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      Merchandising Strategy Manager Interview

      Oct 11, 2023
      Anonymous Interview Candidate
      Chicago, IL
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Grainger (Chicago, IL) in Aug 2023

      Interview

      Recruiter came off somewhat condescending. Not sure if she was having a really bad day or what her deal was. I have had some "meh" interviews before, but this was the worst experience I've ever had. I don't need to be friends with the recruiter but I expect there to be basic, respectful dialogue. Multiple times she indicated (either verbally or with her tone) that my answers were not cutting it for her, but rather than proceed and politely finish the interview as quickly as possible (it was clear she wasn't going to pass me to the next round anyway), she chose to take what felt like passive aggressive jabs throughout the call. 1) At one point she asked me to re-answer a question and provide more specific details -- she could have asked clarifying follow-up questions, but instead she chose "try that again, and this time..." which may have been intended to be a "gift," but came off as belittling and did not set me up to perform well in the rest of the interview (remember this is a phone screening for a very mid-level job, not a stress-test for an executive role!) 2) At some point in the early part of the interview I mentioned I am seeking a new job because I want to be part of an organization where there are growth opportunities. At the end of the interview, she asked why I was seeking a new role "besides growth opportunity"...not sure what she was getting at with that one. Are career aspirations not enough of a reason to be looking for a new job? 3) When I asked about the hybrid work set-up, she said it was 3 days in office and "don't expect that to change," in a very stern tone. I didn't allude to having any preference around remote vs. hybrid vs. in-office, so I'm not sure why she said it as though I had asked for some kind of special arrangement. 4) I have a career pivot on my resume where I changed from sales to merchandising. She asked how I made that pivot, which is a reasonable question to ask, but was done in a tone that implied I had somehow bamboozled my current employer into hiring me for a job I wasn't qualified for. Lastly, this is less about the recruiter and more about the hiring process in general: At the very end of the interview, I asked which office the manager for this role would is based out of (Lake Forest or Chicago), because co-locating with my manager is something that is important to me. She told me she cannot disclose where the manager sits because she doesn't know what category they are actually hiring for...which means the entire interview was some kind of generalized screening interview and not designed to fill a specific role. Which would just be nice to know up-front, and also says a lot about their hiring practices if they have recruiters screening people for any random team/role within the Merchandising org.

      Interview questions [2]

      Question 1

      Tell me about a time you used data to make a recommendation or decision
      Answer question

      Question 2

      Tell me about a time you had to learn something new and how you did it
      Answer question