Written by Rosie
You might have seen previous blogs from the Career Studio about how job hunting and application processes are changing while we’re in the current lockdown situation. We spoke to a recent graduate of Staffordshire University who recently went through the application process for a supermarket role. Supermarkets near you are probably hiring right now to keep up with the increase in demand for online orders, cleaning and maintaining lockdown rules so it might be worth applying for these roles if you’re looking for work. She kindly provided details of her experience of the process and we hope this will help people who are nervous about what to expect if they apply for similar roles.
Firstly, she found the job on Indeed and it took her through to the supermarket website where she had to fill in an online form including personal details, the hours she would like to do and availability. Once this was finished, she received an email saying she had moved onto the next step which was a series of multiple-choice competency questions on the supermarket’s website. These questions included some scenarios to see how you would deal with certain situations if they arose at work. As soon as this round of questions had finished, it took her to a second round of questions that included some more specific competency questions. There was also forms to fill in about previous education and work as well as some written questions on customer service and team-work experience.
Everything up until this point had been the same application process for this supermarket as normal, all online with email communications and working through online forms.
The next round of the process is normally a face to face interview however the applicant received an email only a few hours after completing the questions with a link to an online interview. Support was provided on how to set up the camera, sound and lighting through the website. The applicant prepared by dressing smartly and making the room look professional with no clutter in the background. There were four questions that were sent in advance of the interview to allow time to prepare and when the applicant was ready they had 30 seconds to record an answer to the first three questions which included why they wanted to work at this supermarket and some basic introductions. The final question was about customer service experience and there were 60 seconds to record an answer for this.
After each answer there was a 30 second break to have a quick breather before the next question started. Prior to the interview there was a 30 second practice but after that, the recordings were automatically sent off and there were no chances for a second go.
The applicant described the online interview process as;
“The online interview was good because getting the questions in advance means you have time to prepare and plan the answers and you wouldn’t often get that opportunity in a regular interview. However, after the test run you only get one attempt to record it and if you mess up then that mess up gets sent off to the employers! It was nerve-wracking but at least you’re at home and in between the questions you get a 30 second break so you don’t have to be ‘on’ all the time like in a face-to-face interview.”
The next day, she received an email inviting her into the store for a face-to-face assessment day. To manage this while adhering to lockdown rules, they had to book a time slot to go into the store and once there, follow the 2-meter guidance. Here’s a quick summary of her overall experience;
“It was quite weird not having actually spoken to anyone directly until I was physically in the store for the assessment and it was all very fast paced. I found the job on Indeed and had been through 4 stages of the process and invited to the assessment day within 24 hours.”
Hopefully this has given you an idea of what to expect if you are applying for jobs right now. Obviously, your experiences won’t be exactly the same as this but there may be similarities that you can prepare for, such as practicing your online interviewing skills and competency questions. The Career Studio has some other blogs that offer some support in preparing for these situations so check them out and get in touch!
Thank you to our graduate for providing details of their experience to help support people who may be going through similar processes.
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