Interview-Vineyard Vines

What systems or processes do you use to ensure follow up, planning and scheduling?

I am definitely a write it down on pen and paper type of girl, sticky note it, or type it in your phone notes/or google calendar. I have times for all of that and love to check things off to make sure it is complete. If I have anything I need to follow up on with an employee, I go into detail about what they did and how when I follow up with them.

Have you ever had a stretch assignment from a previous employer? How did you reach it?

Merchandising for Bob's furniture. Definitely out of my element.

What do you take into consideration when building a team?

ACCOUNTABILITY-if your there, you are teachable but if not I can't help you, eagerness to learn and want more, personality..while it is work and we have to be focused and serious, it also needs to be a fun and enjoyable environment.

Have you ever been on a team, where someone did not pull his/her weight? How did it affect the team's performance? What did you do about it?

Absolutely, when people call out it effects the team. Morgan a merchandiser who works extremely slow. It hinders everyones task and I have had to help out in order for them to get the job done in the timely manner that they needed. I personally just pulled the weight and helped out..if not then everyone would have been behind.

Tell me about a time when someone gave you positive feedback. What did you do to receive this?

Actually being recruited for Macy's has been a big pat on the shoulder for me. It let me know someone is always watching so it is important to perform your best at all times. I took it and ran with it. I have continued to excel in every aspect of my job at Macys as the manager continues to speak highly of my work and how well I have drive sales up... I continue to get nothing but positive reinforcement, which helps to keep me motivated and going outside of my already motivated personality.

How do you identify a new hire's ability to provide great service?

Attitude, willingness to learn, job experience obviously is important but more than that...I would like to know their accountability with their last position. Their enthusiasm about a job.

What would a past supervisor tell me your 3 top strengths are?

Communication up top (whether it's working with customers, other employees or management), selling product, and merchandising.

Who's the best person for whom you've worked? The worst? What did you learn from each?

Company: VS None, but Macy's needs a better policy in place for safety protocol.

Tell me what 3 qualities you would want in a supervisor? Which of these do you feel you demonstrate well?

Confidence & assertive..knows their job well and how to handle situations, with such confidence you are able to lead a team to great measures because you will be able to instill the confidence in them and make sure they are confident themselves in what is is they are doing. Compassionate. You have got to care about others as we are all humans and go through many different things in this life time. If someone feels as if they are under appreciated for any reason, then they won't perform good. Open minded.. willing to be one to everything in reason, you never know the change someone else could make.

Tell me about a time when you received constructive feedback with which you disagreed. How did you handle the situation? What did you do with the feedback?

Constructive feedback in which you disagreed. Merchandising free for all. Everyone has an opinion and most aren't afraid to express theirs. So when set a table and some product a certain way, they felt it should be different. I handled it well and listend, but also explained my reasoning, backing up why I had set the table in the way I have

What do you look for in a shopping experience? What is your reaction if you don't get service?

Definitely greeted with kindness and someone who is willing to help, aware of their product and the knowledge.

How important is providing feedback to your employees? How often do you provide feedback? Tell me about your toughest coaching interaction with an employee.

FEEDBACK FEEDBACK FEEDBACK. In all forms good and not so good. I love to give feedback all the time, it keeps good energy and also helps employees to feel like they are actually appreciated whether the feedback was positive or negative. I feel like if you aren't getting any feedback, then you feel as if nobody is even watching you perform and as a manager you are supposed to be watching and seeing how well or not so well others are doing. I have never had anyone that is coachable or at least willing to listen, but for an example if I am gone over the weekend, and shipment didn't get processed as sometimes it doesn't. Then the employees who are already there will put out merchandise..which is good because their idea is were getting it out so it can be sold over the weekend. But when we just stick the product anywhere it doesn't give it a good opportunity to sell if its not a good destination. So I have had to coach through and talk about PLACEMENT OF PRODUCT within the polo shop and kind of explain why jeans are on one side vs. the dressy stuff on the other or explain the layouts of all the various dress shirts.

In what type of environment do you work best?

