I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at CarMax (Laurel, MD) in May 2016
Interview
Approached via LinkedIn by recruiter. First completed online process of resume loading and job history etc., as well as lengthy psychological questions evaluation online as well. Then they called to say they wanted to go to the "Next Step" to an in-person interview. The computer did not interact easily due to the number of moves I have had for the background check info as they require 7 years of addresses and only allow 3 spaces for previous addresses. The CarMax Supervisor fudged my length of residence for me to get it to accept my addresses, which concerns me that this will make them assume I provided false information. Aside from that there was another set of psychological eval questions to complete on a computer onsite. Then I interviewed with a single buyer, then with a pair of buyers, then with another pair of buyers. They were all very pleasant and the interview process, though intense was not a problem as I have significant retail experience from which to draw examples of how I dealt with different problems, issues, situations. The background check will be thorough as they review social security info, credit history, criminal history, etc. Waiting to hear back. As I said, I enjoyed this interview, but it would have been intimidating had it been my first interview out of school.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Give me an example of how you went about and beyond to provide excellent customer service.
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at CarMax in Apr 2022
Interview
Applied online. An automated email arrived, asking me to complete an assessment. The assessment was 50% personality traits and 50% basic math. The HR recruiter reached out and scheduled a phone interview.
CarMax Buyers work a retail schedule that includes weekends and holidays. Buyers are required to work a 'rotating schedule' - some weeks it will be evenings and weekends, some weeks it will be days, or both.
Buyers are expected to available whenever CarMax schedules you with no scheduling predictivity. Therefore, do not plan on any other non-work activities which requires being able to plan a schedule more than a week or so in advance. Your time becomes their time 24/7 during store operating hours.
If your life includes scheduled activities outside of work - say, for instance, coaching your child's sports team after school - understand that you'll need to give that up in order to work here. Don't mention those activities during the interview if you hope to get hired.
One of the CarMax core values is 'Putting People First.' There seems to be a conflict between this stated public value and their scheduling expectations for staff members.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions were asked specific to my background, as well as the usual generic questions asked at interviews. (What was your greatest success.... Can you think of a time?) One might think they could come up with more original questions.
I applied online. I interviewed at CarMax in Dec 2021
Interview
Phone interview - Approx. 60 minutes asking about background, customer service experiences, and identifying why you would be a good fit. be ready to go into detail on customer service-related questions
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain in detail a negative situation with a customer and how you were able to turn it into a positive one.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at CarMax in Feb 2020
Interview
About 4 weeks total
Simple application with several test and ability checks.
Followed by phone interview, asked "tell me about a time" questions
In person interview with several mangers of all levels all asking similar "tell me about a time you"
Very relaxed interview, almost no standard "tell me about yourself, what are your strengths and weaknesses" questions. Need to have real world "Managerial" experiences.
*Make sure all your application, phone, resume, and in person experience questions all are the same
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you delt with a difficult client
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond
Tell me about a time you had to settle conflict between coworkers