Morrisons Interview Questions & Answers

I simply uploaded my resume and after few days I got an invitation for writing online tests. It seems that they invite everyone to write online test. Online test is pretty easy, but it has strict time constraints. If you got to clear this stage, then aim to finish all the questions at a good speed. Per question you might get only 15-30 seconds.

The next stage is video interview. This is a very crucial stage because they will select only those candidates whom they want to see at their assessment center. They got a strict budget as to whom they got to bring to their HO. Overseas (out of UK) application is always a failure as they will end up incurring huge travel cost and please be assured that they will find a way to reject your application at this stage.

Questions asked:
Q1. Why do you think you should follow rules and regulations?
Q2. Give example of dealing with challenges at your previous work and how you came up with a solution
Q3. Why finance function is important in a business?
Q4. Why do you think you are efficient?
Q5. Why did you chose Morrison finance Graduate scheme?
Q6. What steps will you take to reduce costs/
Q7. Do you like doing work with strict laid down rules and procedures or prefer to do whatever you want to do?
Q8. 2 minutes for further comments.

The video interview questions are very easy. There is one question that I believe is quite tricky one, especially for finance scheme. The question was "Do you like doing work that has strict laid down rules and procedures or do you prefer to work where you can do whatever you want to?" It is one of those questions "where they want to hear what they expect to hear."

It is a local British company. Understand the core-values of the company and also the people who are working in there. You will have an advantage, if you completely understand the company culture and resonate with them. You got to speak in video interview, what the HR wants to hear. If you are able to write to the HR for an appointment to discuss the position, then you will understand things better and finally reach the assessment centre.

If you are lucky to talk to a previously selected graduate and if he/she is kind to let you know how their interview selection "ACTUALLY" works, then you get the job!!!!!

Don't waste time too much for the interview, if you don't have the right resources.

Not reached.

My initial video interview was recorded by myself to random questions accumulated by the computer. there was not a graduate recruitment team on the other side of the camera, rather they reviewed the video interview after it was submitted. The video interview lasted around 20 minutes and asked about previous work experience and your suitable to their competency skills as outlined on the job specification.

After this, I was invited to an assessment centre to complete various tasks. The day was 5 hours long and consisted of individual interviews, group work, presentation and a buddy system. This appeared to be the overall format for all the graduate assessment days Morrisons ran. On the day we had to perform a task to choose between two new products to be implemented, deciding which one to run with based on budget, profit, losses and Morrisons ethics and values. This was presented to the graduate recruitment team through a Pechi Kuca format of PowerPoint. where slides last for 20 seconds and then switch, this although sounded easy was probably the most challenging part of the day.

In addition, the individual face to face interview asked about previous work experience and degree qualifications in relation to key competencies such as teamwork, communication skills, ethical practice, literacy and numeracy, marketing and events experience. This was followed by questions which referred to different scenarios you may be in as an employer and how you would go about challenging these, Overall the interview was fairly relaxed in its format.

One question was to test how well you met the criteria of marketing and Morrisons and stated describe yourself in 10 nouns.

You must be confident, professional and meet there ethos. Do alto of research about the company before you go because this is one of the main standards they mark you against. Also be very confident in using complicated language and presentation. You need to act professional like you would in a meeting with seniors. Furthermore, always use he star technique of situation, task, action and result to show your competency to their chosen interview skills. This really helps you structure you answers and allows the interviewer to easily mark you against their criteria. The easier you make it for them the more likely they are to like you and most of all understand what you could bring to the company. Furthermore, body language in communication style is important. Make sure you dress smart for the interview, blazer and pencil skirt or a suit for boys. Smile, be confident but not too relaxed. This is something I got marked down for and I know others on the day would have been too. It is really important to stay professional throughout the whole interview process and day. In doing so you will be able to give off a good impression. Although, I wouldn't go overboard as the graduate recruitment team would probably see this as false impressions and behaviour, just act very outgoing, confident and interested in Morrisons.

As described above: We were split into four groups of three where we worked for most of the day planning our presentation on the subject of which product to introduce into Morrisons stores.

The interview was conducted online. You will see a question and have some time to think about it (usually between 1 and 2 minutes). Then your camera and mic will start recording over a certain period of time (1 to 2 minutes) during which you can give your answer. If you are done earlier, you can stop the recording and the next question will appear. As the interview in conducted via a program and there is no other person involved, you can do it whenever it suits you best.

