I applied through university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at NEXT (Leicester, England) in Apr 2016
Interview
I had applied to the Trainee Merchandiser position. After sending my CV, cover letter and going through an online numeracy and situation test I was invited to an assessment and interview day at their head office in Leicester. The day included a tour of the campus, lunch with a chance to talk to current trainees about their experience. After I carried out a group assessment with other applicants. This consisted of managing a new menswear store launch and deciding as a group what product categories should be included. Following from this I had a one to one interview in which I was assessed on my market and competitor knowledge as well as further numeracy questions. The process was very straightforward although I felt put on the spot and under a lot of pressure when trying to figure out numerical question in silence in front of someone. Overall a positive experience and get a feeling off the employees that they value the people they employ.
Can be time consuming as the first stage is to submit your CV and cover letter, then you are asked to answer some questions in a video style format, followed by an virtual interview and then an assessment day.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you cannot handle quick fire maths questions, this may not be an ideal role for you.
I applied online. I interviewed at NEXT (Leicester, England) in Apr 2026
Interview
The first stage, after submitting your CV and a cover letter, is a simple video interview where you must submit answers (pre-recorded) to 3 questions. The questions were relatively simple and you could re-record your answers if you made any mistakes. The third question was more scenario based where they gave you an example of something that could go wrong and you needed to give options to prevent it happening in the future. The second part of this stage is a maths test with around 10 questions. It isn't timed but they do say they keep track of how long you took for each, and factor that and if they are correct, into your final result.
I applied online. I interviewed at NEXT in Mar 2026
Interview
Overall, it was a really positive and quick process. The first stage was self-recorded, which was very straightforward. It consisted of 3 questions about myself and the role. The next two stages were very scenario and maths/data heavy. You really need to have a good grasp of what is happening in the fashion industry, how you can solve problems, knowledge of trends, etc., and what this means for merchandising. Definitely brush up on basic maths percentages, i.e., percentage difference, increase/decrease, percentage of sales, as well.
Communication was good throughout, and I heard fairly quickly/straight away that I was progressing to the next stage, and the next day that I was offered the job after the assessment centre.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is happening in the industry and how does it affect merchandising? How is Next performing as a company?
