First I had my one on one interview. The guy was very nice and made it very comfortable for me. He basically eliminated my nerves. First he asked me to talk about myself. Then, it was why John Lewis (research into JL is important). Then he asked me when have I ever helped a colleague or school mate. He asked my when have I ever changed my approach to something. I was asked when have I ever had to explain something to a customer and I gave my answer. Afterwards I had the group assessment. There were 5 of us, 3 (incl. me) had their one to one interviews first. We went through what was going to happen during the group assessment and we were introduced to the assessors. We had two, one was a manager and another was a selling coach. We then introduced ourselves, and stated why we would like to work there (do your research) and what department we would like to work. We were then handed a brief. We had to spend 5 minutes going through the brief and coming up with answers to these questions: - 5 ways to deliver good customer service - 5 ways to resolve complaints - 3 ways to improve product knowledge We spent 20 mins discussing what we came up with and then we fed back to the assessors. I came up with points beforehand and during the interview it made it a lot easier for me to contribute. I would suggest speaking up and volunteering to go first, but not being too dominant and taking over completely. On the flip side, don’t be silent and sit there. (I had this one woman who wouldn’t speak or contribute and then when I tried to bring her into the discussion, she snapped and threw a hissy fit.) Remember, they can only make their decisions based on what you say, so come up with some good, unique points and sell yourself to the assessors. Overall, it was a good interview, I wasn’t too nervous. Also, when you get the email saying you have an interview, there are two times, In the earlier time, you’ll have your one on one first and then the candidates with the later time will join you after for the group exercise, then they’ll go off and do their one on one interviews. It just comes down to personal preference. I was able to shake my nerves off in the one on one interview before the group interview. I got an email the day after saying that I’ve been offered a role!

QPretty simple, know your products, current trends etc. include others in group assessment as collaboration is important. Why John Lewis and how would you add value? How would you handle a disgruntled customer?