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The sessions at the Next assessment centre tend to last half a day and are based in the Leicestershire head office. It is likely that you will have to do a fifteen minute presentation. You will have time to prepare for it in advance. It is important to make sure that you come across as confident and speak positively about yourself. However, this will depend on the position that you have applied for as some do not have a presentation at all and are told they do not need to prepare.

It is always wise to prepare even if you are told not to. Find out as much as you can about the company and visit some stores to become familiar with the product line. Even if you shop in Next, you should try to look at it again, examining all products, as you may only shop in certain departments and may not look at it from the point of view of a potential employee. Bear in mind that they also have a catalogue and sell online and so it is worth taking a look at that as well, so that you can answer questions or voice an opinion on it.

The hardest questions to answer can be when asked for improvements. It means that you will seemingly have to criticise what they are doing. However, there are ways to answer without doing this. Think about the positives and reasons why they might be doing things the way they are and explain why you think changes should be made and how you feel that will benefit the company and their customers.

It can be nerve racking, visiting an assessment centre. However, it is important to keep calm. A few nerves are expected but you still need to be able to think and behave with a clear head. Therefore make sure that you try some relaxation exercises and are well prepared so that you are more confident.

Next Recruitment Process

If you were successful at the online job application process then there will be 4 more stages waiting for you to complete. The whole recruitment process can take up to 4 months however some schemes like Trainee Buyer may take even longer due to its popularity.

Here are the 4 stages :

Online Ability Testing

The company will send you an email invitation to complete the test. You have 3 weeks to do this test.

Video Interview

If you have been successful at your online test then you will let know by an email and there will also be an invitation for a video interview. This is not a live interview so you have 5 days to record your answers and upload it to Next career site. It will take 4-6 weeks for them to review your videos and get back to you.

Telephone Interview

If you have passed the video interview stage then Next will contact to you arrange a telephone interview. Telephone interviews takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Assessment Centre

And finally if you have been successful at all the previous stages then the last step is Assessment Centre. These Assessment centres takes about half day and take place at Head Office of Next in Leicestershire

Interview Questions

Why Next?
What do you know about Next?
What makes you different than other candidates?
What motivates you?
What are your strenghts?
What is your weakness?
Why should we hire you?

Good luck with your interview.

Often at a New Look interview you will be asked to pick an outfit. This might be for a celebrity or for a typical customer such as a 20 year old girl’s work outfit. It is important to be very familiar with the stock that is currently being sold and the prices. You would want to pick an expensive outfit to make the company more money. You will also want to accessorise it, so include a bag, jewellery, shoes and maybe a cardigan or coat as well. You will have limited time to do this.

You will be asked about the company and why you want to work for them. Make sure that you compliment their products as well as company ethos. You can found out about both of these by visiting their website. Make sure that you know this information backwards as it can be harder to recall things like this when you are nervous, as you are likely to be at the interview.

It is possible that you will have to do a group exercise as well as having a 1 to 1 interview and there may be an ice breaking exercise as well. It is so important to work as hard as you can to stay relaxed, let your personality come through but not be over bearing. This is not easy and you will need to stay focussed in order to do it.

It can be difficult having the 1 on 1 interview at the end of the session as you could get tired by then. Try to keep your energy levels up, eat well before you go and try to stay calm as stress can be draining and sap your energy. Try to smile a lot, but not too much, be friendly, polite and remember to interact with the other candidates as well as the interviewers.

Interview Questions

Tell me about yourself Why should we hire you?
What do you expect from a supervisor?
Describe a typical work week?
How do you handle stress and pressure?
What are you passionate about?
Why do you want to work here?
How do you evaluate success?
Give some examples of teamwork

Good luck with your interview and let us know how it went!

So, you have you applied for a job, and as part of their application process, you have asked to take an employment test….

This brief article will help you prepare for your test or tests.

Type of test?

There are four main types of pre-employment tests – Aptitude Personality Specific Skills Job knowledge Aptitude Tests

Numerical, Verbal & Diagrammatic tests are types of aptitude tests used by recruiters and employers offering graduate & professional opportunities. Numerical tests require the candidates ability to deal with numbers quickly and accurately, and contain questions that assess knowledge of ratios, percentages, cost and sales analysis, rates, trends and currency conversions. Verbal tests require  a short passages of writing to be read then asks questions assessing the comprehension of the text. Diagrammatic questions are designed to assess logical reasoning ability. The questions measure the ability to understand a set of rules from a flowchart or sequence of diagrams and then to apply those rules to new circumstances

Personality

A personality test will ask a set of questions  to assess the way you think and how your personality is displayed in your employment choices.  These are usually used in settings such as employment agencies and careers offices to assess which type of job to 8apply for.

