Division retailer titan John Lewis Partnership has revealed its job interview questions on-line, in an try to banish candidate nerves and supercharge its recruitment drive.
The corporate, which additionally owns the upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, has additionally not too long ago raised pay to £12.89 in London and £11.55 elsewhere within the UK in an try to retain employees.
Talking to the Monetary Instances, Lorna Bullett, Expertise Acquisition Lead at John Lewis, stated the transfer made “absolute enterprise sense,” explaining, “we would like the fitting folks, from quite a lot of backgrounds, with the very best expertise to affix our organisation.”
Beneath, we break down the questions you could be requested in a John Lewis interview – in addition to how greatest to reply them.
John Lewis interview questions: revealed
John Lewis’ interview questions are organised into three totally different classes: Happier Companions; Happier Enterprise; and Happier World. Basically, these could be translated into teamwork, candidate expertise, and customer support.
All John Lewis employees are often called ‘companions’ as a result of the corporate affords an worker share scheme. Companions are organised into totally different ranges. The vast majority of roles (like grocery store assistants, drivers, and group managers) sit throughout the Partnership Ranges 8-10.
Making use of for a job at John Lewis? Right here is the total checklist of questions that candidates at Partnership Stage 8-10 shall be requested:
Happier Companions
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- How would you reply if you happen to had been in a group the place everybody could be very centered on their very own duties however there are some main group targets that additionally have to be achieved?
- How would you reply if there have been some variations of opinion that had been getting in the best way of you working properly with different members of your group?
- Think about you might be interacting with a peer you’ve gotten by no means met earlier than. How would you go about attempting to ascertain rapport with this individual?
- Think about you might be interacting with somebody who could be very totally different from you by way of their interplay fashion. How would you go about attempting to have interaction with this individual?
- What would you do if you happen to had been to maneuver into a brand new group that works otherwise to what you might be used to, and it’s essential study new duties and processes shortly?
- What would you do if main adjustments had been applied inside your work space, and it’s essential study a number of new work strategies that you already know are going to be fairly difficult?
Happier Enterprise
- Inform me a couple of scenario when you’ve gotten provide you with a great resolution to an issue you’ve confronted.
- Inform me a couple of time once you needed to discover the reason for a specific drawback or challenge that you simply needed to remedy.
- Flexibility and Resilience
- Inform me a couple of time when one thing occurred that you simply didn’t anticipate, and also you needed to adapt to new circumstances or circumstances.
- Inform me a couple of important change that you’ve got needed to adapt to up to now.
- Inform me a couple of time once you took it upon your self to get one thing performed, regardless that no person requested you to do it.
- Inform me a couple of time once you took it upon your self to talk up on a difficulty and ensure your views had been heard.
Happier World
- What does the idea of high quality/dependable service supply imply to you in relation to the function you’ve utilized for?
- Are you able to inform me a couple of time once you labored laborious to just remember to met a top quality normal?
- How would you deal with a scenario the place you might be interacting with an sad buyer who needs their challenge resolved shortly, however you might be very busy?
- How would you deal with a scenario the place you might be approached by a buyer who appears distressed and in want of help, however you’ve gotten different duties to finish?
- Inform me a couple of time once you got here up with a inventive resolution to an issue you encountered.
- Inform me a couple of time once you needed to suppose exterior the field to be able to obtain a profitable end result
Methods to reply John Lewis interview questions
Realizing what you’ll be requested forward of a job interview places candidates on the entrance foot. However to make issues even simpler for candidates, John Lewis has additionally revealed recommendation explaining how to reply the above questions on its firm web site.
Job seekers are suggested to craft influence tales and case research from prior work experiences that reveal the abilities and expertise highlighted within the John Lewis job advert.
Outcomes-driven narratives are advisable, the place you possibly can present precisely the place your efforts result in success. Top-of-the-line strategies to plan solutions is by utilizing the STAR framework.
What’s the STAR framework for job interviews?
STAR stands for State of affairs (what was the state of affairs?), Job (what was your duty?), Motion (what did you do in response?) and Reflection (what did it obtain?)
For every level, think about these 4 factors to information your line of considering and supply a transparent response for the interviewer. For instance:
- State of affairs: I observed we had been practically out of inventory for our hottest product
- Job: I needed to handle buyer expectations through the stock scarcity
- Motion: I collaborated with the supervisor to create a product waitlist and advisable alternate options to prospects
- Reflection: This resulted in maintained gross sales and buyer satisfaction
Why is John Lewis publishing its interview questions?
That John Lewis has chosen to publish its interview questions on-line shall be nice information to nervous job seekers. However the choice is about greater than good will.
As a substitute, the transfer is a part of a strategic turnaround that was first introduced in December 2023. On the time, John Lewis bosses stated they’d prioritise rising the corporate’s retail division after disappointing Christmas gross sales which despatched different manufacturers into administration.
It can seemingly not be the one model to take action. Labour shortages have plagued the retail sector for the previous decade, as a result of low pay and dwindling buyer demand for in-store buying.
In a survey of 546 companies, carried out on the finish of final yr, Startups discovered that 38% of retail companies named financial instability as their largest problem for 2024 – essentially the most of any trade apart from training.
It might be dealing with a equally unsure future. However by sharing its interview questions with job hunters, John Lewis can no less than enhance candidate confidence, offering a extra secure profession basis and proving that of their view, worker success is enterprise success.
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