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First Job Interview

Poppet
3 months ago

Hi. I’m new to this community but I was diagnosed with autism when I was still a child. It’s been a rough life so far, I’ve experienced what most do, loss, pain and mental struggles but somehow (no idea how) – I’ve gotten through everything that was thrown at me. At times it was dark, I couldn’t see a way forward and yet somehow I got through those terrible days. Finding strength from inside myself when I didn’t think it was possible.

Because I feel better I have been looking at working. I never finished school (too much noise and anxiety, result was a breakdown) and with no grades and qualifications or previous experience in the workplace I didn’t set my hopes too high in being successful in any work I applied for. Still I persevered because I want to make something of my life rather than sit at home all day every day being called lazy and pathetic.

I applied at morrisons last month and about a week later I got an email saying I was unsuccessful – sad but not unexpected. I’ve been rejected by so many people I’ve come to expect it now. It’s the norm. But I still looked and hoped something would turn up and then on Wednesday morning I had an email from mossisons saying I had passed their online questionnaire and they would look at my CV – my CV is bad, very little on it because I could only really say about myself, my skills and interests (no qualifications to add). It read bad and I was sure they would take a brief look and think it’s no good.

And then I had a phone call on Wednesday afternoon (an unknown number) I let it ring because talking on the phone with people I’m unfamiliar with makes me anxious. The call was from morrisons, the woman left a voice mail and said that she was looking at my CV and would be interested in talking to me about it so we could arrange an interview… So now I’ve got an interview on Monday morning. I’m so proud of myself for achieving this, despite having so much doubt and so much negativity from those around me.

I am anxious though. I’ve never been to an interview before and I worry going means I will screw it up. My family have said this to me, they don’t think I’ll be successful which hurts but I fear they are summarising correctly. But my brothers all worked for morrisons at one point and the pay was pretty good and the work benefits were always good. It could secure my future, offering independent living: something I do not have currently.

So really I am here to seek advice on how to get through this interview – and (most importantly) not screw it up! Any and all advice is welcome!

Parents
  • 3 months ago

    Having hired people for office based jobs, the things I am looking for:

    1. Honesty - did the person actually do all the stuff on their CV or have they copied Buzzwords and paragraphs from books/internet to get to this interview, do they speak honestly about periods of unemployment (doesn't have to be too specific, general reasons are OK)
    2. Reliability - if I give this person a job, will they show up when they have a shift
    3. Self-awareness - will we be able to work out a good shift pattern compromise between the organisation's needs and your needs
    4. Flexibility - is this person willing to do extra if appropriate? e.g. do an extra shift or stay late to cover if a colleague is off sick occasionally (or will they just do the bare minimum)
    5. Adaptability - is the person able to work across different departments or locations given suitable training, do they know how they learn to help me train them well
    6. Informed - does this person know (or seem interested) in the daily or weekly routine, do they know why this job is important
    7. Determination - is this person determined to make this work despite any challenges, do they indicate how long they might want to stay in this job
    8. Initiative - do they understand where they can take initiative, and where they will have to ask permission as it is outside their role, or someone else's responsibility

    Last thing I want to do is recruit someone with good qualifications/experience and a dubious attitude, or someone who doesn't know what the job really involves and leaves on the first day.

    The other thing I would recommend, is that you try to think of what they want to hear from you, and if you feel the question doesn't give them useful information, ask them to clarify... e.g. "You asked XXX, but the only situation I can think of is from a family holiday or YYY, can you rephrase the question / be more specific in what I can tell you, please." A lot of questions tend to have several layers of assumptions, which I can't do when I am being interviewed, but they are going to ask you questions based on the job description/person specification.