Specific Skills and Job Knowledge

These will depend on the type of job being offered. This could be ‘fix a part of a car for a mechanics job’ or answering industry related scenario-type questions.

Relax

Tests are designed to help provide a fair method of comparing job applicants. So if you’re asked to take an employment test, don’t get angry. Even senior executives at the biggest  companies in the world are often asked to take pre-employment tests.

If your prospective employer sees you are nervous or upset at being asked to take a test, they may be concerned about how you will handle the normal day-to-day job stress, so try to relax and you will actually test better.

Take your time

Pre-employment tests can be issued on site or web-based tests at home.  Depending on the type of test or tests, you may need a few minutes or several hours. ..

Find out how much time you will need and make sure you take the test in a location that is free from distractions to ensure you can give it your full attention.

If you are taking a test from home, ensure that friends and family know not to come to visit, and that you turn your telephone off. It may also be a good idea – if possible – to complete the test when children are at school or with relatives.

Read the instructions – twice!

The most common mistake made when taking any type of test is rushing through the instructions. It is very important to read the instructions carefully and make sure you understand them. Sometimes instructions contain information about how the test is scored.

Example, on some aptitude tests you may be told that there is no penalty for incorrect answers. In this case, if you are running out of time you should start guessing.

Another common mistake is contained in multiple choice questions – for example, it may offer you the option to select three possible answers, but you only select one as the previous questions asked for one.

Do not be scared of failing

Pre-employment tests only form a small part of the application process, so being unsuccessful may not be solely responsible to the result of your test – there may have simply been a more experienced candidate.

Do not let it put you off of future tests!

All tests can be daunting – but remember that it will show off how suitable for the job you are! So relax, take your time and…..

Good Luck!

If you are called to an assessment centre for Tesco, then you may find it quite difficult to prepare, as the activities that you are expected to do may vary, not only depending on the role that you are applying or but also on the assessment centre itself. You will be likely to have an interview, role-play and some group exercises to take part in.

During the interview stage you are likely to be asked why you want to work for Tesco and why you have chosen to apply for that particular role. You will be considered in light of the values of the company and so it is important that you know what these are beforehand. You also want to consider the skills that you have and how you will demonstrate those in the interview.

The group exercise may involve making a sales pitch presentation. You may need to work against someone else in trying to make your product sound the best. Think about the benefits to the customer and focus on those.

It is likely that you will know what the presentation will be on beforehand so that you can prepare. Make sure that you work hard in demonstrating both your knowledge of the company, the role and showing how your skills fit in with those. Preparing beforehand can sometimes make it more worrying, because you will be expected to do some work. However, see it as an opportunity to show off your research and preparation skills and make sure that you put in a lot of time. If you cannot free up time, then there will not be an opportunity to make excuses or do it at another time, so you need to put everything on hold to get this done.

Some of the interview questions you might be asked during your assessment centre:

What makes you different from other candidates?
Describe a time when you helped someone
Descibe a situation that you found difficult and how you overcame it
Are you sure this is the right amout of money you have to give back?
What is your current salary?
Give an example of when you have had to keep a piece of information confidential
Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it
Tell me about yourself?
Why Tesco?
Why do you want to work for Tesco?
Why should we hire you?
What were you able to negotiate? What advice would you give others considering an offer?
How fexible are you around working unsocial hours?
Name a time when team building was essential in something you have done
What Tesco brand would you be and why?
Do you have any experience in sales?
When have you last helped someone?
What is your biggest strength?
Why do you want this job?

Good luck.

At the Argos assessment centre you will get the chance to meet staff who work at the company. There will be a selection of group and individual activities to take part in. Some you will have to prepare for beforehand. It will be useful to make sure that you get as much information as you can ready, especially if you know what to expect from your day. It is also wise to get general information too. You want to find out as much as you can about Argos, visit local stores and look at their website in general. It is also important to know exactly what the job is and what skills are required for that.

It can be difficult to get over your nerves, take part in a group or individual activity and also try to behave naturally but show off your relevant skills. However, it is possible for you to do this if you prepare well and practice. It is well worth having a look at the types of activities you might be expected to do or the types of questions you may be asked. Think about them and consider how you would answer them. Try out some examples yourself. In other words actually talk out loud in the way that you would at the assessment centre. It is best to practice in front of other people to get a better idea of what it would be like in front of someone on the actual day,. Try to take it seriously so that you get a proper chance to practice.

There may be the chance to practice helping customers, answering queries and dealing with complaints. It is always good to consider any previous retail experience when considering how to deal with this. This could be whether you considered it to be successful or not.

Team Leader Assessment Centre

Objective

Identify two opportunities to improve the operation at Basildon that you would make your priority once your induction was complete. Please include what the challenges would be, how you would approach the improvement and why you selected these issues.
 
