Foot Locker is one of those companies you do not hear about often. Yet, step by step and quietly, they are making their way to the very pinnacle of the retail world. Currently employing over 30,000 people, and with strong presence in both Americas and Eurasia, the company keeps growing. Just as it is the case with almost any similar retail giant, Foot Locker is almost always hiring new people, for both full time and part time positions (roughly 50% of all employees at Foot Locker work part time, most of them are students). If you also hope to get the job in one of their retail stores, you will have to pass a face to face interview, which is often a mix of group and one on one interview.

The interview isn’t particularly difficult, but that doesn’t mean getting a job with Foot Locker is easy. If you answer their questions with silence, or say something outright stupid, they simply won’t hire you. Hence it makes sense preparing for the questions. In this article we will look at 13 most common questions they ask at Foot Locker, when hiring new sales associates and people for other common in-store positions. Of course, you may not get all of them, and may get some other questions, but I believe getting ready for the thirteen on my list is a good foundation stone of your success in this interview. Let’s progress to the questions!

 

Why do you want to work at Foot Locker?

A typical start, unless they start with “Tell me about yourself” question. I suggest you to avoid phrases and cliches, such as Foot Locker is the best, or that you love the company for their commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. First of all store manager care little about such things, and secondly, most of these proclamations are just empty promises, claims they simply have to make in 21st century, but will never meet.

Focus on two other things instead. One: What you want to gain from the job. Two: Why you are a great match for the job. You can say that you have an excellent salesman in you, enjoy talking to people, convincing them to make a purchase. And of course you are a big fan of sneakers (you can wear a pair you bought at Foot Locker to the interview!), hence you see it as a great combination–selling what you like, or working with a type of merchandise you like.

You can also point out fitting work schedule (especially if you apply for a part time position), good location of the store, employee benefits, or anything else that caught your eye on the job description. At the end of the day, your goal is to convince them that they are your first choice, and you aren’t applying for jobs at random.

 

What do sneakers mean to you?

Feel free to unchain your creativity when it comes to questions like this. Of course, you can say that we all need to wear some shoes, so why not wearing things that look good and are comfortable, such as the sneakers they sell at Foot Locker? Or that you’ve been wearing sneakers for ages and cannot imagine wearing any other shoes, or selling any other merchandise, since you love sneakers, and cannot sell something you would not personally wear.

You can take this one step further, however, explaining how, in your opinion, sneakers tell a story about our personality, who we are, what we believe into, the life we live (or dream to live). At the end of the day, Foot Locker sells more than just shoes to their customers--it sells, dreams, hopes, stories. That’s what sneakers mean to you, and you cannot wait to start working with some in the store of the best sneakers retailer in the US…

What is your availability? What hours can you work at Foot Locker?

As I’ve already said, roughly half of the employees work part-time at Foot Locker, though this depends a bit on the location of the store. For the store manager it is important to know when they can count on you, and whether it fits their needs. What I suggest you to do is to come up with a clear schedule for an entire week, and making sure you can log at least 20 hours/week.

The key to success is being available during the prime time–afternoons, evenings, weekends. That’s when majority of people do their shopping and waste time in shopping malls, and when Foot Locker needs more pairs of hands in the store. Of course, if you are applying for a full time job, you should give it a high priority, and basically be available anytime during the opening hours of the store (this doesn’t mean you will work all the time :)).

 

The store is full of customers and several people demand your attention at once. How will you react?

Places like Foot Locker can get pretty busy at times. The key is to ensure the store manager that you do not mind working in a fast-paced environment, and do not start to panic once three customer demand your attention and look unhappy to wait.

You can say that in such a case you will focus on one customer at a time, but you will try your best to take care of their request as quickly as possible. Taking it one step further, you will also apologize to each customer briefly, saying the store is busy and you are sorry they had to wait longer than usually. Last but not least, you can emphasize that you do not expect to spend half of your time in the store, playing with your smartphone. On the contrary, you know that Foot Locker sells great sneakers and it is a popular place, and expect to have your hands full most of the time. And you are looking forward to it!

 

Tell us about a time you had a conflict with a colleague.

At the end of the day we are people. We have better and worse days, and conflicts belong to every workplace. You should not say that you have never had a conflict with anyone. Such an attitude won’t land you a job. On the contrary, speak openly about a conflict you had with someone. It is even better if you pick a conflict when the other conflict party was right. On such an example you can show that you do not struggle admitting making a mistake, and can get over your ego.

You can also say that you try to pay attention to the needs and feelings of your teammates, which helps you maintain good relationships with them. Even when we try our best though, conflicts will sometimes happen, simply because they belong to human relationships and to every workplace.

 

A customer demands a discount on some sneakers. What will you do?

Here is the trick of the retail industry: officially, all products are already discounted. You know it for sure first hand–the original price on the box of sneakers is crossed and you see a new, better price. Back in the day we had discounts in certain season of the year. Now the sale is going on non-stop. Of course, in reality there isn’t any discount. It is just a marketing trick, and the shoes never cost as much as the initial label indicates (or sometimes they do for 24 hours, just to make sure everything is “legal”).

What I try to point out here is that Foot Locker isn’t into offering additional discounts to customers. And that’s exactly what you should say here: You won’t offer any other discount. On the contrary, you will explain to the customer that the product is already sold for a discount price (not true but they do not know it), and they are getting a great bargain anyway. You can emphasize again that you will try your best to close the deal, since when everything is said and done that’s your main job.

 

Other questions you may face in your interview with Foot Locker

 

Final words

Getting a job with Foot Locker isn’t rocket science, but you can still fall short, should you underestimate your preparation. Visit the store in advance, get familiar with the place, buy some sneakers. Learn something about the company (you can check their social media profiles for example), and prepare for the questions you may face (you’re already doing it reading this post:)). I hope you will succeed, and wish you best of luck!

Matthew

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Matthew Chulaw
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