Failed At My Tesco Interview

BAILEYS6904

So you got there 30 minutes early (far too early incidentally, should have walked round outside or something for another 20 minutes), then you're not happy that the interviewer needs to go to the toilet ( when you shouldnt have been there anyway).

He gives you a form to fill in, because he has to leave the room, and doesnt want you sat there doing nothing, which again you dont like, as you'd prefer to do it at the end of the interview.

He explains that hes leaving his watch on the table to monitor time ( a standard practice) which again you dont like.

Unfortunately interviews dont all follow a set structure, you need to learn to stay focussed at the points you want to put across, and not be thrown by anything thats disturbs you. Your post appears to put a lot of blame on the interviewer for you not getting the job. I hope its just the way it was written and not what you actually think, cos that attitude, or the fact you were annoyed, may have come out at interview?

SevenOfNine

An interviewee arriving 30 mins early should stay outside until 5-7 mins before their interview time (as long as they are completely confident they are in the right place - I usually check out parking and exact location/entrance beforehand).

Try your local Next Step (& their website) to get further interview skills help.

Lastly, ignore advice telling you not to apply again as you won't be successful, unless it is being given by the Tesco manager or HR. At the moment only 1 thing is CERTAIN........if you don't apply again you definitely won't be employed there will you. Unless anyone knows for a fact you can't apply again, or there was something in the ad/application specifying that, you should give it a go, nothing to lose.

I failed at interview for a job with Open Uni years ago. Wrote down the questions (I'd been advised to do that some years before), applied again a couple of months later and blow me - different panel, nearly the same questions! (I got the job.)

Good luck. It's perfectly fine to tell an interviewer you are nervous, just don't show irritation.

wuckfit

Turning up 30 mins early is a mistake. I always aim to present myself to reception of a company no earlier than 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Five minutes ahead might cut it fine if the interview room is at the other end of the building.

Being given a form to fill in whilst the interviewer is out of the room is perfectly acceptable. especially if you've arrived half an hour early.

CCFC_80

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

It could have been a very suitable selection technique - filling in paperwork and having to wait form someone.....if THAT annoys you - then you probably aren't suited to working in that shop....

I can sympathise will the filling in with the paperwork at interview.It annoys me in the past that when you go to an interview after sending in your CV.The potential employer wants you to fill in an application form and other forms etc. Surely they should have sent these forms out beforehand for you to complete and bring to the interview.

TEDDYRUKSPIN

Treat it as a test practice interview run! Many people now and in their past times may have gone through a lot of interviews before even getting the job. So would not let it stick in your head.

What you should do is remember what the asked you and practice for the next sales / customer service job.

It does seem you went in very unprepared to be honest.

Tesco will be using the american testing critieria. It is normal for some companies who have alot of people applying to test you with an exam. So this is normal. I once went into one interview and told to write an essay on a question about what I thought about DNA cloning. LOL. It was hilarious. Essay?

Anyway, you live and learn.

For yourself, you should always practice beforehand. Remember the job title. You can ask the employer what type of interview it will be beforehand. Most of the time it will be the competency interview.

Good luck in the future.

I think some of the post may be a bit too harsh. The person is 21 years old and seems to have a lack of interview experience. Don't forget just finished education.

This person will go through a wealth of different jobs until they will be happy in one job. So all we can do is give them a pat on the back for even getting to the interview stage.

Tigsteroonie

SevenOfNine wrote: »

I failed at interview for a job with Open Uni years ago. Wrote down the questions (I'd been advised to do that some years before), applied again a couple of months later and blow me - different panel, nearly the same questions! (I got the job.)

I'd second this - if you can still remember them, write down the questions they asked and then practise some answers to them.

I had one interview at my current employers, two relatively inexperienced interviewers from the HR department, asking the usual inane competence questions. I wrote them down afterwards, and then found out I'd got an interview for a different job at the same employer. I went better prepared, had a far more competent interviewer who asked the same set questions, and I gave improved answers - and got the second job

paulwf

andy46 wrote: »

I can sympathise will the filling in with the paperwork at interview.It annoys me in the past that when you go to an interview after sending in your CV.The potential employer wants you to fill in an application form and other forms etc. Surely they should have sent these forms out beforehand for you to complete and bring to the interview.

I can see why they might do this. The level of spelling, punctuation and grammar that some people have is shocking. If they have the forms to fill in at home they could get their friend/parent/neighbour/teacher to help them fill them in. Even if they do them themselves they could type all the answers up on computer, get Word to do a basic spell and grammar check then just copy them out. They could even ask the questions on MSE.

Getting candidates to fill out a form in "real time" so to speak with no assistance is a really good idea. I've seen lots of CVs that are beautifully written but the covering letters are shocking...you can tell the CV was written by somebody else but they've written the covering letter themselves.

Foyzul_A

Dumyat wrote: »

Interviews are difficult, but you can practice and learn how to answer the most common questions beforehand. And do your homework about the job before you go.
There's lots of help out there... try here.

Thank you very much, this will come in hand to train myself to answer those interview question.;)

Foyzul_A

wuckfit wrote: »

Turning up 30 mins early is a mistake. I always aim to present myself to reception of a company no earlier than 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Five minutes ahead might cut it fine if the interview room is at the other end of the building.

Being given a form to fill in whilst the interviewer is out of the room is perfectly acceptable. especially if you've arrived half an hour early.

Yes I wish I didn't arrive so early and I will take your advice for the future interviews, Thank you.;)

Foyzul_A

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

I'd second this - if you can still remember them, write down the questions they asked and then practise some answers to them.

I had one interview at my current employers, two relatively inexperienced interviewers from the HR department, asking the usual inane competence questions. I wrote them down afterwards, and then found out I'd got an interview for a different job at the same employer. I went better prepared, had a far more competent interviewer who asked the same set questions, and I gave improved answers - and got the second job

I can remember some of the questions that where asked and rest was probably a blur and I have been practices those answers, thank you.;)