Nordstrom Retail Internship Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I applied online and received an e-mail for me to schedule a phone interview. I had the phone interview: basic behavioral questions. I was scheduled for an in-person interview with the store manager for a month later. About 10 days before my interview the HR representative called me to confirm my interview, because the manager at the store wasn't aware of the interview (very professional, right?). About a week before my interview I was called by HR again to see if I could reschedule my interview for another phone one because they wanted to finalize everything that same week. I had my second phone interview two days later. Again, basic questions and a scenario. She asked me for my availability and told me she'd call back within the next five days. I called back after 10 days and was told I didn't get it. Why couldn't they call me and tell me? Overall I felt it was a very unorganized, long process.

Interview Details – First, I applied online and then a few days later received an e-mail inviting me to do a phone interview. A few days later, I completed that and it was basic questions such as "why Nordstrom", "what are your strengths/weaknesses", "what are your goals"... etc. if you do well at at that (they tell you on the spot), they organize a meeting with the HR director of one of the stores you'd be working at. That one was all situational stuff. "How do you deal with an angry customer" "Tell me about a time you didn't reach a goal", "what would you do to ensure your work at Nordstrom is at its best", etc. If you make it past THAT, they organize for you to meet with a store director. That one was much simpler. They just want to know about you in general. Goals, school activities, etc. I think if you make it to meeting with the store director, you're safe.

Negotiation Details – none, they were my first choice for an internship.

Interview Details – I applied online the very first day they posted the internship (Dec. 1). I received an email about a week later asking me to chose a date to have a phone interview. The closest date wasn't until the end of the month but I still went ahead and scheduled it.

On that day, I received a call at the specific time I had picked. The lady was an HR rep and asked me VERY SIMPLE questions such as "Tell me about a time when...". I answered them as honestly as possible. After 10 minutes, she said she wanted to move to the next part of the interview which was in person. Again, she told me it would take place 3 weeks later and allowed me to pick a time that worked for me.

I showed up on the date and met with the HR Manager. She walked me to a conference room and in the room was the Customer Relations Manager, 2 Department Managers, and the Store Manager. I walked in extremely confident and after knowing that I would be interviewing with 5 people at once, my confidence died a little. They were all really friendly and each took turns asking me questions. While I am a college student, I have prior experience to retail management and because this was for an internship, they didn't seem to care too much about prior work experience, but more about your personal character and leadership qualities.

After about 20 minutes of that, the HR manager led me outside the room, where I met the Personal Stylist Manager. She took me on the floor and had me pick out an item to sell to her. It was not that difficult because she was very friendly and assisted me without making me feel dumb. After that, she led me out and told me I'd find out in 3-5 business days whether I was chosen or not.

Interview Details – I applied online and had to take a personality test which is easy to screen through if you follow their values of strong commitment to customer service, being comfortable with the competitive nature of the position, and ability to lead and work inside a team. Next I received a phone call that was fairly easy requesting customer service, leadership, and project management questions. Finally, I was requested to schedule a final interview on site with one of the managers. They did a background test first and contacted 1 or 2 of the people I listed for references. The in-person interview was a very comfortable 1:1, and I had to "sell" the water bottle I brought with me. We then discussed what department I wanted to work in and at the end she casually offered me the position. I graciously thanked her and told her I would give her a solid answer by the end of the week. She was very polite. I would highly recommend applying for the position if you have previous sales experience or are a people person.

Reason for Declining – The nature of the commission-based salary, lack of promotion to Corporate level immediately after college, and the lack of data for average sales an intern would make. I chose something more stable with a clearly defined career path.

Interview Details – I applied online at nordstrom.com, submitted my resume and did an online personality test. A few days later I received an e-mail from HR saying they liked my information and they would like to set up a phone interview. So I had the phone interview a few days later, and she said I had really good answers. Next, we scheduled an in-person interview. I went in and she asked me behavioral questions, if I was competitive, why I would like working in a diverse environment, what made me an asset to the company, etc. I was also sent to the floor to pick an outfit I loved and sell it to her. It was fun, but I was nervous so I don't think I did as well as I could have. She was very friendly and easy to talk to. She let me know I had a good chance of making it, and that she would contact me between 3/13 and 3/19. That time hasn't come yet so I am anxiously waiting my phone call!

Interview Details – I applied online and was prompted to take a personality quiz. The next day I was contacted asking to set up a phone interview. The interview was held later that week and lasted around 20 minutes. They asked a lot of general questions such as "why Nordstroms?" and "how do you feel about teamwork environments?" At the end of the interview the recruiter extended me an offer to partake in the final round of interviews, which were scheduled for a week later. This second interview was a 1:1 situation (I go to school out of state so they let me Skype in). This interview lasted about 45 minutes and the HR woman asked me about different experiences with customers, teamworks, etc. Probably the most stressful part was when I was asked to do a mock sales situation; she asked me to sell her shoes for her 3 y/o and 8 y/o sons who were going to Disney World. All in all the interview was fairly easy.

Negotiation Details – Two days after my final interview I was offered the position and I accepted it. There was no negotiation because they have a relatively set salary for interns.