Shipping And Receiving Interview: 20 Questions To Prepare For All Levels
Brandi Glass
• 5 min read
It’s no secret that job interviews are nerve-racking experiences. However, a little preparation can go a long way to soothing your nerves and helping you impress recruiters.
So if you’ve been invited to interview for a shipping and receiving role, keep reading. We’ll explore some of the most common interview questions that might come up. Plus, we’ll share tried-and-tested tips for preparing answers to shipping and receiving questions.
How To Prepare For A Shipping And Receiving Interview
These six steps will help you make sure your interview goes smoothly.
- Re-Read The Job Description And Your Resume
Chances are, you’ve applied for multiple shipping and receiving jobs. Re-read the job listing and your resume so you remember exactly what the company is looking for, along with the details you included in your application.
- Do Your Research
Check the company’s website, social media pages and press coverage. Pay particularly close attention to the “about us” and “mission” pages, if they exist. This will help you identify what the company is looking for in an employee.
- Understand Yourself
What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to apply for this role? What are your preferred work and communication styles?
These aren’t just common interview questions. They’re also an excellent tool for preparing for your interview. When you know the answers to them, you can craft genuine and impressive responses to any type of interview question. You’ll be able to highlight your strengths, demonstrate why you’re the right fit for the job and also show the interviewer what you’ll bring to the workplace.
- Prepare STAR Anecdotes
When asked to share a past experience in an interview, you should use the STAR — situation, task, action(s), result — model. It will help you structure your answer so that the positive impact of your actions is evident. For example:
“My team was struggling to complete inventory checks of new deliveries in a timely manner, which was leading to supply chain issues for the company (situation). I knew I needed to support my team in improving inventory management (task).
“I asked staff members for feedback and also checked our logs. I worked out that a lot of time was being lost because team members found our software confusing. In the short term, I organized additional training sessions on the software. I also began searching for a more intuitive software to pitch to my superiors (actions).
“We noticed an immediate reduction in the time spent on the inventory check, which allowed us to clear stock more quickly and improve the supply chain issues. Plus, six months later, management approved the alternative software I’d suggested, which led to 17% efficiency savings across the company (result).”
Ahead of the interview, prepare several anecdotes using the STAR model so that you can demonstrate key skills and achievements.
- Practice Answering Shipping And Receiving Interview Questions
It’s easy to think of answers to interview questions. However, when you’re forced to say your answers aloud for the first time, you can trip over your words or forget important details.
Practice answering shipping and receiving interview questions with a friend or colleague. You’ll quickly discover the questions that you need to review a little more. Plus, you could receive valuable feedback on your answers.
- Plan Your Day
How long will it take you to get to the interview location? What will you do if the bus is late? Do you know how to pronounce the interviewer’s name?
By carefully planning your day, you’ll reduce the risk of something going wrong, whether that’s arriving with a coffee stain on your jacket or turning up at the wrong building. Make sure you know:
- Your route, how long it will take and what you’ll do if something goes wrong
- What you’ll wear (and don’t forget to do a trial run of your outfit, complete with sitting, standing, walking and shaking hands)
- What you’ll bring with you to your interview
- The company contact details
- Who you have to ask for when you arrive at the company
- The interviewer’s name, if you’ve been told it
Shipping And Receiving Interview Questions To Prepare For
These shipping and receiving questions come up again and again in interviews. Whether you’re applying to be a shipping and receiving clerk, inventory manager or warehouse manager, make sure you’re able to answer these questions:
- Why are you applying for this role?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- How would your coworkers describe you?
- Tell me about a time you made a mistake. What did you do?
- What’s one thing you’re working on improving? Why?
- Which accomplishment are you most proud of?
- How have you helped improve efficiency in a previous role?
- How do you avoid errors, especially in inventory checks?
- What do you think is most important: quality control or efficiency?
- How can you prevent stock loss?
- What would you do if you suspected stock theft?
- What would you do if you discovered pests in a warehouse used for storing food products?
- What actions would you take if a shipment didn’t arrive?
- Why is warehouse layout important?
- How do you work with team members to ensure best shipping and receiving practices?
- What occupational safety precautions do you take?
- Are you computer-savvy? Which shipping and receiving programs are you familiar with?
- What would you do if you struggled to use one of our IT systems?
- Tell me about something you learned from a fellow team member. What happened and why was it a valuable lesson?
- Do you have any questions for us?
Get Invited To Interviews With An Eye-Catching Resume
The first step to acing your interview is writing an excellent resume. Your resume won’t just get you invited to the interview. It will also help set the tone of the interview. Recruiters will already have informed an opinion of your potential based on how you’ve presented your experiences and skills on your resume.
Your resume should highlight your strengths, from your key warehouse skills to your unique experiences and accomplishments. It must also be adapted to the role, company and warehouse in question. Plus, it needs to be concise, easy to scan and machine-readable.
Writing an eye-catching resume doesn’t have to be difficult, however. While there are plenty of resume do’s and don’ts to be aware of, there are also tools that will make writing your resume easy. After all, the hard work’s supposed to start after you’ve got the job, not beforehand.
Our shipping and receiving resume templates will give you a headstart on writing your resume. Each one is machine-readable, attractively laid out and easy to tailor to your career history.
What’s more, our resume builder will help you adapt the templates step by step. It will recommend the ideal structure based on your professional experience, along with recruiter-approved phrasing to describe your accomplishments and skill sets.
It takes just 10 minutes to craft your resume. Get started now so you can apply for shipping and receiving jobs with confidence.