Visual Merchandiser interview questions and answers
This Visual Merchandiser interview profile brings together a snapshot of what to look for in candidates with a balanced sample of suitable interview questions.
Visual Merchandiser Interview Questions
The goal of your interviews with potential Visual Merchandisers is to evaluate their creativity, resourcefulness, and overall alignment with your brand. The most promising candidates will turn up for your interview with a portfolio and personal style that reflects your target audience. Whether you are a fashion, interiors, or outdoor brand, you’ll want to see that your candidates understand your particular demographic.
Because hands-on experience is critical for this role, it’s a good idea to incorporate a practical skills test into your interview. Some hiring managers take their candidates for a tour of the store and ask them to comment on their current visual merchandising. Others take it a step further and ask candidates to style a mannequin or redress a floor bay under a certain time limit.
Use the verbal portion of the interview to evaluate their knowledge of the industry, their ability to work with a team, their ability to take feedback, and their overall effectiveness in this role. Since this is a creative profession, they should also be able to talk about other visual merchandising work that inspires them, current trends in your industry, and the signature aspects of their approach to visual merchandising. As always, the best candidates will have smart, spontaneous questions to ask, in addition to prepared questions that demonstrate their knowledge of your company.
Operational and Situational questions
- Discuss the difference between styling and dressing the store.
- Describe a project that best demonstrates your creativity and ability to think outside the box.
- Has there ever been a time when you didn’t have the resources to complete your project? How did you handle it?
- What strategies for incorporating special promotions or pricing have been effective for you?
- How have you maximized the use of your visual merchandising budget?
- List some brands that inspire your work, and talk about why they inspire you.
- How do you make current trends approachable to customers?
- What do you know about our customer base?
- What are your current bestsellers?
- Who is on your visual team and what are their respective responsibilities?
- How have you worked together with your team towards a goal?
- How do you connect sales and forecasting reports with your work?
- Have you ever been asked to make major changes to a store display? How did you respond?