This is a continued section from my review of the interview process up until I was invited to the group interview/recruitment event.
I attended this event yesterday and was called today saying I got the offer! I'm writing these for anyone who's reading to prepare for the any future interviews as it helped me prepare for possible questions and helped with expectations.
We started off with a video about Selfridges and its achievements, events, values etc. Then we had an ice breaker getting to know the person next to us then introducing them to the group. (ask about their hobbies, where they're from, what they enjoy, music, favourite food etc.) just get to know them and show genuine curiosity and find mutual interests. I dont think this part is assessed at all as part of the interview but I felt like I learnt a lot about the type of people around me just from that exercise.
Then we were given a group activity, we were split into groups of four (four groups in total - we had 16 people interviewing). There was also a manager at each table to help out with any questions during the activity but mainly to score you on how you contribute in the group. The activity was scenario based, something along the lines of a customer comes to you for help with a gift for their neighbour who is an earth safe foodie and has a keen taste for wine, how do you approach this? and they provided bullet points to cover and consider such as: how would you approach the situation and interact with the customer; what questions would you ask them; what (items) would you recommend; how will you make the experience extraordinary; how will you encourage they return. Then you had to present your solution as a group to everyone else (only about 30 seconds of talking each). For this I dont think they're fussed on whether your group had the best answer but more looking at how you work together, including contributing with your own ideas, listening to your group members and taking everyones suggestions into account, ensuring everyone in the group is on the same page and just explain and back up anything you contribute towards Selfridges' values and the ideal role of a sales associate.
The final step was the 1:1 interview. For us, they interviewed four people in the same room so it was abit noisy but I feel it made it less intimidating (still 1:1, each person was sat on a separate table). The department manager would sit with you on a table and asked competency based questions. Answer them with STAR structure.
I was asked five questions. Three were "Tell me a time when" you solved a problem; you were part of a team; you went above and beyond for someone. Two were "what would you do if" someone came into the store wanting a specific bag they had a picture of on their phone but you didn't have it in store (consider asking specific questions, recommending similar alternatives, find out when they're back in stock, and suggest using the online store as well as how you would interact with them); someone comes into the store wanting help with something but there's a language barrier (consider other types of communication like body languages and gestures as well as tone, if you know a colleague who speaks the language consider asking the for help, but also use google translate for an efficient way of communications etc).
That's what I took from it anyway. Maybe these will help anyone else preparing to have ideas in mind incase it's applicable to other questions they may ask. I would say read the role they advertise on their site in detail. they already say what they want from you and list skills you should have and what makes a good sales associate so always refer back to those when answering.