I had my first ever interview at Boots on Saturday 30th August. I arrived 15 minutes before it was due to start (I would say this is a good time window as they like you to be prompt) before the assistant manager took me upstairs and asked me a few interview questions. Be personable because they like to see you have a personality, but don't over compensate, make sure you come across as genuine.
First of all he told me the position hours that he had, and i had to confirm these. DON'T commit to hours that you can't work because very often they are open to negotiation. For example they asked if i could start at 5, but due to university commitments i could only start at half 5, and he was very accommodating of this.
Then the interview process began, and the questions were as follows
1) what could you bring to the role you have applied for?
2) give me an example of a time you went above and beyond for somebody?
3) give me an example of a time you went out of your way to help somebody that you didn't know?
4) give me an example of a time that you worked successfully and motivated a team to get a job done?
For these questions it is okay to use experience from all areas of your life, not necessarily just work. For example i talked about volunteering and this went down well.
Next we went down to the shop floor and across to the hair care isle where he asked me to pick a selection of products for a woman who had lost the shine in her hair and wanted the glossiness back. My advice would be to split the process up into Before styling (specific conditioners), during styling (heat protector spray/ nourishing oils ) and after (serums or finishing sprays). Then he chose one of the products i selected and took me to its place in the isle. He asked me what else i would say about the product to sell it to the woman. (This is where you mention any offers signs that boots have on - but also the BOOTS ADVANTAGE CARD, they really like this). Then he asked me how i would approach this customer if she was a teenager, in comparison to how i would approach her as an adult.
The next section involved the product i had chosen. This was made slightly more difficult by the fact they had run out of stock of mine, so i would recommend always have a basic back up that they will always stock. Make sure you feel confident selling your product, because this was the next part of the task. Management basically want to see how you approach customers and what your selling techniques are. Don't worry if the customers don't take it from you, management don't expect you to sell, its just an added bonus.
After this, he asked me to identify confident and less confident customers, and distinguish between the two behaviours. He then asked me how i would adapt my approach to help these different clients. after i had pointed out some not so confident clients, he asked me to approach them and see if there was anything i could do to help. If you are lucky like me, most of them are really eager for a chit chat and this makes the conversation much easier.
Just before the end, the interviewer asked me to pick an isle that i felt i could improve. My advice would be to go in a few minutes before the interview of you don't know the store well, and look over some of the untidier isles. He asked me i would improve this isle, and then gave me 15 minutes to do it. Finally he asked me what i would do if i went to restock and when i came back, the isle is full of people. The answer would be to put the stock aside for the time being, and go back to offering help.
Finally, he took me upstairs and gave me feedback on my interview as well as giving you a chance to ask questions. I asked about training and induction periods if successful, as well as asking how the staff felt after the Wallgreen take over (this showed that i took a genuine interest in what was happening with the company, but also how it would effect me as a potential employee).
