Banana Republic Sales Associate Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Jun 2011 in Friendswood, TX (took 1 week)

I was recruited by Gap and applied to work at The Gap on-line but never received a call back. After checking in at the store. The manager asked that I be patient and if she calls me, I'll know that I cleared the application process. However, she never called because they apparently decided not to hire according to their budget, the sales and the recent remodeling. I did, however, receive an e-mail from Gap Inc's system about Banana Republic's recruiting within the same mall I'd applied for Gap employment. I'd forgotten about the submission, which was very simple since all I needed to do was take another personality test and answer questions about my Government (welfare, veteran, disabled, etc) status. I believe it'd been about 2 weeks since I submitted the app when I received a call back. The first question the assistant manager asked is whether i was seeking seasonal or permanent employment. It was later explained that they do not hire summer seasonal employees. Whew! Glad I'd passed that screening. I wasn't expecting a group interview; the AM made it seem as though they'd taken a particular interest in interviewing me personally. Nevertheless, reading and working through the questions on this site thoroughly prepared me for the interview. I wrote down answers to the questions that I saw on the site and was very prepared because I'd processed the answers and could fluidly explain my answer. I was smoothest speaking interviewee. However, I was also the most overdressed. They want you to look sleek but not stuffy. They definitely appreciated my professionalism but, recommend that employees fit into one of the rooms in the store and dress in season, wear no hosiery, flip flops, wild hair colors and other than that the dress code is quite flexible. The Manager was dressed to the T from fingernails to earrings, she was very well accessorized and energized. She had a great personality and was looking for an employee that could complement that but, ofcourse not take her place as company cheerleader. She'e be hard to top anyway. They value maturity and a few people in the group seemed to lack that. BR has mature clientele and they seek mature, helpful and attentive employees. The manager also seemed to value personality and light-heartedness. "We're not saving lives here guys; we're selling clothes. So, we should be able to have fun and lighten up a bit!" Overall, the group interview went well and I feel very confident about receiving a call back. The interview took place on a Thursday and the Manager promised to call us by Monday to schedule a second interview, although Monday's a federal holiday. Ofcourse, the mall is open.