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Homebase is a part of Home Retail Group company just like Argos! If you have applied for a job at Homebase then you must seeking some advice on Homebase interview.
Homebase is a store that sells DIY items and has a garden centre. This means that as well as customer service skills, it is important to have some knowledge of this sort of thing as well. You will get training, but if you can show an enthusiasm and interest in these areas, then this will be useful.
You may be being taken on to work in a particular department. If this is the case, then it is important to make sure that you know something about the department and what they sell. It is a good idea to therefore visit a branch of the store and have a look at what they sell. It is probably best to visit the store that you will be working in as then you will know exactly what they have. If you are not working in a specific department, it can still be good to take a look around the store and get an idea of what they sell and what the customers are like.
The company takes on a lot of young people and so if you are not young, then you may need to be able to show that you will be happy working with other young people. You could demonstrate this by mentioning jobs that you have had where you have done this or any other relevant time that you have spent working with young people.
It may be that you are applying for their management scheme. If you are doing this, then you will need to be able to show that you have the right qualifications and experience to deal with this role. You will need to manage a team of workers and be able to make sure that they do their jobs properly. If you have had experience of doing this in the past, then you will need to mention it.
It is always useful to find out a bit about the history of the company and the branch you will be working at for the interview. Just knowing a little bit about how long the company has been going, who owns it, how long the branch has been open and what departments it has. If you know a few basic things it will give you confidence in the interview and will show that you have an interest in the company rather than just wanting to do any job.
Homebase interview questions:
- Why Homebase?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What makes you different than other candidates?
- What do you know about Homebase?
Tell me about yourself
- What can you do for this Homebase?
- Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?
- What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
- Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it
- If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it?
A great tip with these kind of questions is to big yourself up, but without coming across too cocky. The question “tell me about yourself” is a great way for the employee to find out more about you, but think carefully about your answers. You don’t want to tell them you go out drinking every weekend etc. even if this is the case, they want to know they are going to be employing someone reliable.
has anyone applied for Homebase jobs in 2012? what is the interview process?
I went for an interview today at Homebase.
When I went in, the interviewer read through my application form with me, asking me to elaborate on the questions that had been asked in the application form (why Homebase, what can you bring to the team, what can you do to provide great customer service, what part you have played in a team situation, and then about hobbies and experience).I was then asked to look at a series of images. For each image, I had to state what the member of staff was doing wrong. For example, one man was ignoring customers that clearly needed help, and there were no leaflets or baskets for customers.
Finally, I was given an item and asked to sell it to the interviewer. I had to explain about the item and it’s features (mine was a bucket, so I explained about the handle type, the amount it held, and that it could store water, cleaning products, debris and soil from the garden or building work, etc). The interviewer did one first, so he ‘sold me’ another product, before letting me have a go.
After this, I asked my questions and was told that I would have to wait to see if I had been successful, but that I had done very well.Hi Kiren,
Thank you very much for letting us know about your interview. This will be very useful for other jobseekers.
If you’re asked about challenges and how you overcame them, make sure you already have a couple of scenarios in your head that you can talk about. This is why it’s important to think about this in advance before you have the interview.
Like another poster has already said, it is very important not to appear cocky, but to exaggerate a little bit about your experiences and how well you have worked for previous companies.
A few friends of mine work for Homebase, and they said the interview was fairly standard about teamwork and experience of customer service, as Homebase are particularly meticulous when it comes to providing excellent customer care. Be aware of this when you apply: they like experience or an excellent ethic at the very least.
Agreeing with others, you need to make yourself sound like a very interesting person, without sounding cocky or arrogant, when asked about yourself. A tip I always give my clients when coaching for interviews is “Be honest but not too honest”. Tell them you enjoy socialising (promotes excellent communication) but not how many beers you sank last time you were out. Tell them you like spending time with family, but don’t mention children at a first interview (some interviewers can wrongly be judgemental and you are not required to tell them if you have a family).
what does the telephone interview from argos consist of ……….please
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