21 Retail Manager Interview
Questions & Answers

Retail Manager Job Description

Retail Manager Job Brief:

Retail Managers carry a large amount of responsibility and are required to manage the store, manage the staff, increase retail store sales, manage and maintain stock levels and maintain consistently high customer service standards. As a Retail Manager you will need to provide evidence-based responses at the interview of where you can work under pressure, manage and lead your team towards company objectives, conduct appraisals of staff, manage employee under-performance issues, and also respond successfully to the day-to-day issues and problems that will inevitably arise in the retail industry.

Retail Manager Assessable Key Skills, Qualities & Attributes:

To successfully pass the Retail Manager interview, you will need to prove to the interview panel you have the following set of skills, qualities and attributes:

• MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES – Retail Managers are required to both manage and lead their staff in their work towards providing outstanding customer service to all people who visit the retail outlet/store.
• HIRING AND RETENTION OF STAFF – Retail retention figures are generally quite low, which means there can be a high turnover of staff. It will be your job as Retail Manager to hire, recruit and retain quality staff to enable you to focus more on the company goals, objectives and also increasing sales in store.
• EMPLOYEE APPRAISALS – The ability to conduct appraisals of employees under your control is also another key aspect of the Retail Manager role. You will need to spend time with your staff, praising them for the good work they do, and also identifying ways in which they can improve their performance towards meeting store targets and goals.
• PROBLEM SOLVING AND WORKING UNDER PRESSURE – As a Retail Manager you will undoubtedly have to work under pressure regularly and also solve complex problems as and when they arise. During the Retail Manager interview, be prepared for questions such as “When have you dealt with a difficult problem whilst at work?” You could also be asked hypothetical interview questions, such as: “What would you do if two members of staff called in sick on a Saturday morning, 30-minutes before the store opened?” Make sure you are fully prepared for your interview by downloading a copy of our Retail Manager Interview Questions and Answers guide!
• SUPPORTING THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM – Retail Managers are required to report directly to the Senior Management Team and also the Regional Manager. You will most likely be given sales targets to reach and also maintain high customer service standards.