Kay Jewelers Sales Associate Interview Questions
& Process

So I went to this Kay Jewelers at the mall, and honestly, it was a mess. I got there early, like 10 minutes before, and they made me wait by the fancy rings. Nobody came for like 25 minutes. Then some guy showed up, not the manager, and told me to move to the back. I was waiting some more, and the place was dirty, like dust and stuff everywhere. After about 40 minutes, a lady who said she wasn't the manager came, apologized a bit, and took me to the back. She said the manager wasn't coming, which I found out later wasn't true. She kept asking how many jewelry pieces I sold, and I told her my old job didn't track that, but I was good at sales. She didn't seem impressed and kept asking about how much I sold. It felt like an interrogation, not an interview, really focused on sales numbers. When I asked about learning more and getting certifications, she got weird and said it was only part-time and I'd need to be full-time for more training. She also mentioned I'd be replacing someone who had health issues, which felt really wrong. I said I wanted to grow my career, and she said jobs are hard to find if you're picky. When I said I had other options, she just said 'we'll see.' When I asked how to proceed, she said she'd give my info to the manager for a background check and they'd call me. She didn't even get the info needed for a background check, so I left feeling pretty bad about wasting my time. I was sure I wouldn't hear back. I tried calling the manager later for info, but she just told me to wait for the background check. Frustrated, I applied at the store across the hall, which is owned by the same company. I got hired right away. Turns out, the lady I talked to at Kay was actually the manager, and she lied. The lady I would have replaced was being bullied by her. She also uses bad sales tactics, not following company rules, and even sent someone to distract a customer I was with. She didn't want to hire me at first, but then saw me leaving and called me right after I got hired across the hall, asking if I filled out the criminal report for them, which I did, but for the other store.

You'll have an interview with the store manager and then a second interview with the assistant manager. Before you can start, you have to complete a background check, which usually takes a few weeks. Sometimes there's a final interview with the district manager, but it really depends on the position.

I got a call about 5 days after applying for the Sales Associate position. Then I had a single in-person interview at the store. The manager was asking some really weird and possibly illegal questions about race, religion, and age. During the interview, the manager had me selling a pair of earrings, even though I told her I had no experience in jewelry. The interview was in the back of the store near the wedding rings, which was super distracting because I could hear everything. The manager even told me to lower my voice, but I'm hard of hearing and it's difficult. Another employee also drilled me with questions and said my previous sales methods weren't right. The manager also asked if I was Jewish after I said I couldn't work Saturdays for religious reasons, and then asked where I was 'really from'. It was a HORRIBLE, DIFFICULT interview.