One of the largest chains of department stores in the country, JCPenney has plenty of jobs to offer to sales enthusiasts, providing employment opportunities for beginner and experienced professionals. Moreover, the promotion opportunities are generous as well, the company having a good reputation for investing in its employees.
Today we will offer you some tips and guidelines on how to get ready for the JCPenney interview, so you can prepare better and get the selling position you want in your favorite store.
How difficult is the Recruitment Process?
People who want a career at JCPenney should know they will face significant competition and that the hiring process is not easy. For instance, the JCPenney interview questions for an in-store position will put the aspiring candidate in front of some interesting challenges. The job requires plenty of people skills, charisma, excellent problem-solving skills, social skills, and more – and they will make important topics during your interview.
Use the STAR Interview Response Technique
If you intend to work in a store, you will have to deal with many people on a daily basis. For this reason, at JCPenney you should expect questions along the lines of “What do you do if a customer steals an item” or “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer/person and how you managed the situation.”
Through such inquiries – known as competency-focused questions – your employer wants to know how you would react in certain stressful, problematic, or ambiguous situations. You should use the STAR technique to understand yourself better first and then answer your employer in an honest and mindful manner.
This is how the STAR technique works:
- S – Situation – describe a situation similar to that proposed by your employer where you had to face a challenge, make a decision, or handle a problem; be as specific as possible and offer examples from college, past projects, volunteering experiences, previous job etc.;
- T – Task – after you presented the situation, describe what responsibility you had in that particular situation (maybe you had to supervise a group project, respect a deadline, manage a conflict, reach a target etc.);
- A – Action – now it is the time to describe what you did, how you reacted, what steps you took to solve the situation and meet the desired results; speak of your thought processes, inferences, emotions, and the course of action you engaged in;
- R – Result – present and explain the outcomes of your actions, emphasizing on what you have learned from the experience and what you accomplished.
You can apply the STAR method to almost all JCPenney interview questions that address your professional and social competencies. The important aspect to remember at this point is to be honest with yourself and your employer. There is no shame in admitting your emotions overwhelmed you in the face of a turbulent customer, but it is equally important to clarify what steps you took in order to manage your emotions better in the future.
Sell Yourself the Best You Can
If you are a department store enthusiast, it is normal to be good at sales or want to become excellent in this department. From this point of view, you should put yourself into your employer’s shoes: how can you hire somebody for JCPenney to sell for JCPenney if that person cannot sell herself.
From this perspective, “selling yourself,” means anticipating the interview questions and being mentally ready to face all challenges the interviewer may throw at you. Here are some of the most likely topics to arise in your interview:
- Key sales principles and practices;
- Your take on customer service – remember that JCPenney’s Golden Rule is to treat customers just the way you want to be treated; for this company especially, 5-stars customer service is of utmost importance; we also recommend you to apply for in-store positions and jobs requiring social interactions only if you are ready and willing to rise to the company’s standards;
- Other competency-based questions inquiring into your negotiation and presentation skills, persuasion, adaptability;
Prove your achievements
Good sales people are proud with their achievements and keep close tabs on the projects they worked for with passion. Avoid being careless and presenting your future employer with confidential data about yourself, your previous employer, or the jobs you did before. However, if you have proof of some achievements that people have public access to, do not forget to mention them as well.
If you held a store position before, speak about targets, side-projects you implemented, personal ideas that eventually took off – if there is a paper or an online trail for them do not be shy in showing what you can do for your future employer.
Have Your Questions Ready
Many people make the mistake of avoiding asking their future employers mindful and smart questions. If you do ask the proper questions, you will show your interviewer a genuine interest in the company, your role, and your professional future.
Moreover, you will demonstrate you paid attention during the interview, you processed the information, and you are willing to ask for more details in order to offer your best (just like any good sales person would). Since we are talking about JCPenney, you can ask them specific questions about their sales force, your options of negotiating deals with clients, your chances for promotions, their targets, and so on.
Finish the Interview on a Positive Note
If you feel you answered all the JCPenney interview questions well and that the interviewer seems happy with the meeting do not be afraid to close the deal. State your willingness to answer more questions or send documents in case they need them; write a short thank-you note to the interviewer to express your gratitude for the opportunity (the email should sound enthusiastic, but not fake or forced); ask about the next steps of the interviewing process etc.
Final Thoughts
You surely employed all the necessary techniques to become a standout job applicant. Interviews at JCPenney are not easy feat but with self-confidence, skills, determination, and a genuine enthusiasm for sales and the department store industry, you will land the job for you in no time! Just remember to do your research well and to treat the interview and the hiring process with mindfulness, intelligence, and creativity.
This is a sponsored article.