Yankee Candle Manager Interview Questions
& Process

I would say it was an average time length before I got a call to come in. During the interview the Manager made comments like, "I don't like these questions." "They make us ask these questions I'm sorry." Why are you apologizing? The questions are there for a reason, and if you don't know the reason maybe you don't know what answers you are supposed to be looking for.She also asked what position I was applying for because she wasn't sure what they posted. When I said "Ast. Mgr." she stated it was for 1st or 2nd ast. mgr. I explained I didn't know what either was. She tried to explain saying they do what the store manager does but I heard no difference in the job description. I was unsure if she even knew, despite being with the company over 5 years. She explained her experience with Yankee and how she left and tried to look for another job and came back and thought, "well I'll just stay till I can find something else." Wow that sounded like she really wanted to come back. Again not a positive thing to say to a potential employee. What came next was the deal breaker for me. She asked me about my salary requirements and when I gave her my numbers, her response was, "Well our company doesn't pay well, we are high end." What? Done. I am thankful I was offered another position with another company. Is it legal to ask for your birthdate on paperwork, without an offer to do a background check? In my experience you are offered the job PENDING passing the background check. No offer was made before filling out the paperwork.

I saw the job on Craigslist and a sign in front of the new store. I emailed my resume to the training manager on Sunday. The next Tuesday, the store manager called me for an interview. They told me in the first interview that I had a strong competitor for the position, but I wasn't worried because I have lots of customer service experience. Then I had a second interview with the store manager and the district manager.

I got an email to set up a face-to-face interview, so I called and scheduled it for the next day. I went to the retail store, and the First Assistant Manager took me to a bench outside in the mall. He asked me questions about handling issues with sales associates, sales strategies for retail, my availability (nights, weekends, holidays), the most crucial aspect of this business, why I'm interested in Yankee Candle, and my organizational skills.