There were a few unusual questions. However, unlike most other interviews that I have done so far, Morrisons gives you quite a bit of time to think about your responses. Some questions give you two minutes preparation time, which is a lot. Morrisons mostly wants to know how you think and act and questions are often hypothetical - so not even asking for real life examples, rather putting you into a certain situation and asking you how you would respond or act.

You need a paper and a pen for this interview as you will have to brainstorm during the preparation time you'll be given. While this might sound a little bit worrysome, you are given a lot of time to think about your answer before recording it - so that is good.

No assessment centre at this stage.

My initial telephone call was from a member of their personnel staff. I went on to do a one to one interview with my 'to be' department manager the following week which lasted about thirty minutes. From here I returned the next week to complete CRB check forms, payment details and carry out my induction which went on for the whole days work, and payed.

Why do you deserve this job?

It's difficult to answer this question without feeling like you could disrespect others. I answered it by saying how motivated, enthusiastic and hard working I was, explaining that I had this from years of working in certain roles and experiences.

Be confident in yourself by going over your experiences from things and what you gained from them, make sure you speak clearly and dress smart. Don't ever rely on chance, do your background research on a company before you talk to a representative from it.

More is less, if you don't know something don't make it up, look interested and ask questions, it shows you're interested and WANT to do better for yourself AND the company.

It was a one to one, friendly and easy going discussion on the company role for the most part. The rest was them asking how I'd fit in with that and what I thought I'd benefit from working with them. It was one of the better interviews I've had in my experience.

First I sent away my application online, and then found out I had an online assessment to complete, composed of 3 elements: numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning and logic. Then a couple of days later I found out I had got through to the next stage which was an e-tray exercise. This was a system simulating an email inbox with emails coming in, and I had to prioritise them, using a set of rules given to me. A couple of days later, I had an email telling me I had again been successful and I had 3 days to complete a video interview. It was my first time doing a video interview so it was very daunting! I researched Morrisons, the role and matched my skills to the company's values, and made sure I had revised competency questions. The actual video interview was very surreal as all I could see on the screen was the questions and my own picture, but if you just keep calm, don't waffle on, and seem confident and show a bit of your own personality, you'll do great.

In the video interview, I had a couple of situation-based questions which are fine if you keep in the mindset of a manager. I then had one asking why I wanted to work for Morrisons, which again is fine if you've fully researched the company.

Always be very confident, friendly, make your personality shine through. Show your passion and how hard-working you are and you will not go far wrong.

I was very nervous but I was only with 6 other candidates who were all really nice, and the 4 senior management panel and 2 graduate resourcing team were also friendly. We had an icebreaker, then preparation for a presentation. We then delivered our presentations individually, infront of 2 members of Morrisons and two other candidates. After this, we had our one-on-one interviews with a member of the senior management team. For this interview, I recommend matching your skills with the company's value, and having examples to back up your claims. If these are well-rehearsed and concise, and you are able to convey them confidently, then I have no doubt you will do well. We then had an in-tray exercise where we had to prioritise the work of a trainee manager on a piece of paper, and articulate why. Lastly, we had a group exercise where we had to decide out of a group of 12 people on a sinking boat, who we would save, arguing our points among us, then delivering a short presentation to the team. In this, it is essential you take a leading role from the very beginning, including everyone, not simply dictating.

I applied through Morrison's website and after a few days got an email asking me to fill out a 'values questionnaire' this gave me scenarios with multiple choice answers and asked me to say which of the options I would most likely do. This was a fairly straight forward exercise. I then received an email for the next stage which was a video interview, this was done online via a webcam. You were able to do some practice questions before doing the real ones and could even do some practice questions then log out and come back later to do the actual interview. The interview was one way so the question would be printed on the screen and you were given between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to read them, I would suggest using this time to work out what you are going to say. You then have a set amount of time to answer but there was a timer on the screen so that you can see how much time you have left, you didn't have to use all the time and could stop it before the time was up. The interview lasted about 15-20 mins and was only 7 questions in all. It began with a few competency based questions however the last 3 were scenario questions which required you to think quickly as to what would be best to do.

There were a couple of scenario questions such as: "An offer is on lamb legs. It is a very busy day and you sell out. A valued customer who rang up and ordered some for his wife's birthday BBQ comes in to the store late and you realise the legs he reserved have been sold, what would you do?" and another "You are manager of a store. You are having a school outreach program and there will be a class of children coming to work in the store for 3 days. Each department will be assigned 2 children. How would you make sure that everyone was aware and everything ran smoothly?".

