I have an interview problem with me and my partner!! :(

[Rachelly]

Hi everyone! Hope you can help me with an interview problem I'm having :(

Me and my boyfriend have both applied for a permanent Lush sales assistant job at our local store. We both spent A LOT of time working on our CV and covering letter including essential info like their products and campaigns etc.
He works as a dj and as a bar staff/glass collector and hasn't worked in retail before. I've worked in The Body Shop as a member of management, as a teaching assistant, in charity shops and in cafes.

The problem is we both got turned down for the job with a generic un-personalised message from the manager but then he got a message from a supervisor to say there was a mistake and to come to the group interview, but I've not received a message from them at all.

I'm really confused and upset because I really wanted this job, I'm vegan and lush is part of my life, I also love working with customers in retail and my boyfriend has said he's not that bothered about lush, he just wants a daytime job and money.

I'm really happy for him if he's got an interview and not me but I don't know how to deal with this?? I know I sound jealous and angry but I will be very happy for him.

He's already working but I'm unfortunately unemployed. I'm thinking of ringing them tomorrow and asking if they could have made a mistake.

If anyone can help me and give me advice then I would be extremely grateful xx

I'm afraid if he got a message and you didn't, there probably hasn't been a mistake with you. A better way to do it would be to ring and ask for feedback from the interview - then on the chance they did make a mistake they could tell you, and if they didn't at least you will get honest feedback about why you weren't successful which you can improve on for next time.

Sorry! Just realised I don't think there has been an interview yet. You could still ask if there was any reason from your application why you were not successful in getting an interview.

Could it be that they only have zero hour contracts available and you're not a good candidate for that?

I think that is their norm from what DD said!

No worries! Yeah interview is on wednesday, it's just strange, even he said it that he also got a generic message then at 2pm got an email to say it was a mistake. I emailed them at around 3pm asking for feedback but have had no reply.

I'm just trying to find some hope that they might have made a mistake as I have a lot of experience in retail/cosmetics.

I will ring up tomorrow and ask if there was also a mistake with mine and if not can I have feedback. I just hate this feeling of rejection, it's horrible! Especially as I have depression aswell. Thank you for your help anyways!

what do you mean DD? It's a permanent position and LUSH don't offer zero hour contracts x

Perhaps they think that with management experience, the role of sales assistant is not suitable? With your experience, apart from that, not being called for interview doesn't make sense considering your boyfriend got an interview.
If possible, I would go in and speak to them in a non confrontional way as their email replies do not seem to be personalised.

My DD was offered a zero hour contract with them when they were advertising a post of x hours per week.

Remember, it's not personal, if you didn't apply at the same time you would not even know. You have to bite your lip and be happy for him. Sure, ring up and let the manager know you would be interested in future vacancies (but to be honest it would be awful to try to get an interview up against him now, on the offchance). If he gets the role, you can still apply for future ones, and might have some inside information or opportunity based on that. But if you let a negative mindset take hold it will affect that chance.

sometimes no experience is what a company is looking for then they can train you the way they want you to work

I actually worked for lush for a lot of years, and I did recruitment at two
Stores, two things spring to mind, is your partner male? The staff are overwhelmingly female and I know lots of managers were keen to have a better mix of employees instead of carbon copies of each other.
Also sometimes the people who put a lot about passionate and strong their opinions are really don't ft in well. Yes the ethos is animal friendly and they do a lot of ethical
Campaigns but it's still a business, it's still sales and there are still targets. Sometimes people who viewed it as a 'cause'
Really struggled with the commercial
Side.

I worked their for years and once you're in they are great employers and will train and develop you and work hard to offer you development opportunities. Great maternity package
Too.

Feel free to pm if you're going to try again and want more info

I completely understand where you're coming from with the male side, however it seems quite unfair to not hire someone with experience just because of their gender.

Again, I have also worked at The Body Shop as a senior customer consultant, and although animal rights/fairtrade was a point in the business the main focus was sales and achieving targets which I had done and have stated in my covering letter.

I just can't wrap my head around my boyfriend with no experience receiving a generic email to say unsuccessful for group interview, me also getting the same email and then him getting an email saying 'ooops sorry it was a mistake' I hope that if he, with no sales/retail experience got an email to say there was a mistake that they could have done the same with mine. I'm 'hoping'!

Best not to apply for the same jobs in future tbh

One of my close family members is a Lush manager, I know they really like a range of people working for them, could be the DJ thing being something different plus the manager may want to give people who are trying to get into retail a chance rather than go for someone with existing retail experience. Gives the manager a chance to train them up their way (also agree with the male thing....positive discrimination and all that).

Ask for feedback but if you don't get it then you need to accept it and move on as its only at CV screening stage.

I've done a fair bit of a recruitment in a few industries and sometimes there's just a feeling about someone and that's why you invite to interview or further along, offer them the job.

I've offered a job to someone who wasn't the best on paper but they were just the type of person who would have thrived in the role....I was right too ☺️

Ringing them up to ask "if they also made a mistake" with yours shows a toe-curling lack of self awareness. Please do not do this.

By all means ring up to ask for feedback as to why your application was unsuccessful though.

It's not always about experience in retail. I have employed people with zero experience over those with loads based on how well they came across with me and whether I felt they could gel with my team. I would ask for feedback and move on. with management experience I would look into something higher level than shop assistant too. Not many people want to manage someone when they know they have the same experience

Maybe the manager felt a bit threatened by your strong CV. People sometimes worry that highly competent underlings will show them up or come after their job. Either that, or they're genuinely looking for inexperienced people whom they can mould (which is fine, I've done that myself to good effect).

As a pp said, your OH gender might have helped him too.