00:00I have an interview scheduled. The assistant manager position, I think it was set for 11.
00:05Are you sure you have the right store?
00:06Yes. This address, 11 o'clock, assistant manager. I confirmed it yesterday.
00:13Have a seat. How would you handle a customer who finds you underwhelming?
00:21I'd ask them what they need and focus on delivering that.
00:25And if the customer asked to speak with someone else?
00:28I'd get them someone else.
00:30And if your team didn't respect you, what then?
00:34I'd want to understand why. If there's a legitimate concern, I'd address it.
00:38If it's a credibility question, I'd build credibility through consistency, not authority.
00:44Have you ever considered that retail management requires a certain authority that not everyone naturally projects?
00:53Well, I think authority comes from how you treat people.
00:58Not how you look standing in front of them.
01:00Hmm. That's a nice answer, isn't it? But is it true?
01:05I believe it. I've worked under managers who had a very commanding presence and ran terrible floors.
01:13And I've worked under people who you probably would have walked right past on the street, and they had complete
01:19trust of their team.
01:20Presence is not the same as authority.
01:23Mm-hmm. Well, what is then?
01:25Marketing, sometimes.
01:27Well, this role requires a thick skin. You know, the industry is tough. The pressure here is real, and not
01:34everyone is billboard.
01:35What I need in this position is someone who doesn't flinch, who can hold the floor when things get difficult,
01:42who doesn't let it show when she's rattled.
01:46I don't rattle easily.
01:48We'll see.
01:49Is that what this is? Seeing.
01:52What do you name?
01:54I'm trying to understand the structure of this interview. The questions so far haven't been about the role. They've been
02:00about whether I can withstand the questions.
02:03I'm just trying to understand what we're actually doing here.
02:06Hmm. Well, we're doing an interview.
02:09Then I would find it helpful to talk about the role itself at some point. The floor, the team, the
02:15targets, what success looks like in the first 90 days.
02:19I've been prepared to have that conversation since I walked in.
02:23You're very sure of yourself, aren't you?
02:26I'm sure of my preparation. That's different.
02:29So how do you respond when someone in the room has already decided you're not the right fit?
02:36Well, I focus on what I can demonstrate. I can't control someone's starting position, but I can control what I
02:43show them.
02:45And what if that's not enough?
02:48Then at least I know I represented myself accurately.
02:51Those are some very tidy answers you've come up with.
02:54It's the true one.
02:56True and useful aren't the same thing.
02:59In a management role, you don't get to walk away from situations because you represented yourself accurately.
03:07You stay in the room. You fix it.
03:10I agree with that.
03:11Do you?
03:12Yes. I've been staying in this room for at least 20 minutes.
03:16So you have.
03:23Look at that right there. That's what I mean.
03:27I'm sorry.
03:31A candidate who tears up at a few direct questions.
03:36It wouldn't last a week managing this floor.
03:38I'm not saying that to be cruel.
03:40I'm saying it because it's true.
03:42And you should know it before you go any further down this road.
03:46I haven't cried.
03:47Well, you look pretty damn close to me.
03:49Everyone has a threshold.
03:51Getting close to it and crossing it are different things.
03:54I didn't cross it.
03:55This time?
03:56Yes. This time.
03:58The same way your team won't perform perfectly every shift.
04:02But you keep track of the pattern, not the individual moment.
04:06That's what you told me management requires.
04:08I am applying the same standard to myself.
04:12That's a reach.
04:13Maybe.
04:14But it's not wrong.
04:20Margo!
04:21You came in.
04:22Thank you so much.
04:23It really means a lot to me that you're here.
04:27Of course.
04:27I wanted to see the new layout before we talk numbers.
04:32Oh, the new collection came in Thursday.
04:34We've got the seasonal push starting next week.
04:37And the numbers for the quarter are looking strong.
04:40The refer plans are all drawn up.
04:43I've been wanting to go over them with you and update you on the fitting room area especially.
04:48And of course, none of this happens without your continued support.
04:52I want to see the backup house too.
04:54Oh, absolutely.
04:56Whenever you're ready.
04:57I just want to say to you again how much your continued support means to this store.
05:03I mean, to me personally, you have been...
05:05Lindsay?
05:07What are you doing here?
05:09I came in for the interview for the assistant manager position.
05:13You know each other?
05:16Oh, we were just wrapping up the initial conversation.
05:21The process we follow for this level, this type of role, it involves some very...
05:27How did it go?
05:30Well, she asked me at the door whether I had the right store.
05:36During the interview, she asked how I would handle a customer who found me underwhelming.
05:43She asked whether I'd consider that management requires a certain authority that not everybody
05:47naturally possesses.
05:50And then when I got emotional, she told me that tearing up at a few direct questions means I wouldn't
05:56last a week managing the floor.
05:58Lindsay is simply characterizing a very rigorous interview process as something personal.
06:05I mean, I push all of my candidates hard.
06:09This role requires real responsibility and I have standards for who can handle it.
06:15You know what I mean?
06:15And that's not harassment, that's professionalism.
06:19How many candidates have you interviewed for this position?
06:22Several.
06:23Oh, and how many candidates made it past the first conversation?
06:27I've invested in this store for three years.
06:30I have put money into it, I have put my name on it, and I have brought clients through that
06:35door
06:35because I told them this place is a standard.
06:38What I just watched is not a standard.
06:42It's one person using a position of power to make another person feel worthless
06:48and calling it process.
06:50Oh, you're completely overreacting.
06:54I mean, Lindsay isn't the right fit for this role.
06:58I was being honest with her, you know, about that.
07:02I mean, candidates, they don't always want to hear the truth.
07:06You know what I mean?
07:06Okay, I'm done.
07:08I won't be renewing my investment.
07:10I will be withdrawing what I can and directing it elsewhere.
07:13My business manager will handle the formalities.
07:16You're done?
07:16You're withdrawing?
07:17I mean, Margo, without you backing me, the lease, this place, the refurb, I mean, staffing
07:23levels we carry.
07:25None of this is sustainable without you, Margo.
07:27I mean, if you pull out now, the store cannot survive.
07:30Well, you should have thought about that before you decided this is how you treat people.
07:35We can talk about this.
07:36I can adjust my approach.
07:38I can, uh, I can reconsider.
07:42Lindsay, the position is yours if you want it.
07:44I mean, we got off on the wrong foot, you know, and I think we could probably start again.
07:49Hmm.
07:51Do you still want this job?
07:52No.
07:54I know of three positions right now that you're overqualified for.
07:58Let's talk about this properly.
08:00I would love to.
08:02I would love to.
08:03Properly.
08:03Wait.
08:04Wait.
08:05Margo!
08:05Margo!
08:06We have a deal!
08:10What am I going to do now?
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