

I worked at a bridal boutique one summer every saturday. I was lucky enough to be a bridal consultant and help brides pick out their dream dress. Our shop was tailored towards plus sized-brides (which not many other shops do this) So we had a lot of plus-sized women come into our store. A lot of the times, whether plus-sized or not brides would come in with a dress style in mind but I knew, from my training and experience, that this would not be the dress that would be the best fit and the perfect dress for their body type or personality. And plus-sized brides really had a hard time with this, because most of the times at other shops the dresses they would want to try on only came in a sample size 2 or 4. so most of them had never tried on dresses before. It was awesome getting to see the reactions of brides getting to try on so many dresses that fit them! However, there was one specific plus-sized dress we carried that seem to work on any plus-sized women, no matter the shape of her body. It was a not very expensive dress, but was beautifully designed, and seemed to make everyone's body look great. So, I took it upon myself to try to get brides in this dress when they weren't finding anything they thought they liked. Its hard to envision a dress on yourself when you just see it on a hanger so this often times was a hard battle to fight with the brides. I have a specific bride in mind that I can think of who really didnt think she liked the dress or wanted to try it on. But I convinced her to try it on really quick. and if she didnt like it we wouldn't even walk out and show her family or tie it all the way. Once she got the dress on she absolutely fell in love with it and didnt want to take it off. It was one of the most rewarding experiences as a bridal consultant, knowing I got to be a part in her big day and find the perfect dress for her was icing on the cake.

What are you looking for in the companies you apply to?

Im looking for companies that believe in growth and treat their employees with respect, have goof ethics, and want their employees to grow within the company. I want to be able to feel like the decisions I'm making in my job are really making a difference in the company and contributing to the company.

Describe a time you had to push an unpopular idea

In one of my advertising classes at FIT we had to come up with a product or service that had not been created yet, and create a whole marketing campaign for them. As a group we decided to each come up with products are services that hadn't been done and shared them with one another. One of the ideas I had was to create a Disney themed airline. When I presented it to my group they were pretty hesitant about it at first. They felt that people didn't really seem to need to fly with Disney if they were already going on a Disney vacation (resort, theme park, etc.). However, I felt that there are so many people who are disney fanatics and know and love everything about Disney and would want to add this to their Disney vacation. Or there are so many families with Children who want to give their child the best vacation or disney experience. And the since the disney airline would have comparable prices to the leading airlines currently, why wouldn't families want to go on it? I slowly convinced them that this idea might work. But the final test came when we had to do surveys on outside people getting their intake on this idea and whether or not they would ride in a disney airline. Not to my surprise, but to the surprise of the group; almost all people said they would definitely ride on a Disney airline. (those who said no, were usually older people with no children). So, once I received back up intake from the people we surveyed my group and I were able to successfully create marketing campaign.

Name a time when you had to analyze data

Last holiday season I was working at Madewell on 5th avenue in NYC. We were receiving loads and loads of replenishment product that we didnt have room for on our floor or in our stockroom. AND, the products that we were receiving were not selling well and therefore the product did not have a high turnover rate and was creating more and more backup in all areas of the store. Therefore, we are told by corporate of a few products that we were able to ship to other stores based on our and their space and sales reports. I was able to work with my managers and look at the information and sales data we were given to help select which items could be sent to what store based on this information.

Tell about a time you failed at something and how you handled it.

Senior year of high school I got the chance to compete on beam, my best event, to try to make it to the state meet. However, before I have even started my routine I knew I was going to fail, and that I would fall and not make the qualifications for state. Now I know that a lot of the outcome that comes with taking risks, is about your attitude, at the time I thought I couldn't do it, so I didn't. I am now more confident in who i am and the decisions i make; knowing that they will make a difference for the better. And if I do fail it offers me a great learning opportunity for the next time.

What are your weaknesses?

Sometimes I am too detail oriented which causes me to spend too much time on one project and not pay attention to the others. I have had trouble in the past saying no to things, and end up having too much on my plate and not being able to juggle it all.

When was a time you had to be part of a group that someone was not pulling their load?

This semester I was given a group project that included being given an apparel item (ours was pullovers) and create a unique factor about it then figure out how and where to source this item from. We could have used direct sourcing or source it from other manufacturers, so we had to research different companies and countries to figure out what would be best for our item and give us a competitive advantage. My group was very hard to get ahold of outside of class and hardly every spoke up about ideas and how to execute the project. In order to try to fix this I would organize a meeting time in class for outside of the class. Then I would ask specific questions to get them talking and thinking and trying to get them to contribute as much as I could. (ex. of question: Here are four countries Im looking into, what can you research to prove or disprove why these companies would or wouldn't work for our product)

How do you respond to an uncooperative group member?

When I first encounter a group member who may not be cooperating I try to ask them questions and get them to share their opinions to try to figure out why they are being uncooperative; whether its them disagreeing with what we are doing, or whether they just don't want to do the project. I Try to value their opinions and what they have to say; constantly trying to get them to contribute. If this doesn't help Id probably sit down with them one and one and figure out what their motives are, or assign them a specific part I know they can complete and exceed in. If it still persists I would schedule a meeting with my teacher and supervisor to try to figure out what more I can do to help the situation.

Tell me about a time you used creativity to solve a problem

Working at BCBG I helped with preparing for their NYFW runway show. Some of our runway shoes came in, they were platforms that laced up all the way to the knee. They came in and were supposed to be all black. But the sole of the shoe was purple. The managers wanted to spray paint or just paint the sole of the shoe black but didnt want to have to worry about getting it on the rest of the shoe, So, we had to try to figure out a way to fix this problem. In our office we had plastic bags that we often put shoes into to keep them separate from the clothes when we messengered them some place. So I suggested that we cover the shoes with the plastic bags and where the hole was, tape around the edge of the sole of the shoe and then spray paint black the sole. I figured this would keep the rest of the shoe clean while being able to easily spray paint the sole. I was able to get the rest of the interns to help me to execute this project successfully.