I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at NEXT (Leicester, England)
Interview
Was relatively simple during mine (around 2013/14). Online application followed by some standard numeracy & literacy tests.
The telephone interview which followed is essentially to ensure that you're a normal person who can articulate well.
Then follows a recorded video interview. There is no invigilator, but there is a time limit for questions, so it's a good idea to plan your answers and read them out as you would in conversation to test they fit the 1-2 minutes limit. It's also advisable to ensure there's no 'waffle' in them. They want as clear and concise answers as possible, showing that you can think from multiple perspectives.
After this is an assessment day with 5-10 other applicants. Here they essentially want to know that you have a handle on what the role is.
-They'll give you some reports and ask you to pass judgement on what the numbers mean
-They'll show you some product and ask you to decide on which is likely the best seller/most expensive etc
-Then you'll be asked to work within a group.
As long as during all this you remember a Merchandiser's prime directive (to bring in revenue) and portray this confidently, you'll be fine.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked 4 of us to plan a store layout at christmas with limited space for all departments.
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.
Very scenario heavy and requires you to know a lot about merchandising in general. Some maths questions also involved, simple maths however. Best of luck to all applying to the role.
