Job interview

LegacyUser

I have a job interview for a part time position in a sports shop next week.

Any advice? I've never had a job interview before.
I'm unfortunately not interested in sports, so I'm not sure how to approach any questions that may be asked about that.

What type of Qs will they ask?

Thanks

IrishEyes19

First thing they will probably ask you is why did you apply for this job?

If Im being honest, if you admit you dont have interest in sports, I cant seem them hiring you. I'm not being harsh or negative, its just places usually hire people on interest and suitability to the nature of the store. Now does that mean you cant do the job successfully, no I dont think so. I applied for a job before in which I knew nothing about the product being sold and really had to educate myself beforehand on it.

if I were you, I would study beforehand, have a look on the net, friends ect.....

you will be asked what sports you like, what equipment possibly, how would you advise something what to wear, durability and so on. you cant avoid these questions, they are core questions selected to whittle down the serious candidates to the non serious.

hellyeah

^ as above. good advice. plus things like are you flexable with your working hours ie working weekends / late on a thursday etc.
How would you describe yourself etc say things like energetic, hard working, honest etc. Tell them what you would like to hear if you were hiring someone.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Q. Where do you see yoruself in 5 years time.

A. I'm not sure. I mean, I like to keep my options open, but if I have good feeling about this brand and I think it's a place I'd like to... (pause intentionally)... to establish a career in. I don't know what's an acceptable time frame, obviously, but I'd like to maybe move on to suprvisory roles or roels where I can be a real asset.

(That's the gist of it anway. Someone will improve on it, but it;s a question they're bound to ask and it's what they want to hear).

Incidently: work and jobs forum might be a better plce to ask....

IrishEyes19

I meant to add, don't waffle on. Be to the point and also talk about customer service. These days a huge percentage of people have work experience, undertaken courses in various skills and gone abroad for a different experience, my point is, employers now have the pick of the top. And people are so obsessed with "ive this experience, and Ive done this course, and Ive worked with these type of things...." that they forget the core skill in retail is customer service. Gone are the days of customer comes in, buys products and leaves. In this economy its all about the customer. Sounds like a load of rubbish and to be honest it mostly is, but employers love it.

if you can tell the interviewer, that the most important thing you can give the customer is (1) a friendly greeting, (2) Product knowledge, so when the customer says Im looking for this type of sports clothing, you can tell them directly what they are looking for and its purpose. and (3) Closing Sale. so that once the customer wants to buy the product, you follow up on the customer service, whether that is making friendly conversation at the till, or just bagging the items correctly and being as natural as possible. Dont start of on a friendly scale with customers and then lose the touch at the end. its so obvious.

I honestly think if you focus highly on customer service on an interview and then include your work experience or experiences if you have none in between that, you cant go wrong.

Santa Cruz

jobinterview wrote: »

I have a job interview for a part time position in a sports shop next week.

Any advice? I've never had a job interview before.
I'm unfortunately not interested in sports, so I'm not sure how to approach any questions that may be asked about that.

What type of Qs will they ask?

Thanks

I don't want to discourage you but really you have no interest in sports. A lot of customers in sports shops will want to engage in talk about sports events.
There are fantastic opportunities in the retail sector. You can do some excellent Cert, Diploma and Degree courses at night time which will open the door to management, travel, opportunities in big international chains.
If I was recruiting for a sports shop job I would expect to see a candidate with a cv that would list the candidates sporting interests be it team or individual sports. If you really want to work in retail get out and about, have a number of good C.V.s prepared and cold call in to management. Have you an interest in fashion, electronics or whatever and if so target those outlets.

IrishEyes19

Santa Cruz wrote: »

I don't want to discourage you but really you have no interest in sports. A lot of customers in sports shops will want to engage in talk about sports events.
There are fantastic opportunities in the retail sector. You can do some excellent Cert, Diploma and Degree courses at night time which will open the door to management, travel, opportunities in big international chains.
If I was recruiting for a sports shop job I would expect to see a candidate with a cv that would list the candidates sporting interests be it team or individual sports. If you really want to work in retail get out and about, have a number of good C.V.s prepared and cold call in to management. Have you an interest in fashion, electronics or whatever and if so target those outlets.

