dtdnick1029

Hello all,
Questions,
I have an interview with Walgreens corporate next week. I have worked with the company for 10 years in the stores. I started as a stockboy and worked my way up. It's for a category planning analyst. Anyways I really would like this job. I have a interview with the senior planning analyst. Anyone know of any questions i may be asked or what to make sure and say. I have never really interviewed since this has been my only job. Any advice would be helpful as I will be nervous as heck. thank you.

Itsme

You may want to show you know the competition by understanding what is about to happen with the Savon/Osco stores...the ones inside the Albertsons stores and the standalone ones which now become CVS.

You could also have in your head a ranking of the companies with the most stores between Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS, etc.

The company I just retired from worked with Walgreens for 15 years developing the satellite network that linked all of their stores with HQ.

Butch

Well, one thing you could note to show a little interest and intrepidness is some of the partnership relationships between customers (such as Walgreens) and marketers.

One thing I noticed recently that relates specifically to Walgreens is their partnership with Bayer's Aleve for the National Arthritis Month. I'm only aware of it because it tangentially relates to work I'm doing. However, the increasing priority major marketers are putting on customer relationships to gain customer support in-store and with displays is quite interesting . . . you can have a look at the site Aleve put up for National Arthritis Month . . .

www.alevegoodnews.com

And read a bit more about the whole program (no mention of Walgreens except on the website, though) . . .

http://www.adage.com/print?article_id=108847

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/pac..._id=1002385778

There might be more info somewhere that can be found through Google

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gear02

What exactly does a category planning anaylst do? Do you help the category buyers make decisions on their purchases?

If so, then you're in marketing territory. Know trends in the industry, particularly in the categories you may be assigned to. Know what's going on with private labels and understand trade and consumer promotions. Knowing some of the lingo might help, especially in an interview.

I'm going to be working at Walgreens corporate this summer in the marketing department. Good luck!

attgig

is it more with supply chain stuff?

yeah, you gotta help us with what exactly a category planning analyst does for us to help you. titles differ between companies for similar job descriptions.


if it is with supply chain management, just go in with what you know about the walgreens stores you've been at. know the products in your stores, know what sells, know what doesn't. bring in ideas of how you can make things better for the category planning analyst that youw orked with (or didn't work with), and ideas on how to improve on that.

if they're bringing you up internally, you bring into the interview a wealth of knowledge that someone coming from some other store doesn't have. be confident in what you know, and don't be phased by what you don't.

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redcolours

definitely DO NOT drink coffee before the interview.

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dtdnick1029

This is what a category planning analyst does.....

Include tracking division's/category managers' performance against business plan, evaluating promotional planning efforts and tracking sales and sell-through of current distribution items with use of Walgreen/Nielsen data. Additional responsibilities include planning vendor reviews and participating in presentations of the reviews. Will also assist the category manager in analyzing potential profit and sales opportunities in the development of new product launches. The position responsibility focuses on performing and presenting business analysis for the division/category managers and providing summary analysis and recommendations.
Thank You Everyone For all Your Feedback.
Nick

LegendKiller

Highlight your quantitative and analysis skills. Find any and all examples, school, work, private life, where these skills are found.

Mention how you like to track long-run trends and are interested in thorough analysis and extraploation of data....blah blah blah.

I'd also go in there with some info on growth, biggest product lines, trends in those lines...etc.

Know your crap about the company, it's strategies, and why you like it.


Get your interviewer to talk about themselves, ask them why they like it, what they like to do. Find common ground, build a rapport, and sucker them into liking you even if you are sweaty as all heck and ready to puke.

If you build a rapport, get them to like you, make it seem like this job is your lifelong ambition, and then add to the fact that you are driven, you should get hired.

Now, people say that you are selling yourself to the company. I somewhat disagree with that, you are selling the company to you. You also have to make it seem like you are good and the company would be lucky to have you. THis requires confidence, or at least the image of it.

Get a haircut this weekend, trim your nails, get a nice suit, nice shoes, matching socks, a nice startched button-down shirt, a good tie. Shine your shoes.

Come into the interview with a leather portfolio, get a nice pen for it, have some articles of the company. Find what position they are in on the Fortune 500, use that as a talking point.

Lastly, the reason why I mentioned all of the shoes and stuff. Don't go in there looking like a slob. You have to be clean, polished, and confident. Do not slouch, don't wring your hands, but don't be tense.

Smile, laugh, be personable, but don't crack "your mom" jokes...

dtdnick1029

thank you so much,
you pumped me up just by writing that.
are you a recruiter or work in hr. If not I suggest you do.
thanks again for all your help. nick

LegendKiller

No problem at all. I went through the process three months ago and scored a damn good job, more than doubling my salary. I wish somebody had told me about some of that before.

One last thing. If they ask you about salary, just keep asking what their levels would be. I think people have mentioned here before that the first person to name a salary is the one that will be catching up the rest of the interview.

Good luck, keep us updated.

gear02

I have to disagree with one of LK's suggestions. I don't think it's useful to mention something about "track long-run trends" etc. Doing this kind of work involves a lot of quantitative analysis with Nielsen and IRI data (LK and I strongly agree on this). But I think if you mention something like "tracking long-run trends" it's going to sound phony. Be yourself and don't say something that doesn't fit you, but also be prepared.

