Retail Interview Prep SessionDecember 2017

Sugirtha Stathis, Retail Student Advisor

Agenda

• Retail Recruiting• FRP Interview Schedule• Current Job Listings (Non-OCR)• What to Expect for Non-OCR in the Spring

• Retail Interviews• General Tips from MBACM• Typical Questions with Frameworks

• Resume Walk-Through, Behavioral, Mini Cases• Retail Math• Follow-up Post Interview

• Timeline for Interview Prep• Enterprise Recruiting Resources & Tips• Q&A

MBA Career Management 2

Second Year Panel

Esther LeeAmazon

Retail Leadership Development Program

Virginia PowellGlamsquad

Business Development

Ian StewartNike, Inc.

Corporate Strategy

FRP On-Campus Interview DatesCompany Position FRP Interview

DateRestaurant Brands International MBA Summer Internship 1/8/2018

Amazon Multiple Roles, including Retail Leadership Development Program 1/8/2018, 1/9/2018

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Presidential Management Associate Summer Internship Program 1/10/2018

Wayfair MBA Summer Intern Program – Summer 2018 Edition 1/10/2018

Apple Inc. Apple Retail Corporate - MBA Internships 1/10/2018

Burlington Stores Customer Strategy & Insights MBA Summer Internship 1/11/2018

DICK'S Sporting Goods Strategy & General Management Internship 1/11/2018

CVS Health MBA Intern – Retail Product Innovation & Development 1/26/2018

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Current Retail Job Listings (Non-OCR)Company Position Location Application

Deadline

L'Oreal, Inc. 2018 Finance MBA Summer Internship

Berkeley Heights - NJ, New York - NY 12/8/17

L'Oreal, Inc. 2018 Marketing MBA Summer Internship New York - NY 12/8/17

L'Oreal, Inc. 2018 Operations MBA Summer Internship Clark - NJ 12/8/17

Under Armour Rookie, 2018 Summer League Internship – MBA Baltimore - MD 12/15/17

Rent The Runway 2018 Summer MBA Internship New York - NY 12/15/17

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Finance MBA Summer Internship New York - NY 1/01/18

Nike, Inc. Digital Product Management Intern Beaverton - OR 1/21/18

Nike, Inc. Finance Intern Beaverton - OR 1/21/18

FJ Labs Summer Associate New York - NY 1/26/18

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Timing of Non-OCR Retail Internship Job Listings (2016-2017)

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15

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25

30

August September October November December January February March April May

Retail Conference

NYC Expo

SF Expo

# of

Job

Pos

tings

Tips for Non-OCR / Job Listings

• Apply ASAP – most job board postings are ROLLING

• CareerPath Job Postings are NOT your only options

• Look at company job boards for firms you are interested in and apply directly

• Attend Spring networking events: Retail Conference, NYC Expo, SF Expo

• Search for MBA internships on LinkedIn

• Find contacts (CareerPath, Offer Directory, Spike Community, LinkedIn) and proactively reach out

• Wharton MBA and undergrad alumni

• Wharton classmates who came from companies of interest

• Alumni from your undergraduate institutions and any other affiliations

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Retail Interview Tips

• Do your homework• Research the company/brand, know 2-3 current trends/news stories • Visit stores & websites, talk to sales associates, have an opinion• Pay attention to culture of company

• Demonstrate passion and be humble• Show your understanding of the industry and how it’s changing• Have a compelling authentic story about why company X and the type of role

• Prepare 6-8 accomplishment stories for behavioral interview questions• Retail Skills: Cross-Functional Teamwork, Analytical Skills, Leadership, Creativity• Consider the differences in interview questions by function• Know the 2-3 key takeaways you want the interviewer to remember about you • Make your stories relevant, memorable and concise

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Retail Interview Tips

• Practice• Out loud, in 1Y peer groups, do mock interviews with Career Fellows, 2Ys, advisors• Interview Stream• Look for sample questions in the Retail Club Interview Database, Marketing Club

Interview Database, and CareerPath Resource Library (for Big Tech retail firms)

• Dress for the role (Retail Interview Attire Guide)• Estee Lauder – polished and professional • Nike / URBN / Lilly – brand appropriate • Amazon / Apple – tech industry interview

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Sample Retail Interview Questions

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Category Questions

Career Rationale

Tell me about yourself/Walk me through your resume Why retail/beauty/fashion? Why company X? Why are you interested in X role (e.g. finance, merchandising, marketing,

strategy)? Would you be willing to work in a store on the shop floor? How do you feel about working in X city? Are you open to working internationally? Describe your ideal work environment.

Company/ Industry

When were you introduced to our brand? Have you had a chance to visit a store/website to examine our

product assortment and layout? What observations have you made?

What trends have you seen in the industry / in our category? What retailer do you think is particularly successful? Tell me five retail companies that you think will continue to be successful

in the long-term and why. How do our products compare against our competitors? What ad of ours do you like the most? The least? What do you think of our social media strategy? What have we done well and what can we do better?