Im not sure I agree, the OP would have already handed in their CV in order to get a call back. I say still do the interview, its good practice. There's no such thing as a wasted interview, you learn confidence and what type of questions they would generally ask in regard to yourself. Dont back down know or let me or anyone else turn you off. Ive had terrible interviews before where I wasnt suited to the role but I learnt a lot about myself, even the way I held eye contact to how I expressed myself. Go for it, there is nothing to lose.

Santa Cruz

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

Im not sure I agree, the OP would have already handed in their CV in order to get a call back. I say still do the interview, its good practice. There's no such thing as a wasted interview, you learn confidence and what type of questions they would generally ask in regard to yourself. Dont back down know or let me or anyone else turn you off. Ive had terrible interviews before where I wasnt suited to the role but I learnt a lot about myself, even the way I held eye contact to how I expressed myself. Go for it, there is nothing to lose.

Yes. I take your point as regards getting interview experience. and good luck to them. If the poster does get the job there is the opportunity to gain a lot of experience of handling cash/cards, customer relations, pricing and so on. This would stand to them then if they want to move on to a retail section that they would prefer.
I have done many interviews. The one tip I would give is as soon as you leave the interview room go and write down every question that you can remember being asked. Keep the record. Then for future interviews you can prepare good answers which you can give at the interview. Many times in an answer you can direct the interviewer to ask a follow up question which you would have prepared for . Good luck

ziedth

I'll give you a few things that i have picked up over the years:

1. Dress as professional as you can. Shirt/tie or ideally a suit. Above all not jeans....

2. Arrive early but not too early. About 10 minutes is about right.

3. Smile when you first meet him/her. Some people in HR really look for this.

4. Ask a question, career prospects is standard enough but allot better then saying you dont have one.

5. Never bring up rate of pay or benefits first. Your a dead duck if it look like your in it for the money

6. Look up the company online and try and mention how many shops they have, market share anything that wouldnt be widely known. This is a real winner.

7. When you meet give a STRONG handshake, its one of the first things i judge people on and do do allot of people.

8. Relax, he wants to give you the job. Retail is a busy game and they are not going to waate 20min meeting someone they dont like the look of on cv.

9. Make out you are really interested in Retail as a career. Managers love to hear that.

10. Id agree about the interest in sport. Say you like to keep an eye on everything. Look through the sports pages in a red top paper the morning of the interview. If he does ask you something sporty and you dont have a clue fall back on one of the headlines.

superman28

Think of a job interview like a sales pitch,, and you are the one selling..

You must convince the person that you are the best person for the job (better than the others they see).. Having experience, being confident but not cocky and enthuastic all helps.. but overall you have to be likable.. for a job like this,, the person giving the interview is likely to be the one being your manager, etc.. retail jobs.. above all else want someone who is reliable (not calling in sick, flexible when covering others etc)... I would mention this point,, I openly mention that you don't take sick days and can easily come in at anytime if needed..

Selling,, is your second point (in the USA it would be the other way around but not in Ireland).. explain that you are a good team player and great with people,, you love sport (even if you don't) and Zeidth makes some good points,, follow them.. You can never over dress for an interview,, I would wear a full blown suit/formal wear if your female,,, it means your serious about the job.. complement the company,, , '' you have wanted to get into retail for a while now and a company like xxx is exactly where I would like to build a career''' blah blah..

Be positive and friendly.. Ask a question or two at the end,, when will you start,, what are the hours,,. say something... Don't ramble, maintain eye contact,, when the interview is over,, shake their hands again,, look them in the eye,, and mention that you look forward to hearing from them,,

You want to stand out from the others,, it's a part-time retail job,, so its a level playing field they may want someone fresh with little experience or someone who has experince,, if you got as far as the interview.. they are interested in you,, you have the opportunity,, all you have to do is take it..

judgefudge

I worked in a sports shop before and I hadn't (and still haven't) any interest whatsoever in sports. I had customer service and retail experience and I could help people find the right size shoes and the recognize what jerseys were what, but I didn't know anything about sport.

Realistically, yes the person doing the interview will probably be more interested in people who know their stuff, but it doesn't mean youre not in with a chance. Show a willingness to learn. Usually these shops will have trained management up on the hard stuff and will give part time staff some lower level training. You may just get brought on to be on the till all day.