Sample Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position (with Answers)

This post provides exhaustive interview questions for retail sales assistant manager position to get you familiar with the kind of questions you will be asked, and to prepare your responses before the interview day.

To improve your chances of doing well at an interview and getting hired as a retail sales assistant manager is to prepare effectively for the interview questions.  

What do Interviewers look for in a Retail Sales Assistant Manager?

When hiring for the retail sales assistant manager position, interviewers look for people who can interact comfortably with others, have good communication skills, have a professional demeanor, and have the ability to work well under pressure.

11 Most Common Retail Sales Assistant Manager Interview Questions and Answers

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions (and suggested answers) at a retail sales assistant manager job interview:

1. Why are you looking to change your career?

I’m looking to change my career because I want to focus on the sales aspect of the retail industry.

2. What do you know about our company?

I have read your company’s mission and vision statement, and I believe our values are compatible. I am excited to be part of an organization that is committed to helping me grow in my career.

3. What makes you want to work for us?

I am interested in working for your company because I want to focus on the sales aspect of the retail industry, and I believe it will be beneficial in assisting with my career growth.

Your mission, vision, and values are also consistent with my personal goals and those of my family.

4. What’s your biggest weakness?

I always go well above what is expected from me or any job that is presented to me.

5. Describe yourself.

I’m a hardworking team player who seeks to always better herself and help others do the same. I’m willing to learn quickly and get things done without hesitation.

6. Why should we hire you?

I think you should hire me because I have a great attitude toward learning new things, as well as working with people to assist them in achieving their personal goals.

I also enjoy helping people achieve their company’s goals and believe that will help me to grow my customer service skills and sales ability over time.

I’m the type of person that’s willing to learn quickly and seek out opportunities in order to be the best retail sales assistant manager possible for your company.

More Common Retail Sales Assistant Manager Interview Questions and Answers

7. What has been your greatest achievement?

I’ve had a lot of achievements throughout my lifetime. Some of my greatest achievements were being a cheerleader for the University of Georgia, obtaining a Master’s degree in accounting, and helping a client get his company back on track after it went through some difficult times.

8. Why is your previous experience important to this position?

I believe that my previous experience in accounting will be beneficial because I’m well-versed in the subject and have been able to help several clients with their accounting needs by providing efficient advice and showing them weeded insight into their financial statements.

9. How have these skills helped you in your previous jobs?

My consistent and persistent dedication has helped me obtain higher-paying positions than I expected.

I believe that the skills I obtained through my education as well as my previous experience will help me to become a more successful retail sales assistant manager.

10. How would you describe yourself as a leader?

I’m very good at listening, being patient and ensuring that everyone’s needs are met. In other words, I am able to effectively lead a work team without ever giving them any unnecessary pressure.

11. Why would you be a successful retail sales assistant manager here?

I believe I would be successful in this position here because I feel that I’m very adaptable and hardworking, and my ability to gain the trust of customers will help me to develop solid client relationships.

More Sample Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

Here are additional sample questions you will likely be asked in a retail sales assistant manager interview:

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. Tell me about a time in which you were in a disagreement with your manager?

2. Tell me about how you feel when you are experiencing any kind of conflict?

3. Tell me about a time when you had to give an unsatisfactory performance?

4. How do you deal with people who are difficult to work with?

5. What was the most challenging thing about your previous job?

Sample Case Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What are your thoughts on the company’s current position in its industry?

2. How would you rate your customer-service skills?

3. What is your opinion about the company’s strengths and weaknesses as it relates to our competitors?

4. What do you know about our company’s latest products or services and how will they impact the market at large?  

5. What is your opinion of social media as a means of promotion, and what do you think it will look like in the future?

Sample Competency Based Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager

1. Tell me about a situation where you had to convince your manager that you were right in what you were doing.

2. Talk about your last project and how it went.

3. Talk about the challenges of retail sales assistant manager in a multi-brand environment.

4. Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem that defied all conventional wisdom.

5. Tell me about an event or situation when you had to find new solutions to an existing problem.

Sample Problem-solving Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager

1. What is the most difficult situation you have ever had to solve?

2. How did you work through the problem to a solution?

3. What strategies do you use to deal with customer complaints?

4. Give an example of when your thinking was clear and focused in high-pressure circumstances how did it affect your performance?

5. Describe a particular time in which you dealt effectively with a difficult person or angry customer in a calm manner.

Sample Situational Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What are the most difficult areas of leadership in your current function?

2. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a situation in your work environment that would have impacted on other people and yourself. How did you handle that?

3. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received at work?

4. What do you expect from someone who will be working in this role, and what would they need to demonstrate to show that they have those skills and experience?

5. Describe any leadership attributes or qualities which are especially important for someone like you doing this job, please include examples of times when these skills were needed.

Sample Communication Skills Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What is your communication strategy and what collateral material do you produce?

2. How do you prioritize your tasks? Do you use a task list or schedule to organize them accordingly?

3. What are the most common solutions to problems that arise in the execution of tasks (or for other issues)?

4. What would you do if an employee is not doing their job properly, but is not ready to accept additional training on how they can improve their performance?

5. Who are your favorite co-worker and why?

Sample Interpersonal Skills Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. How would you handle an angry customer?
2. What do you think is the most challenging part of your job?
3. What is a good time management tool for retail sales assistant managers?
4. How would you deal with a difficult situation where there are limited resources available to the store manager?
5. What changes would you make to the current management style?

Sample Company Culture Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What are our core values?

2. What does the company say about diversity?

3. How do we deal with conflict in the workplace?

4. What are our employees paid, per hour? And what is your salary range?

5. How many hours a week do you typically work at this point in your career/position/experience?”

Sample Customer Service Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What were the top three trends that evolved this year in retail sales?

2. Identify the new technology trend you would like to implement next year for your retail store and explain why you feel it is important for your store’s success.

3. How does the standard of customer service change from last year?

4. Which is more important, a customer who comes in and spends money or one who has never walked into your store before?

5. Define “customer loyalty”

Sample Leadership Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. How would you describe your leadership style?

2. What three words describe your leadership approach?

3. Who or what motivates you?

4. What is one positive thing that happens when someone doesn’t follow the rules or expectations?

5. Have you ever made a mistake of judgement recently?

Sample Management Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. Do you have previous experience in management?

2. What are the top 3 qualities you would look for in a retail sales assistant manager?

3. Describe a mistake that was made during your time with retail sales assistant manager.

4. What has been your biggest challenge as a retail sales assistant manager?

5. When did you choose to become a retail sales assistant manager and why this field of work?

Sample Sales Interview Questions for Retail Sales Assistant Manager Position

1. What are your strengths?

2. What can you do to show us a specific example of how that strength is manifested?

3. How do you handle pressure situations?

4. What are your long-term career goals and how would they align with this position?

5. Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer and identify the outcome that came out of it?

Retail Sales Assistant Manager Interview Success Tips

The interview is a key part for the recruitment process for the role of a retail sales assistant manager.

When you go into an interview, you need to make sure that you’re fully prepared and have the right qualities, qualification, and experience that the recruiter/employer is looking for in a retail sales assistant manager.

It’s important to remember that although every company might not be asking you the same questions, what’s important is that you’re confident in your answers.

See below for tips to apply in preparing for and taking your next retail sales assistant manager job interview:

1. Research the company’s culture.

Ask who the company’s founder and CEO is, what their history is, are they a publicly traded company? And how old the company is (how many years have they been in business).

Researching these things can give you a feel for the industry and if it’s one that you would like to join.

2. Practice your speech.

Before the interview, you should have a clear idea of the message you want to get across and what you’re going to say during the interview.

You can practice this in front of your family and friends or at work if you have a job.

You need to be confident that what it is that you’re saying is straight forward and easy to understand.

More Retail Sales Assistant Manager Interview Success Tips

3. Research their website and social media pages.

Read through the company’s website carefully, everything from their mission statement, their blog page, their news page, look at all the product information they have on offer.

Make a list of questions that you can ask your interviewers at the end of the interview.

You should also check out their social media pages and see what they’re posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Knowing this information will allow you to show how interested and engaged you are in this company and how much research you’ve done before the interview itself.

4. Be prepared for a lot of specific questions.

The retail sales assistant manager job involves supervising a team, meeting customers’ needs in their purchases, training and managing new staff, keeping up to date with seasonal products and much more besides.

The interviewers will want to know about these elements of the job. Before the interview you should have a list of questions to ask, have these written down and practise reading out loud.

It’s important that you’re answering the questions in a way that’s direct, concise, and professional.

Using numbers and measurements is also important as this will show that you’re a detail-orientated person.

Conclusion

The retail industry is a great place and there are many opportunities for you to be part of different teams and grow in your career.

When you are taking an interview for a retail sales assistant manager position, the most important thing is to make sure you answer the questions confidently.

This is only possible if you prepared well for the interview by practicing with samples of retail sales assistant manager interview questions provided on this page.