Resources
 
You will be given room to work from, flip-chart paper and a 30 minute slot with three individuals who have a specialist view of the operation.  You may use the 30 minute slots however you wish but please remember that if you wish to walk around the warehouse then you must bring safety footwear with you (hi-vis vest will be provided).
 
Output
 
You will be asked to present back your findings during a 10 minute presentation, after which you may be asked to answer questions from the team.

Tips for the interview

Argos wants you to have list of questions to ask at the end of the interview. The company thinks that asking questions to Argos is a great way to impress them.

What to wear

Smart business wear should be just fine for the interview. Looking good will mean that you are the one for the job for Argos.

Don’t be late

Make sure that you are on time for your interview. Check directions, parking and arrange your transport. It’s always wise to be at the centre 10 minutes before to avoid stress.

During the interview

Be careful about your body language! relax and keep smiling.Being nervous is ok as long as you don’t exaggerate it.Making eye contact with all the interviewers will give you confidence.Speak clearly and don’t forget that you have plenty of time so take your time.Ask clarification if you didn’t understand any question from the interviewers.Don’t criticise current or previous employers of Argos.And finally, this is your chance so sell yourself!

Interview Questions

Tell me about yourself
Why Argos?
What makes you different than other candidates?
Why should we hire you?What are your weaknesses?
What are your strengths?
What salary expectations do you have?

Good luck with your interview.

Primark assessment days are quite new and therefore the format may not be completely established yet. It is likely that there will be a maths test, group exercise and interview.

The maths test is likely to be checking that you have the necessary skills to be able to work the till, check change and things like that so it would be arithmetic. It is very likely that no calculators will be allowed and so making sure that you are up to sped with this sort of question is wise. Try to do some practice if you can, even if you are confident in your abilities. Then you will have more confidence when you are doing the test.

The group exercise is probably to find out what your leadership skills are like as well as how well you work with a group. If you are with other strong personalities, then it will not be possible for you all to be leaders. However, there are things that you can do to demonstrate those qualities, such as taking notes, leading some of the conversation, making decisions, summarising things etc. Do your best to make sure that everyone in the group has the opportunity to speak, including yourself.

You will have an interview probably with one or two HR people. You will need to therefore make sure that you save some energy for this as it is likely to come towards the end of the assessment. You will need to prepare so that you can answer questions about the company, why you want to work there, what makes you suitable for the role etc. Preparing is important because not only does it make you sound more knowledgeable but it also gives you more confidence in your ability to do well in the interview.

Interview Questions

Who are our competitive companies?
What do you think is good customer service?
Did you do any presentations at either school or college?
What is a time you had to meet a deadline?
What is a time you worked in a team?
What’s the greatest challenge you’ve had to date?
A woman is standing waiting in the changing room line and is getting impatient, what should you do?
When have you had to work in a team to complete a task with a limited amount of time?
When have you had to work in a team and someone has not been offering a skill to help?
How do you get a customer to take a customer service feedback card and bring it back filled out?
Name a time you gave good service
Explain the meaning of good customer service
Tell me a bit about your background and education.
Name primarks top competitors on the high street?
What do you know about Primark?
What would you do if a customer wanted to try the dress on but they are in a rush and the que for the fitting rooms is long?
What would you do if a customer wanted a dress they saw but it wasn’t in stock?
An example of me working in a team and when there was conflict?
What do you hope to get out of this role?
How would you deal with an upset customer?
Who are the main competitors of Primark ?
Name a time you have been in charge of a situation?
What do you think is good customer service?
Give me an example when you gave excellent customer service?
Can you think of a time in which you helped someone, what was there issue and how did you help them?
Why do you want to work for Primark?
Tell me about yourself
Tell me a time went you went above and beyond for a customer
Tell me something interesting about yourself
Do you have an interest in retail?
What do you think is the best customer service?
What relevant skills do you have?
Tell me a time when you’ve worked in a team and a teammember was not contributing
What if the customers saw dress on TV and we didnt had in store?
How much do you know about Primark as a company?

Are you looking for a job with Debenhams? With over 150 stores nationwide, there are lots of jobs available, but you have a competitive hiring process ahead of you. Get ready for your numerical reasoning test, interview and assessment centre with JobTestPrep.

Avail yourself of the opportunity to practise with our high-quality resourcesInterview questions asked by a company’s recruiters

Debenhams Numerical Test

Many companies use numerical reasoning assessments to gain a better understanding regarding your abilities to perform mathematical functions and interpret numerical data. JobTestPrep offers a variety of numerical reasoning practice tests with accompanying answer keys and explanations for many different job levels.

