How to Get a Customer Assistant Job at Boots
To apply for any job at Boots you have to apply online. If you sign up with Boots Jobs for job alerts then you will get emails every time a job that matches your specification is available. Once a job you like the sound of becomes available then you can click on it and then click Apply Now in the big blue box at the bottom. You will then have to fill out an application form.
It has 5 sections that need to be completed:
Main Details - This is things like your name, your contact details and your current employment.
Equal Opportunities - This section asks you about your age range, religion etc.
Application Questions - Basically they ask you about when you are available to work and you can also add any "extra information" about yourself, don't leave this blank, it is basically asking you to write a cover letter or a short CV in there.
References - You will need two references, one of which should be current employment or education and the other a character reference. Make sure you know roughly how long you have known them for because Boots ask for this.
Declarations - Asks you about whether its legal for you to work and if you have ever been convicted before.
The application section is pretty simple to fill out and you will get an email confirming your application. As long as you have said you are available at the times of the job then a few days later they will send you an email saying you need to fill in an online Assessment...
This is the stage when most people don't get through, but as long as you know what type of person they are looking for then you should be able to answer all the questions in the way they like you to. Be careful though, because if you are unsuccessful with it you can't apply again for another 6 months. If you are successful with it then its great because you don't have to fill it out again for another 18 months and you can just keep applying to jobs without having to go through 75 questions!
So, the assessment is in two parts, scenarios and personality questions. When you fill this out try to be honest because you might be caught out later if they ask you to fill it out again. However, with the scenarios try and think about the customer as a priority but also remember that you would be an employee of Boots too and a customer assistant not the manager! You have to be caring but also loyal to the store and professional. With the personality questions they will ask you the same five questions in about twenty different ways to try and catch you out. Just stick with the personality traits it asks for in the job description and you will do fine.
If you manage to pass the online assessment then you will get an "Application Update" email pretty soon afterwards telling you your information has been sent to the interviewer. If they like the sound of you on paper then they will invite you to an interview. This may be by the interviewer themself who will call you, or it may be an email asking you to sign into Boots Jobs and book a time slot.
This may be different depending on the size of the store, whether the job is part time or temporary and who your interviewer is. It is very likely, however, that you will be asked to do a few tasks on the shop floor and asked a few questions. There should be specific information in the email or call them to ask.
It will always look good if you ask questions relevant to the job. Don't ask about wages, discounts or breaks, wait until right until the end if you really need to know, or wait for the interviewer to bring them up in conversation.
You could however ask these questions:
Will there be any training or an induction period? (The answer's yes but they don't actually tell you this anywhere)
Will I be able to have access to any product information so that I know more about them before trying to sell them?
What exactly would my job entail? (only ask this if it is a big store with lots of different departments to it)
Is there any way that I could progress e.g. to work in the pharmacy?
If you are successful with the interview they will ring you first and then you may get an official email later. If you are unsuccessful then you will get an email with "Confidential" as the subject line. If you are rejected then don't feel down about it. Most people don't even get to the interview stage! You should be proud of yourself for getting that far :) I recommend ringing up the manager on the store number to ask for feedback. This will stop you from thinking you did really badly in your interview and you never know, they might tell you that they have entered you in a talent pool! Also, if you did do something that made them not give you the job then you want to know that so you won't do the same thing next time when you apply again. Don't give up on your first go. If you really want to work for Boots then keep trying. It took me two tries, some people may be accepted straight away but many Boots employers will probably tell you that it took more than one application.
Disclaimer: This post is based on my experiences from September 2013. I have been working for Boots since then, but I have no idea whether the application process is still exactly the same!