Fast- paced, high energy, vibes. Also an environment where. I can communicate/interact with others

What is your best or greatest accomplishment at work?

First off being recruited, then the recognition I have gotten thus far with my position and because of that they are willing to help me elevate and eventually get a higher position.

Give an example of when you worked on a team and had an issue with a team member. How did you resolve the issue?

Girl who showed up late at Winston

How do you prioritize your day? Week?

I am huge sticky note, pen to paper, or google calendar person. So I typically use a checklist. I try weekly to make of list of necessities and pick days to get them done based on my schedule and other requirements.

Tell me about a time you were part of a team. What role did you play? Did you achieve your goal? If not, what prevented you from achieving it? If so, what caused you to achieve it? What would your peers say about you? Your supervisor?

I have been a part of a team in several instances. For example long inventory nights can be daunting nd difficult because you have to have a certain completion percentage before you can mark it off. And with the polo shop, I had associates helping me. I made sure to prepare prior to the night by checking all tags and retain things and untucking tags. It allowed things to go smoothly the night of and allowed those who were on the team with me to get the completion percentage correctly and quickly. The prepping caused me to achieve the goal, as well as the consistency and diligently working employees. Hard worker, gets it done, but fun and a joy to be around. Someone that people can trust and will listen to because of the respect they have for me.

Tell me about someone you hired who surprised you with his/her performance once on the job. What did you learn from this experience and how do you utilize the information for future hires?

I have never been in the position to hire. But I have trained employees and one of the main things I do is to make sure I show them the ropes without any shortcuts..it helps them to really understand the business from back to front and allows them to perform well. When its done the right way the first time, allows for them to learn and get things done efficiently. Therefore they have SUCEEDED and really excelled with what I have taught them and how to be successful in the company. I also enjoy all the QUESTIONS and reassure that I need some questions asked so that I know they are learning. So ive learned that its better than those who know the business banditry to show new hires simple/ shortcut ways because they aren't trying to understand what they did wrong way down the road.

How do you balance multiple customers and still provide a high quality experience for all?

I spend quality time with each customer and reassure them to come and ask Me any questions when necessary. And I always break away from each customer to make sure I can go back and check on the in. A decent amount of time.

Give me an example of how you motivate yourself to get daily tasks completed.

I start every day with positive affirmations to impact the mood of the day & remember the reward of accomplishments.

How do you empower and encourage your team to provide great service and meet their goals?

It starts with energy. If you are excited for the day and to crush goals, your team will be as well...they will follow suit. Always look at incentives, go over their goals and make sure they clearly understand what is expected of them.

What will you bring to the store that will make you a top performer/seller?

Knowledge on how business is ran (day in and out of a business..metrics,customer service, team building, how to manage), especially with a specialty brand how to BUILD THE BAG. My confidence, enthusiasm,

Tell me about a time you were held accountable for not making a specific goal. What did you do with this feedback?

Merchandising deadlined at Winston. When you don't get the job donut cuts into payroll, which is obviously a huge no no. So I actually had to stay longer to finish it and they are pretty strict on their payroll. It also hinders the store for opening hours when still working on specific projects. For future projects, I made sure to be well prepared and have everything planned out before my floor set and have at the very least a general idea of what product I had and where it was going.

Would you consider yourself to be involved with your community? How are you involved?

Not with what is going on in the world right now. I definitely try to do my part by helping others and donating. Prior to moving to Lexington I was in college and did more for the community especially with being in many organizations.

Talk to me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer. What was the situation and what did you do?

Polo shop man

Tell me about a past project you completed in which you had an urgent deadline. How did you make sure you met that deadline?

Priooritized merchandising deadlines for events & corporate coming.

Tell me about a time you took initiative over a task that was not necessarily your responsibility.

Several things especially in a big department store. Helping with markdowns for an example or picking. I know if I can help complete the task, overall it helps the store thrive because they are able to effectively marks projects off their list.

How have you helped someone else achieve a goal?

