Debenhams Interview
 

I've got an interview on Saturday for a sales advisor position at Debenhams and I'm really nervous- it's only my 3rd proper interview.

Apparently I did well on the phone interview and was very customer focused.

Anyone have any tips for the formal interview on Saturday? Apparently we'll have a group activity, individual activity and 1:1 interview.

They'll probably ask my questions such as "describe a time when you've given great customer service" but that's tricky for me to answer as I've never had a retail job before.

I've done work experience in a theatre 9 years ago and a cleaning job a couple of years ago, but most of my examples of time management etc come from my time at university.

Is it okay to say "I don't have much experience with customer service but in X situation I would do X, Y, Z"?

Well done on getting the interview :)

I've been through a couple of interviews this past month, and I know how you feel because I've never had proper retail experience before either. The way I got around such questions was by using the experience that I did have, and utilising it so it fitted the situation.

For example, I have done a lot of youth work volunteering, so I know how to deal with strangers and cope with sometimes stressful situations that you did not anticipate. This is useful in a customer related situation because it means I can work under pressure and have an approachable manner due to my past experience with members of the public.

Does that make sense? Also try to narrow down on how you can work well as an individual and within a group situation, because both are quite important when working in a team. I have heard so many times that this is something that most employers are keen to hear. I am assuming that your work in the theater and the cleaning job involved working with other people and sometimes people you had not met before?

I think it's about utilizing particular skills and attributes that you have as a person, as opposed to what proper work you have done in the past :) I was asked a similar question in an interview which I was successful in, so I talked about how good customer service involves approaching people with an open and friendly manner, always having a smile on your face and having good listening and problem solving skills so you can help the customer in the best way possible.

Sorry, have rambled now! Hope some of that was useful :)

I think the above post covers it brilliantly.

If you are asked about a time when you've given great customer service use your experience from the theatre rather than hypothesising what you would do. If you really can't think of any I wonder if you could answer using a time you have experienced great customer service and how you felt and then hypothesise from there.

With the group activity be an active contributor but dont dominate or say nothing. Also think about what they want to see eg if they phrase the question working in a team do xyz make sure you work in a team!!

Thanks for your responses. I will try to use experiences from the theatre and the cleaning job, and from university if it's applicable.

Good luck!

Customer service can also count from your cleaning job as having pride in your work and wanting to do it to the best of your ability impacted on your customers indirectly. So even stuff like stock management and tidying the shop floor will have an impact on the customer. It's not just about direct face to face service.

Don't say "just" or "only" when referring to your jobs. Don't say the fact you haven't worked in retail as a negative. You can say "although I haven't worked in retail I feel my other experiences have helped me be more ......."

Also good eye contact, don't fiddle, sit still and if you're nervous it's fine to tell them that.

The group activity will probably be to identify skills and traits such as team leaders, quiet ones, obnoxious ones, so think about what qualities you want to put across and make sure this comes out.

Don't even mention that you don't have direct retail experience. They can infer that from your resume. Just relate how the experience you do have applies to this position. Be prepared to provide specific examples.

I don't have any advice that the others haven't already said, but I want to wish you lots of luck. x

Good luck! Everyone else has pretty much covered it, but little things like good eye contact, smiling, a strong handshake and thanking the interviewers at the end of the day all counts too. Don't answer straight away, especially to more complex questions - think carefully about each response. You could even say things like 'that's a good question' or 'let me think' to show you're absorbing what they've said as you consider your response. Hope that helps! :)