Walk Me Through Your Resume / Tell Me About YourselfOption #1: Start (anchor) with the role you want and work backwards

• I am very excited to be here interviewing for a strategy internship at Estee Lauder. As I walk you through my resume, I’ll highlight why I believe I can add value to your team.

• Working backwards, I decided to get my MBA at Wharton because of the retail coursework and strong connections to the retail industry through the Baker Center.

• Prior to Wharton, I was a consultant at Bain where I worked with several retail clients. While I loved working with clients and helping meet their needs, I came to realize that I wanted to be part of the exciting changes happening in retail, particularly as I learned more about how e-commerce and mobile were influencing consumer behavior.

Option #2: Start by stating themes relevant to the company and work backwards or forwards

• As I go through my resume, I want to highlight a few themes that have driven decisions I have made about my career: ability to work with customers and to be part of diverse teams.

• Prior to coming to Wharton, I was a consultant at Bain, in this role I most enjoyed working closely with our retail clients to advise them on strategic decisions. Similar to Estee Lauder, at Bain, we always put our clients first and were frequently collaborating cross-functionally across the organizations we worked with.

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Demo

• Why retail?

• Why Company X?

• Have you had a chance to visit a store // our website to examine our product assortment and layout? What observations have you made?

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Sample Behavioral Interview QuestionsCategory Questions

Influence/ Communication

• Tell me about a time when you were successful at changing someone’s mind

Ambiguity • Tell me about a time you were part of a team that had no leader or an ambiguous leadership structure

Cross-functionalTeamwork

• Tell me about a time you had to work cross-functionally to drive an important result

• Tell me about a time you had a conflict or disagreed with someone

Problem Solving/Analytics

• Tell me about a time when you had to analyze a complex set of data/information and make a strategic recommendation

• Tell me about a time when you had to work with a limited amount of data

• Tell me about a time you failed

Leadership • Tell me which three characteristics you think make a great leader and then tell me about a time when you exhibited all three

Creativity • Tell me about a time when creative thinking helped you generate ideas for improving the business

• Tell me about a time you were the most innovative

STAR Framework for Behavioral QuestionsAssumption: Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior

“Tell me about a time that you…”

Situation• Describe the context of a specific event or situation from your past• Establish big picture and background information• Provide enough detail for interviewer to understand the situation/problem

Task/Action

• Describe the task or goal and the action you took • Be structured in your response (e.g. “there were three main things I did to

solve the problem”)• Make sure your actions illustrate the attribute you are trying to communicate

(e.g. if it is about leadership, show how you have the attributes of a leader –set vision, motivate others, etc)

• Use more “I” than “we” language, even if discussing a group project/effort• Don't tell what you might do, tell what you did

Result

• What happened? Quantify your impact• What did you accomplish? • What did you learn? • How does this experience tie you to this role?

Demo

• Tell me about a time you had to work cross-functionally to drive an important result.

• Tell me about a time when you had to work with a limited amount of data.

Retail Mini Cases: Overview

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Retail mini-cases are NOT the same as a consulting case• Present a plausible solution based on industry or functional knowledge

• Typically 4-6 minutes

Focus on demonstrating:• Problem solving: Structured thinking and creativity

• Knowledge: Industry knowledge / technical skills

• Communication: Collaborative, clear and concise

Types of Questions• Situational / Strategic:

• If we wanted to pursue a new target demographic (e.g. Hispanic women) how should we go about qualifying/quantifying the market?

• What current or recent retail trend do you think is relevant to our brand?

• Creative evaluations: Evaluate an advertising/social media campaign

• Product evaluations: What is your favorite brand and why

Mini Cases: Frameworks & TipsFrameworks for Answering Mini-Cases

• 4Cs Company, Competition, Customer and Consumer• 4Ps Product, Price, Place and Promotion• Consumer Segmentation Process Segment, Target and Positioning• SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Tips• Leverage frameworks – but don’t sound like a robot! • Explain your thought process. Ask questions and/or state assumptions• They are looking to assess: your level of creativity, your ability to “go

with the flow” and your ability to think on your feet• Don’t pick one of their products (they will know more about it than you)

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Note: Case questions for Corporate Strategy positions are typically more similar to Consulting case questions, and should be prepped accordingly. Refer to the MBACM website and Consulting Club for interview resources.

Case Example

• Nike:

Tell me about a current or recent retail trend that you think is relevant to the Nike brand.

• Amazon RLDP:

You are merchandising a product and, based on reviews, you notice that people have not been receiving the product as advertised. How do you respond?