So at VS we had something called Angel of the Month. & there were different ways you could get it..like having good metrics, ads, loyalty, or even upt..& I was one of the top sellers in the store. So we were all about teamwork & one of my goals for the month was to help someone else better achieve their selling goal. So I helped one of the girls at work achieve her goal, by learning how to "build the bag" in order to get her put up which also doubled back & helped her get her ads higher as well.

How do you determine what constitutes top priority in scheduling your time?

The bigger projects and ones with a fat approaching deadline

Tell me about a time you provided exceptional service.

The time a customer was flustered and in a rush.

What do you need from us to keep you committed and engaged in the workplace?

Trust in what I am capable of doing and the team I am helping create. Communication & feedback. Clear expectations, help develop them

What sports, clubs or groups have you been involved in? What did teamwork mean to you in that sport, club or group?

Volleyball, track during school. Clubs & groups: Vice President of Fashion Inc., Fashion director of fashion show. & social events chair, National society of leaders & success, Phi U, Phi Sigma Pi... that is just too name a few. Teamwork has always came easy to me because of my personality & I truly love being around others. It always meant having a good time to get the job done, but doing it in an efficient manner because most of those organizations were in college and there is always deadlines in college. But for me it also meant I got to blossom because in a lot of my organizations, I was in charge in some manner and I truly thrive in leadership positions as well as working with others.

What systems or processes do you employ to help stay in touch with future candidates and maintain networking relationships?

Well I have never been a hiring manager, so I have not had future candidates, but I definitely would use the standard method of contact information (email, phone number), but then also linked is a really good source to find many future professionals.

How would you learn more about our product and brand?

Well definitely being hands on and in the store, any training, and from other knowledgeable associates who are already working. Also partially from previously purchased items.

Tell me about a time when you had to provide immediate constructive feedback to an associate or direct report. How did you handle it and what was the outcome?

Well you never want to have to go back over someones work, especially for time reasons. But I had to work with someone at Winston on how they merchandised a table because we have to send the reports in, and it wasn't correct. They did a free for all with the table but things still weren't with standards and not telling a story with the clothing. So I first asked for them to explain what they did.d Gave positive reinforcement on what was done well, then went in with the negative. Some things they could improve on before we took our photos, and went back in with the positive to assure them that it was a job well done, but just needed some critiquing. It all turned out good and we were able. To get photos turned in on time with accurate merchandising displayed.

Tell me about a time when you recruited a passive individual to join your organization. What steps did you take to encourage them to make the decision?

Well, it wasn't my oganization. But currently at Macy's there is an employee who is struggling financially & needed better opportunities. Many people are open with me even about their personal matters because of the genuine heart I have. So I encourage this employee to start applying for jobs even though they weren't confident in themselves. I gave them the pep talk a few days in a row about motivations and how standing in the same spot won't get you any further than where you are right now. So they eventually had that little push, got a job interview and I also helped walked them through being professional when speaking with their potential employer. So really I gave them my advice and wisdom on how to go after what it is you want and now they landed the job and are on their way to being more financially stable, which ultimately is going to help them.

Tell me about a time where you felt you had to take a risk, stand on your own, or go against the grain? What was the outcome?

When I. had to manage Winston employees at a furniture store. never merchandised furniture but t was a successful week.

Give me a specific example of when you solved a problem for a disgruntled customer.

When the power was out and we had dim lighting at Macys, we had several customers who were upset because it was difficult to see. So through all of the complaining and fustration I was able to help them find what they were looking for and take it to the light to confirm the outfit was the idea they had in mind and still make the sale and get them what it was they wanted.

Tell me about a time you had to complete a task in what you considered a very short time frame. What were you able to deliver?

With merchandising and as a perfetionist, you always feel like its a short time frame... but I do what I know best, plan my floor sets, I prioritize my work, and still deliver impeccable work set to high standards.

Tell me about a time when you had to make an important decision at work without all the information.

at the beginning of my macys career. when I set the floor for polo. no directive, no standards. no answers. turned out to be a good outcome based on my knowledge of merchandising

How does your current or past supervisor measure your performance?

based on the amount of accounts I had at Winston. my sales (ads,upt,overall sales) and yearly evaluation, just sitting back and observing and seeing how well the shop looks or is doing