Market trader interview questions and answers

About the job itself

Why do you want to work as a market trader?
What drew you to this work, what you already know about it, and something from your past that shows you will be good at it.
What do you have that this job asks for?
Employers usually look for: Street trading licence from the council, food hygiene level 2 for food stalls. Say what you hold, with expiry dates where there are any, and bring the proof (cards, certificates, a portfolio): it is checked before you start.

Questions for retail & customer service

Tell me about a time you turned an unhappy customer round.
Listening, a fix within your power, and a customer who left satisfied.
What does great customer service look like to you?
Specific behaviours: greeting, product knowledge, following through.
How would you handle a customer you suspect of shoplifting?
Follow the store policy, stay safe, never chase, tell security or the manager.
How do you stay productive on a quiet shift?
Replenishing, tidying, learning the products, helping colleagues.
Have you handled cash and tills?
Accurate, honest, and you know what to do when the till is out.

The questions every interviewer asks

Tell me about yourself.
Two minutes, about work: what you do now, what you are good at, and why this job is the next step. Not your life story.
Why are you leaving your current job, or why did you leave the last one?
A reason that looks forward (more hours, a shorter journey, a step up), never a complaint about the old boss.
Tell me about a time something went wrong at work and what you did.
A real example: what happened, what you did yourself, how it ended, and what you do differently now.
What would your last manager say about you?
Something they would actually say, with proof: "reliable, I covered the late shift for six months".
Is there anything that would stop you working the hours or shifts we need?
Honesty now saves both sides a bad start. Say what you can do, not only what you cannot.

Questions to ask them

At the end you will be asked whether you have any questions. Have two ready:

What does a normal day or shift look like?
What would good work look like after the first three months?
Who would I work with, and who would I report to?
What training will I get at the start?
When can I expect to hear back, and what is the next step?

For the employer: what you must not ask

The same questions work from your side of the table. These do not, because UK law forbids them or makes them a risk:

Age, date of birth or when somebody left school. Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Ask whether they meet any legal minimum age, nothing more.
Marriage, children, pregnancy or plans for a family. Protected characteristics. Ask everybody the same question about whether they can work the hours.
Health or sickness absence before a job offer. Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 bans it, except to make adjustments for the interview, to check they can do a task that is intrinsic to the job, or for monitoring.
Religion, nationality or where somebody is "really" from. Protected characteristics. Check the right to work for every candidate in the same way, after the interview, not by guessing from a name or an accent.
Spent convictions. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 a spent conviction need not be disclosed, except for roles exempt from the Act, where a standard or enhanced DBS check applies.
Trade union membership. Refusing work because somebody is or is not in a union is unlawful (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 137).

Ask every candidate for the same job the same core questions, and write the answers down. It is fairer, and it is your best evidence if a decision is ever challenged.