Need to take a photo to interview but don't have one.

andygb

paulwf wrote: »

They will probably offer you the job there and then (after a quick discussion between themselves out of the room after the interview) so M&S will need to info to do the checks before your start date. They don't mess around with second interviews and a separate meeting to go through the paperwork, for customer assistants they want the recruitment process to be as quick as possible.

Customer assistants are expected to act professionally (as you'd expect in any job) and I doubt they will be impressed with people that refuse to hand over details or don't bring what is requested or something taken on a cameraphone...there are plenty more people that will be able to do the process properly. Isn't there any way of raising the little money for passport photo's?

I would not even question this request, particularly if you really want the job. As for identity theft, they could have cameras in the interview room, all capable of printing an image of you. As Paul has said, this is not a lot of money, and you will have three other photos left over if you need them in the future.
Andy

paulwf

PocoLocoCoco wrote: »

I'm a bit worried about my details and things, like before I have given employers my passport and they have photocopied. I went to an interview at Debenhams and they photocopied my passport before we started the interview. I've never thought about letting someone copy my passport what can they do with it?

It's about checking you are eligible to work in the UK which is a very important check companies have to do these days. If you can't prove you have the right to work in the UK they are wasting their time interviewing you. Yes, ideally none of this should be done until they offer and you accept the job, but they hold the cards so you have to play by their rules as they really don't want the situation of offering a job only to find you can't legally work there.

nikki_angel

Just a quick tip - if they do the role play where you have some ingredients and have to help someone with a last minute buffet; remember they have no cooker and the chicken bits are raw! This wont make any sense if they don't mind you lol!!

Louise22

briona wrote: »

Perhaps I'm just overly suspicious but I wouldn't be bringing ANY of that to an interview. You haven't yet been offered a position but they want a passport photo, ID (passport or driving licence I assume?), NI number, P45 and proof of address?! With that lot, I'm afraid you are simply handing them your identity on a plate!

not really, its to prove you are eligible to work in the UK. Every single interview I have went to I have had to take that documentation, although not a photo. its not suspicious at all:rolleyes:

Golden_Anemone

PocoLocoCoco wrote: »

I'm a bit worried about my details and things, like before I have given employers my passport and they have photocopied. I went to an interview at Debenhams and they photocopied my passport before we started the interview. I've never thought about letting someone copy my passport what can they do with it?

In future I want to be more strict in what details I give out but wouldn't potential employers then be suspicious of me if I am not willing to give them a copy of my passport or national insurance number. I didn't really think anyone could do much with that kind of information.

What do you recommend doing to protect myself?

Pocoloco - the staff who deal with your documents at the interview will be HR staff and they will have procedures in place to ensure that your personal information is protected. They are required by the Data Protection Act to do this.

If you want the job for goodness sake do not refuse to let them copy your documents - this is standard procedure for large companies as others have said and you may just be the interviewee who stands out as being awkward and therefore not wanted.

Oh and good luck at the interview.

DCFC79

briona wrote: »

Like I said, I'm probably being overly suspicious!

If the interview is something of a formality, then fair enough, having everything to hand for an "immediate start" is not a bad idea. But I personally would not want any "prospective" employer (who has not yet offered me a job) having copies of my passport, NI number and home address on their system – I think that's just asking for trouble!

And if you DON'T get offered the job, do you know (a) what their policy for handling personal data is, and (b) whether they actually DO remove it from their systems?

various places have a copy of my NI number, passport that i was aksed to bring to an interview, ive had no issues

DCFC79

PocoLocoCoco wrote: »

I'm getting proper passport photos done tomorrow on the way to the interview. My brother said he will give me a tenner and I will pay him back when I get my first pay....hopefully. and if I do get the job I will need a bus pass so I can use the photos again.

I'm a bit worried about my details and things, like before I have given employers my passport and they have photocopied. I went to an interview at Debenhams and they photocopied my passport before we started the interview. I've never thought about letting someone copy my passport what can they do with it?

In future I want to be more strict in what details I give out but wouldn't potential employers then be suspicious of me if I am not willing to give them a copy of my passport or national insurance number. I didn't really think anyone could do much with that kind of information.

What do you recommend doing to protect myself?

the way i see it is that big firms like debenhams, sainsburys, aldi require relevant data so they cna be sure you are who you say you are and that you are able to work in the uk, they also have tight measure in place to make sure none of the data is lost, like ive just said in the previous reply ive had my passport and NI number photcopied and ive not had any issues,

coffee_prince

I've been to over a dozen interviews for retail etc and they all ask to bring this stuff with you, they are very stict with ID it seems and eligibility to work. A lot of people like myself don't have a passport and even then the place I am gonig to tomorrow say a birth certificate and ni card isn't enough (differs to each company I guess), they need photo id and even my provisoinal lisence isn't enough???

A few places have asked for passport photos, esp the temp places I have applied for. Even if I don't get the job I hope they throw my details and photo away!

Can you not ask a close friend to borrow the money? Hope everything goes well

fablad75

It's one thing to be suspicious of handing out your personal details to random people on the street, but a potential employer has every right to want to know who they're potentially going to hire. If you start questioning this, I honestly don't think they'll hire you - the last thing they want is a difficult and suspicious new employee!

Good luck with the interview tomorrow, btw.

junkmayle

If companies started demanding you bring two grand cash to interviews, I think everyone would have a multitude of questions re security, why its needed, return of said cash if not successful, who gets the interest on it. Handing over details of your identity willy nilly to anyone that asks without asking yourself why are they needed is just irresponsible. No-one NEEDS to take a copy of your passport. All thats needed is sight of it. With those details you are handing over blithely people can get loans, mortgages, maybe the deeds to your house. You asked what can someone get from your passport number. Well, I could ring passport office, pretend to be someone from IT ringing back about that problem you had. In a large organisation like passport office, few will know many people from IT and there will ALWAYS be someone with a computer problem. Once that person believes Im from IT, the whole system is compromised. No-one sits in dark rooms hacking passwords anymore, they just ask for them. Its called social engineering; look it up on Wikipedia. The weakest link in any system is the most gullible person and there are plenty of those around.