Debenhams Abstract Reasoning Online Assessment

The abstract reasoning tests are also known as inductive or diagrammatic reasoning and assess general intellect rather than textbook knowledge. When administering this test, Debenhams will be looking to see how you relate to new concepts and abstract ideas and can be used to assess a wide range of positions within the company. So, be creative, quick and use your fluid intelligence to solve the issues you will be confronted with on the test.

The Debenhams Verbal Reasoning Test

Verbal reasoning tests focus on drawing logical conclusions from verbal information. These tests automatically assume you understand the meanings of the words and phrases used in the text.

Debenhams SJT Test

The scenarios presented on SJTs always ask for a resolution of a given conflict which, although being hypothetical, might very much rely on, or represent, realistic situations that occur in a workplace. You will then be asked to choose a preferred method of action out of a number of possible options. You are encouraged to choose your responses spontaneously, based on intuition; however, analyzing the scenarios and choosing responses that highlight your skills will allow you to better present yourself on the test.

Debenhams Personality Test

Debenhams deploy a personality test to better screen potential employees before you can sign on the dotted line. They want to know who will perform well and those who won't. It is important to note that you should answer each question truthfully and go with the first answer that comes to mind. Overthinking questions will throw you off, waste time and perhaps indicate to the recruiter that you are trying to game the system.

Interview Questions

What do you plan to do in the New Year when the contract is up?
Tell me about yourself
What does good customer service mean?
Why should we hire you?
What do you know about Debenhams?
Why do you want this job?
Describe a time when you managed your workload during a very busy period.
What made you choose to apply to Debenhams?
Tell me about a time when you solved a problem? What is your greatest achievement?
Other than customer service, what other services to Debenhams offer?
Other than customer service, what other duties are involved in this role?
What are your weaknesses?
Tell me a time that you have improved something?
Tell me about a time when you’ve had to keep organised, how did you do this?
How would you get the customer to spend more?
Other than customer service, what other duties are involved in the role?
Why this role?
Tell me about yourself
What do you understand by good customer service?
Describe a difficult work situation project and how you overcame it
What can you contribute to this company?
What would you do if the store was quiet?
Why do you want this job?
Why do you think that Debenhams is better than its competitors?
What motivates you?
Where have you received excellent customer service and where have you received poor customer service?
Why Debenhams?

If you are thinking of applying for the Marks and Spencer graduate scheme, then it is a good idea to be prepared for the interview process, should you get that far.

You will have to take part in a group exercise and do a presentation. You will have a role play exercise and then an interview at the end. You will have breakfast and lunch provided and have a tour of the building.

The group discussion lasts around an hour. You will then get an hour to write an individual report which you will have to present for ten minutes to one assessor. You will have a role play in front of two assessors which lasts around half an hour. The interview is last and takes around 45 minutes.
An example of a role play is to do an appraisal with a horrendous employee. Afterwards you get asked how well you felt it went and how you would do it differently if you had to repeat it.

All of the information that you need will be provided on the day, which means that it is not easy to prepare. However, you will need to prepare for the interview part. Make sure that you are aware of exactly what is required and have some examples prepared as to when you have demonstrated the skills.

It is a long day as it can take eight hours. You will therefore need to be well rested and well prepared. You will have to eat in front of other candidates and assessors as well, which could be difficult for some people, so be prepared for that.

What you are required to do, may vary between assessment centres as well as specific assessors and so even if you research what other people have experienced, it may not reflect what will happen at yours.

Interview Questions

Why M&S?
Why do you want to work for M&S?
Why you are looking to leave your current employee?
How would you react when faced with an angry, irate customer complaint ?
Why Marks and Spencer?
Why would you give a manager opportunity to fail, when you were briefed that they were a problem?
What can you offer a customer if they do not have fresh butter squash in stock?
Do you think the quality of our men’s wear products are as high as our home department products?
What was your favorite subject in university?
What would you say you would like the most and least about working here?
Why Marks & Spencer? What is the worst and best thing about working in retail?
Can you recommend a product?
Are you good at teamwork? Have you ever faced difficulty?
Have you previous retail experience?
Why do you want to work for M&S?
Tell me about yourself
What do you think the job will entail?
How have you demonstrated innovation?
Have you had any previous experience?
If you were an M&S sandwich, what would you be and why?
Why should we hire you?
Why are you interested in working for us? Why are you good for this role?
What do you think will be the most interesting part of the job and what do you think will be the most boring part?
What would i do when faced with a customer query?
How did you travel here today?
Give an example on how you made a customer feel special.
How do you overcame a bad situation in a team?
Why do you want to work for Marks and Spencer?
Tell me about a time where you disagreed with something?
Why you left your last job?
Why do you think you would be a good sales assistant?
What kind of products do you like in M&S?
When did you inspire someone?
What do you think a good customer experience is?
Why do you want to work for our company?
What was your biggest failure?
Describe what makes a good customer service experience

Good luck.