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?

It's not so much that no-one sees their strengths - it's more that their strengths aren't particularly helpful or necessary in that kind of environment.

Not everyone can be accepted for every job - some people are just better suited to certain environment than others.

This makes me so cross. In a few years time they’ll all be scratching their heads to understand why their workforce is so lacking in any diversity. 😡

Like others of said this isn’t new.
My son is 24 but when he was applying to become an apprentice electrician at 17 he had a few big group interviews in hotel function rooms, if he got to the next stage he was given a one week trial.
From memory the he had 3 tries before being offered the apprenticeship.

DD is at Sheffield and was well into her second year before she found something. When she did, they invited her for interview but it was a really quick chat and they rang to offer her the job before she got home. That is retail too so it’s not always like that!

If it was a job in the public sector, I would be hard pushed to argue it is reasonable within the Equality Act duties.

When my daughter was applying we missed a call from Asda on a Sunday afternoon. We googled number realised was them and spent next two hours trying to get through: when they finally answered it was sorry too late, they obviously had a list and if you didnt answer first time you didn’t get an interview.

Unfortunately they have so many applicants that it's often "first come, first serve". I know of people who have missed out on jobs because they're away on holiday or because they can't attend an interview for another two days.

almost as horrific as being 'interviewed' by an AI bot. poor kids, what a shit world we have made for them.

They did f2f assessment cemtres andnow doing it online.

It is reasonable to have f2f mass events like that for certain sectors. If you can't deal with crowd at that event, you will probably not be enjoying running tables in busy hotel lounge either...

Again, it's not new. These assessment centres have existed for over 30 years now.

Local leisure place advertised an open day for recruitment at the beginning of summer, 300 teenagers turned up, for 7 or 8 jobs. TBF I don't think the employer expected that level of interest, but what chance have young people got at finding part time work with that kind of competition.

But how are people supposed to learn these skills? Just because you’re not pushy or loud in a group of 50 people has no bearing on whether you can confidently advise or handle a difficult customer in a one-on-one situation or sensibly organise stock, lock up and handle cash. “Pushy wins” just isn’t everything in terms of job skills. I’d rather have a thoughtful person with 2 yrs retail experience working in my shop than the type of “pick me” apprentice who stands out in a crowd because they trample over others or don’t involve them in the conversation, especially if I haven’t even had a personal chat to find out who they are.

I don’t get it and have every empathy OP.

I had one of these for well known high street pharmacist about 15 years ago. It was horrific: personality tests and them a group activity where we had to make a stand for suntan lotion out of cardboard tubes. My insides were screaming to leave. One older lady walked out during the computer testing part because it was very confusing, The best strategy is to start talking straight away and be see as a leader. I did this. Other people came up with the ideas but diving straight in meant that I was noticed. I was offered the job.

Depending on the shop, they're probably looking for those people like the ones in Lush "HELLO!!! HOW ARE YOU? CAN I HELP YOU? HAVE YOU TRIED OUR HONEY LIP BALM, HERE LET ME SMEAR IT ON YOUR FACE!!!! HAVE AN AMAZING AND SUNSHINE FILLED DAY"
So it makes sense to group interview because you want the super confident, super smiley and chatty type who will make a beeline for a customer and harangue them into buying a bloody bath bomb. If she is too shy to say anything, then she might not be best placed for the high street now - it's a lot tougher than it used to be and assistants need to sell rather than just take payments (in some places, lots are still quite passive but to be fair, they are probably the ones dying out as everyone goes online). Maybe have a look at a supermarket/check out job where they will be looking for calmer types or would she be good at an admin role or something desk based.

Assessments centres used to be for graduate jobs mostly, not a Saturday job in a shop, for instance. Plus AI bots are new, and hopefully someone with some power will outlaw them on humanitarian/legal grounds soon, they have been proven to discriminate against older people (especially women) according to a BBC report yesterday. And they are pretty awful for young people too. 'HR' but without 'humans'.

Not so much a group interview but my DD just went for a job at a well known fast food chain. Everyone told her that if she got through to interview then the job is pretty much yours.
However the hiring manager told her at the end of hers that he was interviewing 19 people but only hiring 2!! Safe to say she then knew the odds of getting it were then against her especially as this is for her first job. What a waste of all those people’s time…I understand maybe interviewing even 10, but not 19!!

Place marking as DC applying for retail jobs!

I had a group interview for retail in 2011 and there are posters on this thread saying they had the same in the nineties - they really aren't a brand new phenomenon or something that only existed for grad jobs in the past.

No one is saying she needs to be pushy, but she does need to be confident and speak up. You learn these skills by watching what other people do or by researching online, there are loads of courses out there on YouTube etc where you can learn the skills.

Sounds like autistic people might be disadvantaged….

I work in employability field. At the moment retail jobs are in high demand. For some reason a lot of young people are gravitating towards retail, particularly if they are in college or uni. That being said about 20 years ago I applied for roles at M&S and B&Q and both did interviews in this format. Recently I was speaking to a recruiter and they had 600 applications for 1 retail role. Also with the use of AI a lot of applicants are now using AI which makes it more difficult to shortlist.

Retail manager here. They’re to see how you stand out in certain situations. These are high turnover roles, hundreds of people apply. You are invited to a recruitment seminar and given scenarios where interviewers are looking for a specific approach, or specific words used to address what’s happening in this scenario. People that don’t show up in that way will be discounted and the rest go through. Nobody has time to individually interview 60-70 people at a time, it’s no hunger games, it’s no apprentice, it’s a way of interviewing for let’s say 20-30 positions in a time efficient way.

Actually, no. They typically stand out because of the way they approach situations given to them in tasks and a lot of them are chosen to go through. I’ve not looked in to the specific reasons why that might be but a lot are cracking for retail.

I know what you are saying but I think you assume the alpha male type is winning out here. From the group interview where I got my first job, the two selected (myself and another girl) were both women. She was outgoing, smart and really pretty so a clear strong contender from the start, And I was/am a shy individual who can't do public speaking to save my life, who is quite possibly ND (as an adult I have toyed with getting tested for years), who is very average looking and who is socially awkward.

However I am also very logically minded and methodical in problem solving and organisation and I am smart, if I focus I can follow my scripts for a situation and work out what is expected of me and act it out fairly well, and I am very good at thinking through puzzles and hypothetical situations. I can explain my case and my reasoning well and my group listened and adopted my suggestions (which turned out to be the right answers when the task feedback was given at the end).

I had failed on several traditional question interviews before I was successful at a group interview in getting a role and I think that was because it was the first chance I really had the chance to show myself. They felt like games to me. I enjoyed them.

I think the people who win through on group interviews might not be the types you think- obviously it depends on the format of the tasks given- but an alpha male type will no doubt have advantages in face to face questions too which might actually not be there in circumstances when they have to actually show - rather than just talk up - their skills.

Why is it so hard for people to find their first job now? There are still loads of shops, pubs, cafes...

But no coal mines, shipyards, steelworks, shoe factories, clothing factories, etc whilst more people in the UK.

We have outsourced all our manufacturing for various reasons (some of which have nothing to do with Thatcher and everything to do with lapsing World Trade Organisation rules on quotas for the origins of textile products, see video) but have more people than ever. Hence fewer jobs, hence more people unemployed, hence harder to find work.