Difficulty Rating

60%

Interview experience

Positive

100%

Neutral

0%

Negative

0%

  • Farmfoods Graduate Programme

    Difficulty Rating

    60%

    Interview process

    My one-to-one interview took place at the assessment centre. After completing a presentation to an area manager, he then asked me a variety of questions relating to my background and motivation for the role. This was unusual due to the fact two other candidates were presenting and being interviewed in the same room as me while other assessors were circling the room. My tip here would be to focus on yourself and ignore what is going on around you. After asking about my University life and work experience he moved onto specifics about the role. Questions ranged from 'What do think the key skill of a retail manager is?' to 'How would you improve your current shop (I work in a charity shop)?' I was also asked if I had visited a Farmfoods store so would definitely recommend going to one beforehand. I was then asked how I would improve the store/what impressed me. He also asked about how I would deal with difficult/unmotivated employees.

    Most difficult question

    How would you deal with an uncooperative employee?

    Interview tips

    Do your research on Farmfoods and retail in general. Make sure you visit a store and have ideas on what you would do to make it run better. Know your presentation inside out before you arrive as this is the one aspect you can control. Be focused during the interview and presentation as assessors are circling and other interviews are taking place so the room can be noisy. Just focus on your own performance. During the group task always look for the simplest/cheapest solution and don't over complicate answers.

    Experiences at the assessment centre

    Split into two groups of 3. Had to introduce yourself and say a fun fact. Then had to complete an icebreaker with the assessors by finding out information about them. Next was a group task in the groups of 3 where we were given two fictional issues in a store which we had to come up with solutions for and present back to the other group and assessors. Following this was a ten minute solo presentation which I had prepared beforehand (you have to send in your slides a month before attending) to a member of the senior management. After the presentation you complete an interview with this person. Returning to the main room, our group then completed a short spelling and situational judgement test. The assessment centre started at 1pm and was completed by 3pm.

    Interview steps

    Interviews:

    • Phone
    • 1:1
    • Group / Panel
    • Senior Management
    • Video

    Tests:

    • Numerical
    • Personality
    • Verbal reasoning
    • Psychometric

    Other:

    • Assessment centre
    • Group exercise
    • Background check
    • Presentation
    • Competency based questions

    Rating the interview

    How would you rate the pre-attendance information?

    pre-attendance information:

    How well was the interview organised?

    interview organisation:

    What was your overall impression of the organisation?

    overall impression of the organisation:

    What was your overall impression of the selection process?

    selection process:

    Did the interview reflect the overall values / culture of the organisation?

    overall values / culture:

    Would you recommend this company to a friend?

    would recommend company to a friend:

    Did you want the role following your interview?

    wanted role after interview: