Mass group interviews for retail jobs

[Toastytoad]

Can anyone help me understand the current lean towards mass group interviews? DD is 19, has had one retail job that she stayed in for 2 years. She left when she moved to uni but is now looking for another PT job as she’s realised the difference between the life style she wants and the life style she can afford. We thought this would be easy as she has experience, reputable high street store, worked there for a good chunk of time and good references, but every interview is 30-60 interviewees. What is this about? How do you navigate these interviews? I recruit fairly frequently at work (not retail so maybe that’s the difference) and can’t imagine how you spot someone in that situation? I appreciate the job market is rubbish for most young people looking for jobs just now but any advice?

Maybe the recruiters have watched too much Apprentice.
Sounds a bit shit, but I suppose DD isn't having to take a day off work to attend - so she could give it a try. What's the worst that could happen?

Sounds like some kind of Hunger Games bullshit tbh. Who do these employers think they are???

Feel so cross about young adults and the job market these days.

I went through mass one in hospitality nearly two decades ago. I ended up actually having quite fun at some points. It was all day exercise. They had so many different positions and applicants, this seemed to make sense time and effort wise tbh. The managers were around and were noting people they thought matched their team throughout the group exercises. Later in the day, people were picked for 121 interviews.
I wonder if they still do them there.

Thanks for your replies. She’s been going - there’s no other option if you want a retail job. But they’re literally 30-60 people in a room, some group exercises and done. No whittling down and no one on one time with a panel member/interviewer. This has happened for the last four jobs she’s applied for. One of them she came out and said she’d not even had a chance to talk at all. She won’t stand out in a big room full of people in that situation, that’s her personality. I guess she’ll have to look for different type of work. I’m just curious as to the logic/psychology of this interview style

It’s common for many jobs, dsd attended an interview day for an engineering position and there were 50 candidates for 5 jobs and only 20 got face to face interviews, to get through she had to deal with very pushy men who wouldn’t let her get a word in, she didn’t get through. Had other similar situations but online group interviews too

It’s to see who is comfortable in a group setting, who can take charge and who can bring other people out of themselves. If she hasn’t managed to speak then she needs to find ways of breaking in to the conversation by being polite and authoritative. If she has spoken she needs to make sure she is listened to by standing firm and being clear. Having had a few she must have an idea now of how they play out so should be able to work on some techniques

Independent shops? Bars ideally free houses and actually go in with a cv - tap rooms tend to have older and better behaved clientele and often close at 10pm

It's been like that for years. I had a group interview for a job in ASDA 15 years ago. They use the big "group" stage to weed out anyone unsuitable, then if you pass that, you filled out a form about your availability etc. and then got placed in whatever department was most suitable.

There were a lot of people who felt they were "too good" to work in a supermarket and it clearly showed as none of them made it through the first "round".

I graduated way back in 1993, and this kind of stuff was the rage then. Fortunately I never did have to go to one..

My now employer is proposing Axe Throwing as part of a summer "day" out..however

This isn’t new OP, they were doing group interviews for jobs in retail when I was a teen 15/20 years ago.

They have a lot of applicants and they need people who are good with a lot of other random people.

Oh I loved these interviews when I was younger. One of these helped me get my first job in a serious profession. It was a group interview of 15 to 20 of us and we were given an exercise and asked to work in a team to come up with a solution. The exercise was an imaginary spaceship which had crashed into a space rock and we needed to evacuate. We had time and space to take 5 items from the ships equipment list. We had to decide what we should take and leave.

It was amazing to me how many people turned up to the interview and were just quiet/ contributed no thoughts to the discussion. I am naturally quite introverted but I do love a puzzle so I found myself getting involved- I was mindful to try and ask the quiet ones if they had any thoughts to share. I was the only one in the group that realised the compass was useless as it wouldn't work in Space- most had it on their initial list. In the end they hired two of us from the group- they had originally intended to just make the one hire- and we'd been the ones who'd gotten really stuck into it and helped drive the exercise forward.

I hate dry interview questions and I still think that group interview was one of my favourite interviews all these years later- because I was being asked to show my skills and my brain rather than recount some memorised think of a time when questions. 30-60 is quite a lot. But I would give the same advice- be present, confident, show your skills, your intelligence and get involved. If you let yourself feel shy and be quiet in these interviews you have already lost it.

This sounds an absolute nightmare. My teenager is currently looking for their first job. Has applied for multiple positions at all sizes of business over the last few weeks and has heard nothing from any of them, even after following up. The thought of eventually hearing back from something and being invited to an interview like this is truly depressing. I know they won't stand out in this kind of situation. None of us are extroverts but we are hard workers. What chance is there for people starting out when they have to deal with this? I had no idea this happened.

You don't need to be an extrovert to stand out in a group interview.

All extrovert means is that you get your energy from social situations - it has nothing to do with how capable you are in a group situation.

It’s not new; I had this for ASDA when I was at uni in 2001. Horrific - finding the right balance of not being too loud and taking over or being so quiet nobody notices you. I think everyone got jobs from it but the group thing decides what role, because we all then got given forms for availability. I’m still scarred from having to do the ‘Walmart wiggle’ and ASDA pocket tap once we had spent twenty minute building a tower from marshmallows and spaghetti… but I needed the job!

The whole thing has gone to shit. Young people these days feel like they’ve won a bloody lottery ticket if they get an interview or a driving lesson or a room to rent. It’s madness.

We had space one! Then there were emergency stations and I argued that they said the station has first aid kit so we don't have to take it and should take something else instead and not have points reduced or whatever. With some of the observers😂😂😂 😂 apparently had few managers interested in me after that.

It’s been that way for at least thirteen years as this was the process when DD was 16

It's not new, I remember a friend having this kind of interview for a trainer shop in Brighton in the early 2000s. Supermarkets don't interview that way if she's not too particular about the kind of retail she wants to do?

‘ She won’t stand out in a big room full of people in that situation, that’s her personality. I guess she’ll have to look for different type of work. ‘

Says who? You’re writing her off based on made up assumptions!

Employers usually want a mix of personalities, not a full bunch of loud or quiet, funny or serious people.

Your daughter should play to her strengths- logical, empathetic, patient, quick etc? She may need to get out of her comfort zone or fake it til she makes it. I’m sure she’s more than capable of getting a role though.

They absolutely do. I had group interviews at ASDA 15 years ago and it's still the same now according to my old colleagues who are still stuck there.

Realistically she needs to role play at home. The same roles can be used everytime. Slap on a smile and get good at saying hello. It’s shit but navigable and mustn’t be seen as an impossibility. It’s just another thing you can learn and maybe have to for a society that sales the socially proactive.

Make sure everyone has a seat/can see each other, bring people in who are excluded.

Be responsive and encouraging.

If not name tagged ask people to share their names. Remember 5 and use them. Remember three talkative people as you will be able to respond to them - that’s a fun idea Susan, would you also…? And a couple of quiet people so you can try to involve them. - looks like you might agree with that David, what did you think of…

She can be the facilitator - this is interesting - anyone like to start off?

she could be a responder - I really like that idea

the developer - that’s a great idea and could also be used to…

the includer … you look like you might have something to share -

the opposer - I like those ideas but really think that we need more of a …

The organiser - some still haven’t had a chance to contribute so let’s just make space to check in round the group

Even if she has nothing to say the more she responds and praises or asks further questions the more she stands out.

Ok, fair enough my DS has never interviewed for Asda! Co-op definitely don't or Tesco.

Unfortunately that seems to be the trend and I think part of the reason is that they get so many applicants. My DD’s experience has also been that this means there is no flexibility about the date of the interview and often very little notice. Literally “come tomorrow at 11 am”.

My student dd currently has a job she got through informal channels but she was looking for something different and found the process really difficult and gave up for now.

Or she could be the person who stacks shelves, or swipes barcodes.

God I'd hate that, I'd probably never get a job in those circumstances and I've only ever worked in retail

I work in one of the big chain but smaller convenience supermarkets and it's not like that at all, it's a single one to one interview with the manager. She could try one of those if there are any local to her