I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Southern Co-op (Lenham, England) in Jun 2024
Interview
The interview process was simple. It included multiple questions regarding previous experience and how the skills gained could be transferable to the role, along with some scenario based questions. Then I was asked to fill in a table with my availability.
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Southern Co-op (Hanham, England) in Mar 2025
Interview
I interviewed here on the 25th March. I went up to the counter to tell them I was there for the interview. The lady on the counter didn’t say anything to me and just rang the bell to get the manager while I waited. Manager took me to the back of the shop where we went into a tiny room for security monitoring. I was told to fill out a personality questionnaire where he had written my surname completely wrong even though my cv was right in front of him. He asked me questions about my experience and customer service etc and wanted me to do an activity where I pick a card with a product on it to sell to him. He spent about 10 minutes trying to find the box of cards and couldn’t find them as he was extremely unprepared so in the end he sent me out to the shop floor to find a product even though shop floor was completely empty. After this, he asked me more interview questions and at the end he asked me what job I applied for because he had no idea and was just asking me random questions the whole time that could have potentially been for a manager or supervisor role as he obviously hadn’t prepared beforehand. As I was leaving, he told me I would be contacted either by him or recruitment the week after. I was emailed a day after interview to say that I didn’t get the job. I found the whole interview experience insulting and unprofessional, and got very odd vibes from the manager and other staff. I was very relieved when I received the email saying that I didn’t get the job.
Interview is short, few questions and then a couple of tasks. Things like "what do you know about southern coop?" "Tell me about a time you've worked under pressure" tasks include things like facing up/tidying a bay, asking you to "sell" them a product to test your customer interaction.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you've worked under pressure.