    I looked up a "Customer Assistant" job advert for my local Morrison's and it says it is looking for this below (I underlined the key points), so I would expect to be asked about flexibility and loyalty (you want the best for your customers to give a great shopping experience to encourage customers to continue shopping there, always gets back to the customer asking), being busy (managing a task list, how you fill the quiet times,  dealing with the unexpected - remember you will not be alone so you can always ask others when you are unsure), notices when a customer drops a glass jar and it smashes (health and safety risk broken glass can cut, contents of jar are a slip hazard - you don't need to know what to do about it as the store will have a policy, but it is a great way to sell an attention to detail skill and that you will learn the process once you join), and equipment may include tills, trolleys, cages, step stools, ladders... so do you put them back after using or do you leave them lying in customer areas to risk accidents happening.... Check the job description for the job, as it tells you what they are looking for, and highlight all those important words, and think of things you have done which show you can do them. 

    If you feel the interview went OK but they are not certain, suggest coming in to shadow someone to see what the job involves. There is usually a probation period when you start, you could ask to have it extended if you need extra time to learn complex tasks, and tell them you are still interested in future vacancies if the person they hire doesn't work out.

    "About You

    You’ll be the kind of person who:

    • Loves going above and beyond for our customers

    • Enjoys being active and working in a fast paced varied environment 

    • Likes to use your own initiative to help support and resolve customer queries 

    • Has the ability to use a range of equipment whilst maintaining high standards of Health & Safety "

Reply
  • 3 months ago

    Having hired people for office based jobs, the things I am looking for:

    1. Honesty - did the person actually do all the stuff on their CV or have they copied Buzzwords and paragraphs from books/internet to get to this interview, do they speak honestly about periods of unemployment (doesn't have to be too specific, general reasons are OK)
    2. Reliability - if I give this person a job, will they show up when they have a shift
    3. Self-awareness - will we be able to work out a good shift pattern compromise between the organisation's needs and your needs
    4. Flexibility - is this person willing to do extra if appropriate? e.g. do an extra shift or stay late to cover if a colleague is off sick occasionally (or will they just do the bare minimum)
    5. Adaptability - is the person able to work across different departments or locations given suitable training, do they know how they learn to help me train them well
    6. Informed - does this person know (or seem interested) in the daily or weekly routine, do they know why this job is important
    7. Determination - is this person determined to make this work despite any challenges, do they indicate how long they might want to stay in this job
    8. Initiative - do they understand where they can take initiative, and where they will have to ask permission as it is outside their role, or someone else's responsibility

    Last thing I want to do is recruit someone with good qualifications/experience and a dubious attitude, or someone who doesn't know what the job really involves and leaves on the first day.

    The other thing I would recommend, is that you try to think of what they want to hear from you, and if you feel the question doesn't give them useful information, ask them to clarify... e.g. "You asked XXX, but the only situation I can think of is from a family holiday or YYY, can you rephrase the question / be more specific in what I can tell you, please." A lot of questions tend to have several layers of assumptions, which I can't do when I am being interviewed, but they are going to ask you questions based on the job description/person specification.

    I looked up a "Customer Assistant" job advert for my local Morrison's and it says it is looking for this below (I underlined the key points), so I would expect to be asked about flexibility and loyalty (you want the best for your customers to give a great shopping experience to encourage customers to continue shopping there, always gets back to the customer asking), being busy (managing a task list, how you fill the quiet times,  dealing with the unexpected - remember you will not be alone so you can always ask others when you are unsure), notices when a customer drops a glass jar and it smashes (health and safety risk broken glass can cut, contents of jar are a slip hazard - you don't need to know what to do about it as the store will have a policy, but it is a great way to sell an attention to detail skill and that you will learn the process once you join), and equipment may include tills, trolleys, cages, step stools, ladders... so do you put them back after using or do you leave them lying in customer areas to risk accidents happening.... Check the job description for the job, as it tells you what they are looking for, and highlight all those important words, and think of things you have done which show you can do them. 

    If you feel the interview went OK but they are not certain, suggest coming in to shadow someone to see what the job involves. There is usually a probation period when you start, you could ask to have it extended if you need extra time to learn complex tasks, and tell them you are still interested in future vacancies if the person they hire doesn't work out.

    "About You

    You’ll be the kind of person who:

    • Loves going above and beyond for our customers

    • Enjoys being active and working in a fast paced varied environment 

    • Likes to use your own initiative to help support and resolve customer queries 

    • Has the ability to use a range of equipment whilst maintaining high standards of Health & Safety "

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