Read up on what they are doing as I had a question asking what do you know about Morrisons and what is going on in the retail industry at the moment? Also try to think of scenarios they might throw at you and your answer. I would make the most of the time given to read the questions to frame your answers in your mind.

No assessment centre.

After the application and usual tests I progressed onto the video interview. This was quite strange as I had never done anything like this before and talking to myself in a room was fairly strange. However you did have time to practise before had, which I highly recommend doing as it helps you get used to the situation.
The questions were fairly standard asking things like what do you know about Morrisons, example of leading a team, set-back and how you dealt with it and then scheme based ones like why you enjoy finance and why that scheme. Then the end they give you 30 seconds to basically sell your self, which if unprepared is a little unexpected!

Having 30 seconds to say why they should choose you (especially when your not expecting it!)
Having 2 minutes to describe why you love finance.

Make sure you really know some good answers to interview competency questions. Especially based on their core values.

The assessment centre was set around the time when there was floods and so only 6/8 of us were still able to make it in. On arrival they brief you about the day and you have a short presentation about Morrisons history and future.
We had a presentation to do, a group discussion, an interview and a role play.
The interview was again, fairly standard comptency questions but based around their core values (Can do attitude, bringing out the best in people, great service, fresh thinking and one team). This was with 2 assessors.
The group discussion was about splitting a budget to fund certain charitable projects.
The presentation exercise task centred around product selection for a new healthy range. You had some emails all asking for some info to be included in the presentation. You then delivered the presentation to 2 assessors and they asked 4-5 questions about it.
The role play involved being giving a situation that had been happening at work and we as acting manager and ask appropriate questions. However, when meeting with the 2 assessors, they threw in the fact that her own manager had been off which meant that anything you had prepared pretty much went out the window!
All in all a good day but long.

1. Submit your CV and answer additional questions on Morrison's website
2. Invited to complete situational strengths test
3. Was successful and then invited to complete verbal and numeracy tests
4. Passed the tests and then invited for video interview - this was a video interview where questions come up on the screen you have 30 seconds to a minute to prepare and then 1 to 2 minutes to answer the questions. The questions asked were why did you apply to Morrisons, why are you attracted to the scheme and then some competency questions (that are in line with their core values such as one team, fresh thinking) and then a couple of scenario questions (again answer these questions in a way that shows you have their core values) and then two minutes at the end to talk about anything you want - I spoke about why I was right for the role and a great candidate.
5. After the video interview I received an email inviting me to the assessment day, the assessment day was from 9am to 3pm, and involved a one to one interview, group task, group presentation, buddy conversation, networking lunch and a tour around a Morrison's store.
6. Few days after the assessment day, I received a phone call from the graduate recruiter given me all detailed feedback and offering me the offer of a place on their Retail Graduate Scheme!!!

"Give an example of when you have brought out someones individuality?"
"What are opportunities would you seize within your first three months at Morrisons?"
"How do you react when you are faced with rapid change?"

Overall, the whole process was really good and at the assessment day the assessors were really nice and made you feel really relaxed and enjoy the day. My advice would be prepare for all types of questions such as strength, competency and scenario based and why Morrison's, why retail and make sure you answer in a way that is specific to the company not generic, as that will make you stand out.
Also, from my impression Morrison's core values are very important to them and you can tell this from the assessment day - make sure you know their values inside out, what they mean to them and show them throughout the assessment day such as their one team value - constantly show support for the other candidates and team work.

Finally, just be yourself as that way if you get the job you know that company is right for you and your personality and you will culturally fit - which from my experience with graduate interviews this is the main thing that they want and they want you to be passionate about the company and the role.

1. Group task - given the task on pitching two new projects as a part of a group presentation, an assessor watches you as a group when you're discussing how you are going to work together, find out information and how you come up with those ideas and work together.
2. One to one interview - competency and scenario based questions and questions about yourself (education and strengths). Nice and relaxed interview and if you prepare for questions and answer in line with Morrison's core values, you will be fine.
3. Networking lunch - talking to all the assessors (about 8 assessors) and other candidates (about 10 other candidates).
4. Presentation - Prepare presentation as a group, give the presentation together as a group and asked questions at the end by the assessor on your ideas and final conclusions. I would say this is the hardest part of the assessment day, as their are strict time limits on the presentation slides and you're being observed by 5 assessors, which can be quite intimidating, but just remember to relax and be yourself.
5. Buddy conversation - you are paired up with one other candidate and observed by an assessor having a conversation on looking back at the day and how you could improve, what you did well and giving your buddy tips and support.