Like LK said, emphasize your quant skills. Use the STAR format to keep your answers consise and to the point (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Prepare some stories that emphasizes quant skills, but also a story about working with large data sets and not drowning in data (IRI will overwhelm you).

I would strongly urge you to talk about consumer behavior and your interest in it. This is a market research job and you will be spending all your time trying to figure out what the consumer does. I'm sure they will want someone who is very interested in consumer behavior, shopping trends, etc.

Also have a story about communication skills as you will have to translate your findings to either your boss, the category manager, or even brand managers in the CPG companies.

Do some mock interviews with someone. There should be plenty of marketing related interview questions available online somewhere so prepare yourself so you sound confident. LK nailed everything about appearances and so forth.

attgig

i'm with Gear on that.

but one thing i do agree with LK about is building a rapport. one of my interviews, years ago, i was able to crack a small joke with my interviewer, make him laugh a little... the rest of the interview went great - we were both so relaxed and conversation just flowed. and at the end, he told me he was recommending me for an onsite visit (they never did that, always contacted me a few days afterwards).

Good luck man. stay confident. be yourself.

dtdnick1029

Tommorrow is the big day. I will let you guys know. Thanks again for all your advice. nick

brainsmile

whatever you do don't drop your pants

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dtdnick1029

Well, I had my interview today and I think it went awesome. Thank you to all who gave me some advice. I said everything I wanted to say and think that my chances are good. I will let you know when I find out the news. I did not drop my pants, throw up, or pass out. Thanks again,
nick

dtdnick1029

O.k. So it's been three days and I have not heard anything. Should I worry or not yet? Now it is Friday so I have to wait the whole weekend. Then I started to think am I going to get something in the mail instead? When do I call or email them? Please help.

VTGreg

Did they give you a timetable for making a decision or contacting you?

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dtdnick1029

no but on the way out of the office he said you should be hearing from me soon, I thought the interview went great.

cocojambo

good luck in getting the job!

dtdnick1029

Can anyone tell me what the correct procedure is. HOw long before you usually get an answer. When do I make the move to call them or email them. Thanks again, Nick

mcs328

It varies...I've had a call back in less than 2 hours and one that called back 3 months later after I already accepted a job.

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attgig

Mike: So how long do I wait to call?
Trent: A day.
Mike: Tomorrow.
Sue: Tomorrow, then a day.
Trent: Yeah.
Mike: So two days?
Trent: Yeah, I guess you could call it that, two days.
Sue: Definitely, two days is like industry standard.
Trent: You know I used to wait two days to call anybody, but now it's like everyone in town waits two days. So I think three days is kind of money. What do you think?
Sue: Yeah, but two's enough not to look anxious.
Trent: But I think three days is kind of money. You know because you...
Mike: Yeah, but you know what, mabey I'll wait 3 weeks. How's that? And tell her I was cleaning out my wallet and I just happened to run into her number.
Charles: Then ask her where you met her.
Mike: Yeah, I'll ask her where I met her. I don't remember. What does she look like? And then I'll asked if we ****ed. Is that... would that be... T, would that be the money?
Trent: You know what. Ha ha ha Mike, laugh all you want but if you call too soon you might scare off a nice baby who's ready to party.
Mike: Well how long are you guys gonna wait to call your babies?
Trent, Sue: Six days.


oh...wait, we're not talking about babies... :-P

LegendKiller

Did you send a thank you card yet?

mcs328

I never did this but I think you should. Is there a particular reason why this has become expected behavior? I would hate to think a job offer hingers on a thank you letter between you and a lesser candidate. Sort of like I hear stories on employers watching how you eat. Ridiculous IMO but seemed like the norm for people going into finance and accounting.

dtdnick1029

I sent thank you emails when I got home that day. It has now been 6 days and I have heard nothing. Any suggestions, thanks
nick

VTGreg

IMO, it's just part of being professional. It gives you an opportunity to say thank you and also get one last tidbit of info in about yourself and something that you think sets you apart for the position.

As far as eating, it just speaks to the type of person you are. If someone eats like a slob then that probably isn't the only slovenly attribute about them. I don't think most prospective employees look to see that you fold your napkin correctly or stuff like that, just the basics. It takes on an added value when you are interviewing for a position where you would be expected to interact with coworkers and clients over meals.

LegendKiller

I would send thank you cards, always.

When I interviewed for my first job my boss kept my thank you card under his monitor for almost 3 years.

For my latest position, I had to fly to the interview. After the day was concluded I had ~3hr in the airport, so I wrote 8 cards then (interviewed with 8 people, that was rough). I put them all in the mail in the airport so they got them the next day or day after.

dtdnick1029

Ok but now it's been one week. Do I still send thank you cards. AM i freaking out. I thought you heard about a job in a couple of days? thanks nick

LegendKiller

Sometimes it takes a while. If you came in at the beginning of the interview process they are probably still interviewing people. My wife had an interview yesterday and was told 2 weeks.

I would send cards, better late than never.

attgig

if you talked with an HR person, i think it could be ok to talk to them. usually HR is somewhat removed from the decision process, so it won't reflect on yourself if you bug one of the decision makers.