Name of Presenter 18

Retail Math

• Know key terminology and calculation formulas, including:

• Mark Up%, Initial Mark Up%, Average Seasonal Stock, Average Yearly Stock, Turn Over, Sell Thru %, Average Weekly Sell Thru, Gross Margin $, Markdown Rate %

• Sample Questions

• Interviewer provides a small data set and asks you to calculate key metrics like gross margin percentage and return rate

• Interviewer provides some numbers and asks you to calculate the additional % growth in sales necessary to make up for an increase in returns

• Interviewer provides inventory numbers and asks you to calculate how many units we would need to sell to achieve the weekly benchmark sell thru of 15%

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Closing: Thank You and Follow-up

• Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer

• Finish the interview by reiterating your interest in the job

• Thank the interviewer

• Understand next steps in the interview process

• Follow up with a brief email

• Play back a key point you learned from the interviewer about the company or role

• State a specific topic and elaborate on your informed opinion

• Restate your interest in the job

• Update your advocates within the company about your interview and continued interest in the company

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Timeline for Retail Interview Prep

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Set the Stage: 2 months before Until

Interview

Prepare & Practice: One month Until Interview

Polish: 2 weeks before Until

Interview• Research Firm & Industry

• Pay attention to industry trends

• Visit stores / talk with sales associates; form opinions

• Know key news about your target firm(s)

• Focus on You• Develop 2-3 things you

want the interviewer to remember

• Decide on your 6-8 accomplishment stories

• Prepare• Review sample questions (use

question database)• Continue to follow company news

and industry trends (SmartBrief, WWD, BoF, L2)

• Review frameworks for mini-cases and retail math

• Determine competencies shown in each accomplishment story. Put stories into S-A-R framework

• Practice • Why retail / role X / company X• Behavioral, mini-case and retail

math questions • 1Y Peer Groups and 2Y Mocks

• Seek feedback; concentrate on improving development areas (e.g. style, content, non-verbals, ability to connect with interviewer)

• Refine how you tell your stories – body language, tone, word choice

• Prepare questions for interviewer

• Decide what you are going to wear to the interview

Continue Enterprise Networking

Enterprise Recruiting Resources & Tips• MBACM Workshops

• Navigating the Enterprise Job Search [Video / PDF]• Coming in January: Enterprise Lab @ 2401, Pitching an Internship (online),

Pitching to Startups

• Events• Feb 23rd Graduate Retail Conference• March NYC Networking Expo• April San Francisco Expo

• Use FRP “downtime” wisely• Develop / refine your enterprise job search plan• Start / continue networking… be purposeful

• Tips for Success:• Leverage Wharton network: peers, alumni, faculty• Get on firms’ radar early, and aim to build rapport and credibility through initial

conversations• Prepare to be on the ground often (Fridays in NYC)

Name of Presenter 22

Q&A

2017 Internship Offers by Sector

Big Tech43%

eCommerce25%

Beauty9%

Mass/ Dept Store6%

Apparel/ Footwear5%

Off-Price3%

Food/QSR2%

Other/Specialty7%

* Class of 2018 data

Companies That Made Internship Offers in 2017*Data as of August 2017

Apparel / Footwear

Food & Bev General Merch/Dept Stores

eCommerce (Broad Platforms)

Other / Specialty

Harper Wilde LLC

Nike

TOMS Shoes

Rent The Runway

Under Armour

Blue Apron

Dig Inn

Drums Foods

Fresh Direct

GrubHub Seamless

HelloFresh

Sakara Life

Restaurant Brands Int’l

Try the World

Verts Mediterranean Grill

Burlington Stores

Nordstrom

Amazon

The Honest Kitchen

thredUP

Vipshop

Wayfair

Walmart eCommerce

Zola

Apple

DICK’s Sporting Goods

Estee Lauder

Glamsquad

Harry’s

Helix Sleep

Saphyr Pure Linen

Skylar

Tula

Functional Breakdown of Accepted Retail Offers

* Class of 2017 and 2018 data

Product Mgmt/ Development

21%

Consulting/ Strategy

16%

Operations/ Supply Chain

14%General Mgmt/

Leadership Program10%

Product/ Brand

Marketing8%

Business Developme

nt8%

Analytics/ Data

Science5%

Corporate Finance

3%

Other15%

2017 INTERNSHIPS

General Mgmt/ Leadership Program

23%

Product Mgmt/ Development

23%

Operations/ Supply Chain

18%

Product/Brand Marketing

10%

Business Development

10%

Consulting/ Strategy

6%

Corporate Finance

2%

Other8%

2017 FULL-TIME

Note: Product Mgmt/Development and Operations/Supply Chain roles are driven by Amazon

Source of Offers: 2017*Preliminary data as of 6/2/17

Internship

Wharton Job -On Campus Recruiting

29%

Wharton Job -Job Posting

25%

Personal Networking

Connections24%

Other10%

Career Fair7%

Wharton Alumni Contact

3%

MBACM Contact

2%

Wharton Job -On Campus Recruiting

26%

Wharton Job -Job Posting

26%Other17%

Personal Networking

Connections15%

Return to Previous Employer

9%

Wharton Alumni Contact

7%

Full-Time

Note: Does not include Amazon or Apple Retail. “Other” includes students starting a new retail venture

Timing of Retail Internship Offers: Class of 2018*Preliminary data as of 8/2/17

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