The process took about a month. I applied online and after 1 week was phoned by the store manager and asked about my availability. Another week later, I was invited down to the store for a trial. I was simply asked to wear black and arrive at a certain time. When I arrived, I was greeted by the store manager, she was really friendly and made me feel at ease. I was then lead to the staff room where I put my things in a locker. There was no interview, no introduction from myself, and no getting to know me as an individual - this surprised me. On the shop floor, she briefly went through where everything was and gave me a product that I had to go outside and 'lease line' - aka I had to pound on people walking past the store asking them to try their new cream. This was embarrassing and it felt like a punishment (plus it was freezing). I was then asked to go inside and help customers, which I felt confident doing as all of my past employment involved customer service. The other sales staff were really friendly and helpful. I was probably there for 25 mins. Personally, I felt that without an interview, and after being told that they had loads of people coming in for trials, I felt like I didn't get much of a chance to 'show off' my skills. Putting me outside the store, after just meeting me, just made me nervous - and I'm a pretty confident person. I received a call two weeks later saying that I had been unsuccessful, which I was glad of, as the other sales staff told me that they had to meet targets - I don't really want to work in an environment where the staff's hidden motivation is to make the customer buy more and more and more.

The interview process was very speedy, I applied online and received a call asking if I was available for a telephone interview, I was then invited into store the next day for a one to one interview and a shop floor assessment. I have been told that I will find out if I got the job or not within the next couple of days. The shop floor assessment was a really fun and engaging, which surprised me as I was initially really nervous. I approached customers and offered them help such as finding specific products and price checking sale items and talked about some current promotions. The staff were lovely and the store manager that interviewed me was so friendly and supportive, the questions were mixed with general conversation which really eased my nerves and made me feel more comfortable. Hope I get the job, I also hope that the questions I have listed below help other applicants, good luck :) - Also dress in all black smart attire!