Navy Exchange Interview Questions
& Process

It was a pretty easy and fast interview. I met with the managers first and then HR. The whole thing took about half an hour. It might be different depending on the place and how big it is. Dress sharp!

This was a terrible interview process. My experience is in corporations and I've conducted interviews, and I would never just read off a paper without engaging in conversation. The interviewer read me two pages of questions without acknowledging my answers. Earlier, while waiting for her boss, I attempted small talk about where my husband and I moved from. She asked if I got married the previous year. I said yes and mentioned we recently had a baby. She responded, 'Wow, you guys move fast,' without smiling, making me feel judged for having a baby so soon. I found it odd for someone in HR to lack people skills. Expect many situational questions. I felt strange leaving the interview despite answering their questions well. The next day, I got an email saying they were reposting the position to broaden the candidate pool and wouldn't decide until more interviews. I found this strange to receive—it felt like they were looking for someone else but not explicitly rejecting me. While I don't mind not getting the position, as I was considering a career step back to explore HR, I had an issue with their process.

The interviewer asked the usual questions, like why I picked this specific exchange over other retail stores (hint: saying you're broke and have a cat to feed isn't a good answer). They also asked about my work ethic, my past experience, and what I could contribute to the team. Since it was a seasonal job at the time, it was pretty much an immediate hire, with questions about my start date and when to come for training. Nothing too unusual about the process.

It was short and sweet, not too complicated. Mostly asked for yes or no answers, but threw in a few scenarios about customer service. They wanted to know how I'd handle hypothetical customer complaints that might pop up during the day to keep the customer happy and coming back. Also asked a bit about teamwork and attendance.