Orvis Careers: A Guide To Getting Hired At Orvis

Orvis is one of the largest family-owned retail and mail-order businesses in America. Specialising in fly fishing, hunting, and sporting goods - Orvis has been dominating the outdoor market ever since its founding date in 1856

Started by Charles F. Orvis himself in the 1800s, Orvis now stands as the oldest mail-order retailer in the entire United States of America. WIth 70 retail stores and 10 warehouse locations across the US, Orvis begins to grow in its popular and company size amassing over $312 million in revenue in 2021

If you’re interested in looking for jobs at Orvis or you’ve applied and want to know more about the process, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll be breaking down the whole hiring process at Orvis, as well as what type of jobs at Orvis you can expect, the interview questions you should prepare for, and the timeline you should estimate to hear back. Let’s jump in!

Orvis’s Hiring Process Overview

Orvis’s hiring process consists of 3-4 different rounds of interviews with their team members depending on the role you're applying for. The 3-4 rounds of interviews include:

• A Phone Interview with Recruitment Team
• A Technical Assessment
• An In-Person Interview
• An On-Site interview

Although this is the typical hiring process, the amount of interviews differ between roles. As a general rule of thumb, the more senior your role is the more interviews you will undergo.

Orvis still likes to have its employees come into the office, which is located in Southern Vermont. Its important to know this prior to interviewing at Orvis, in case you don’t live in Vermont as well as don’t plan on relocating.

Additionally, for the assessment interview, be prepared to be assessed based on the role you are interviewing for (e.g. software engineer roles will go through technical assessments, customer service interviews will go through more behaviour based assessments).

Lastly, Orvis commonly hires for in-store roles. For these roles, expect to come into the store for an in person interview with the management team to see if you’d be a good fit for the culture!

Step 1: Applying

Where Can I Apply For A Job At Orvis?

Jobs at Orvis can often be found across their website which you can find at https://www.orvis.com/careers.html. They also regularly post on their Linkedin page available here. For one central place to find Orvis jobs, you can also check out eComportal. You’ll find a huge category of remote Orvis jobs that relate to the eCommerce industry. Its also important to keep in mind that Orvis makes most applicants come into their office in Vermont, so be prepared if you are applying online to know that you might have to relocate if you aren't in the area.

How Difficult Is It To Get Hired At Orvis?

Orvis hiring process is rated 2.5 out of 5 by Glassdoor. Out of 40 interviews, 8% were rated negative, 68% were rated positive, & about 24% were rated neutral. Its safe to say that most employees who go through the hiring process thoroughly enjoy it. This is because a lot of the questions they ask you are based on behaviour, personality, company culture, location, and personal fit. Especially for their most common jobs, the sales associate positions, they hire largely based on personality over skillset

Step 2: Interview Process

How Long Does It Take After Applying To Hear Back From Orvis?

Orvis typically has a fast response time via email if you are applying for more general, in-store roles. The typical response time for these roles is about 1 to 3 days. For positions higher up the company, you can expect a response time between 2-3 weeks depending on the volume of applicants they get.

What Are Some Questions I Can Expect In The Orvis Interview Process?

Typically, the questions that the Orvis team will ask you when getting interviewed are based on the role that you are getting hired for. You can expect questions directly related to your role that you may have received for similar positions. Overall, common questions that seem to come up a lot regardless of the role being hired for are questions like:

General Questions:

1. Why do you want to work at Orvis?

2. What excites you about this role?

3. Do you like to fish?

4. How would you feel about living in Vermont?

For Marketing roles:

1. How would you increase engagement on social channels?
2. Where do you see yourself in five years?
3. What would your friends/current coworkers say about your 3 greatest weaknesses
4. If your achievements include revenue figures, what are those figures and how did you achieve those?

For Sales Representative/Sales Associate Jobs:

1. Tell me about a time when you received criticism
2. What are some of your favourite trends happening in men's apparel right now?
3. What's one thing Orvis men’s apparel is doing well and one thing we could approve on?
4. Walk me through your retail experience

How Long Does It Take To Hear Back From Orvis After The First Interview

Orvis has been consistent with following up each interview by planning the next interview, usually done within a week's time depending on the calendar availability. You can expect a second interview in 1 to 2 weeks if you pass the first interview.

Step 3: Getting Hired

How Long Does The Entire Hiring Process At Orvis Take?

Typically, you can expect the entire process to take 1-2 weeks. Orvis has been known to have a very seamless hiring process. Each interview is usually spread 1 week apart but some locations operate differently than others. This hiring process is usually the standard case.

We have heard of reports for higher up, managerial roles to take up to 3 months. For roles that are more senior, their process of vetting the candidate will take longer thus the whole hiring process will be longer.

How Long Does It Take To Hear Back From Orvis About A Job?

After your final interview, you can expect to hear back within a week's time with either a formal offer or an email letting you know you did not get the role.