The interview was basic, the store manager just read from the prepared sheet. They were interested in filling in the blanks than finding out about me. Very little follow up

interviews are very informal and laid back. Most questions are pertaining to basic merchandising / retail processes and how you handle employees. There is no real structured interview that they use and majority of the store managers will ask you simple questions leaving more in depth questions to a regional. Regionals will usually re ask the questions the store manager ask along with where do you see yourself in a few years, what do you want out of the company, previous experience. They almost always require assistants to now be relocatable which is discussed in the interview but will not usually be able to answer questions such as how much they will pay you or pay you to move which never covers your full moving expenses.

My store manager had hinted at me for some time that he thought I might make for a strong assistant manager, if I was interested. After a week or so of deliberation, I agreed that I would interview with both him and our regional manager, separately. The interview with my store manager was quite brief. He asked me about my background, education, future goals, etc. He then suggested that when I interview with the regional manager, I present a cover letter and resume, and be fully prepared to talk about what I could bring to the company through this promotion. I prepared my documents and interviewed successfully with our regional leader, though in all honesty she was hesitant, at least on the surface, to hire me because my degree is entirely unrelated to the fields of retail or agriculture. Everything I know about those two fields I have learned simply by listening to customers, working with the products, and putting in lots of time with as much patience as I could muster. In the end, she decided to offer the job to me, and I accepted it. Immediately, I was sent out on the road to help remodel and set up a number of stores to aid in the company's insatiable expansion in the Midwest.