Graduate Management Trainee - Nationwide - (Summer 2017)
Interview process
Stage 1)
Application process online: Asked some competency questions and had to attach CV.
Stage 2)
Telephone Interview: At this stage you are asked about your customer service background and sales background. Always good to prepare your answers here. You are asked about times when you gave excellent customer service and when you have had to manage a team. These do not necessarily have to be about your working background - if you have volunteered at all this can also be useful. I was told on the phone I had been successful and would go through to the next stage.
Stage 3)
Face to face interview: I went to one of the regional head offices for my face to face interview. As soon as I walked in everyone said hello, really friendly environment which put me at ease. The lady who interviewed me was lovely and she asked me the same sort of questions as my phone interview. She told me at the end of the interview I had been put through to the next stage.
Stage 4)
Branch Placement: This stage was a 3 hour placement at one of the enterprise branches. This was a really good opportunity to see how the branch is run and whether you'd like to work for the company. I really enjoyed my time at the branch, it seemed like a really great place to work and the staff were again really friendly and approachable. The day consisted of watching the staff and how they work. Some advice here is to talk to the graduate trainee who is at that branch and ask as much as possible about the role. At the end I had another interview with the branch manager - similar questions were asked again. The branch manager put me through to the final stage.
Stage 5)
Assessment day: Getting through to this stage is an achievement in itself! Only 10% of applicants get through to this stage and the offices generally get about 25 applications a day. Another positive thing to remember is that you are not competing for one job - the other candidates are NOT your competition. The candidates at my assessment day were all really nice and you could see why they had got through to the final stage. .
Application process online: Asked some competency questions and had to attach CV.
Stage 2)
Telephone Interview: At this stage you are asked about your customer service background and sales background. Always good to prepare your answers here. You are asked about times when you gave excellent customer service and when you have had to manage a team. These do not necessarily have to be about your working background - if you have volunteered at all this can also be useful. I was told on the phone I had been successful and would go through to the next stage.
Stage 3)
Face to face interview: I went to one of the regional head offices for my face to face interview. As soon as I walked in everyone said hello, really friendly environment which put me at ease. The lady who interviewed me was lovely and she asked me the same sort of questions as my phone interview. She told me at the end of the interview I had been put through to the next stage.
Stage 4)
Branch Placement: This stage was a 3 hour placement at one of the enterprise branches. This was a really good opportunity to see how the branch is run and whether you'd like to work for the company. I really enjoyed my time at the branch, it seemed like a really great place to work and the staff were again really friendly and approachable. The day consisted of watching the staff and how they work. Some advice here is to talk to the graduate trainee who is at that branch and ask as much as possible about the role. At the end I had another interview with the branch manager - similar questions were asked again. The branch manager put me through to the final stage.
Stage 5)
Assessment day: Getting through to this stage is an achievement in itself! Only 10% of applicants get through to this stage and the offices generally get about 25 applications a day. Another positive thing to remember is that you are not competing for one job - the other candidates are NOT your competition. The candidates at my assessment day were all really nice and you could see why they had got through to the final stage. .
Most difficult question
Tell me about a time you have had to change your priorities.
Tell me about a time you have had to meet a sales target.
Tell me about a time you have had to meet a sales target.
Interview tips
Be yourself. If you have customer service experience let them know about it! I had no sales experience and I was honest about this.
Smile and be confident - I was extremely nervous.
I took the role without even doubting it. I knew I wanted to work for this company.
Smile and be confident - I was extremely nervous.
I took the role without even doubting it. I knew I wanted to work for this company.
Experiences at the assessment centre
Firstly there was a presentation about the company and we met the regional managers. Then we had to do an 'icebreaker' by introducing someone else to the rest of the group. After this, we had to do a group exercise. We were each given different initiatives and a budget; the idea was to argue your initiative and get it chosen. The assessors are not looking for the 'winner' but how well you work in a team. The next part was a meeting where all sorts had gone wrong in the branch and you as the branch manager had to sort it out. Next was a customer service scenario (individual) where a customer was refusing to pay and you had to deal with it. Finally was a 30 minute interview with an area manager.
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