Ever wished you knew the interview questions before an interview? Well, at the John Lewis Partnership, your wish is our command!

In 2024, we decided to do something a little different: we published our interview questions for everyone to see. No more guessing games, just fairness and transparency – for ALL. So, why did we do it?

Our decision to open up about our interview questions was not just a strategic move but one with our core values and a desire to create the best possible candidate experience for everyone at heart. Here’s why we published them:

1. Level the Playing Field: We want everyone to have a fair shot, regardless of their background or how much interview experience they have. By publishing the questions, we help demystify the process and reduce anxiety, making it easier for all candidates to prepare effectively.
2. Get to know the real you: When you know the questions, you can focus on truly demonstrating your skills, experience, and how well you’d fit in with our culture, rather than trying to guess what we’re looking for.
3. Staying true to our values: Transparency, fairness, and respect are huge for us as an employee-owned business. Publishing our questions perfectly aligns with who we are.
4. Attract the right people: Being upfront about what we ask means you can figure out if our challenges and culture are a good fit for you. This helps us find people who genuinely connect with the Partnership.
5. Smarter hiring for everyone: Believe it or not, this actually makes our recruitment process more efficient. If you realise early on that we’re not the right fit for you, it saves your time.

What Does This Mean for You?

Of course, when we made the decision, it was you, the candidate we had in mind. Having the questions readily available means:

• Less Stress, More Confidence: Seriously, knowing what’s coming can drastically reduce those pre-interview jitters. You’ll walk in feeling more prepared and confident.
• Supercharge Your Prep: This isn’t about memorising answers. It’s about giving you the chance to think deeply about your experiences and craft thoughtful, well-articulated responses that truly showcase your skills and potential.
• A Truly Fair Chance: Everyone gets the same opportunity to shine. You don’t need insider tips or extensive networking to be prepared.
• Understand What We Value: The questions themselves offer clues about our core competencies and values. This insight helps you decide if the John Lewis Partnership is the right cultural fit for you.
• Boost Your Performance: Better preparation naturally leads to a better interview performance, increasing your chances of success.

The Interview Questions

Now that you know why we do it, let’s talk about how you can use this transparency to your advantage. Our published interview questions are categorised by the level of role you’re applying for. Click on each of the below titles to view the questions for that particular category:

• Leading Self – for our roles that do not involve managing others (e.g. no People Management responsibilities like our shop floor roles).
• Leading Partners – for our roles that lead people (e.g. Managers of people).
• Leading Leaders – for our roles that lead leaders of the Partnership (e.g. People Managers of those with their own teams to manage).
• Leading the Partnership – for our roles that have responsibility for leadership at organisational level (e.g. Senior Leaders, Heads of, Directors).

Preparing your answers

Knowing the questions is one thing, but articulating your answers is the most important part towards making your interview a success. Here are our top tips for preparing answers to our published interview questions – plus a few helpful extras!

• Don’t Plan for Every Single Question: Instead of preparing an answer for every single published question, review your past experiences. Identify a range of different examples that could fit various questions and demonstrate your skills, experiences, and potential.
• Relevance: Pick examples that align with the job requirements. Look for where you’ve demonstrated relevant skills or knowledge, or even transferable skills.
• Success: Choose situations where your actions had a significant impact or produced clear results. Highlight achievements that show specific outcomes.
• Variety: Show your versatility by using examples from different roles, projects, or experiences.
• Complexity: Show how you handle challenges and solve problems effectively. Highlight situations where you faced obstacles and navigated them successfully.

1. Master the STAR Method: This is your secret weapon for structuring your answers and ensuring you cover everything a hiring manager looks for. Each answer should follow the STAR method. This way, you’ll be sure to get out what the hiring manager is asking of you.

• S – Situation: Briefly set the scene. What was the context?
• T – Task: What was the specific goal or task you needed to accomplish? What were you responsible for?
• A – Action: What you did to address the situation or complete the task? Be specific about your actions, including any skills or techniques you used.
• R – Reflection/Result: What was the outcome of your actions? What impact did it have? Include any quantifiable results and what you learned from the experience.

So there you have it, everything you need to get you ready. By being open about our interview questions, we’re aiming to create a recruitment experience that’s fair, transparent and, most importantly, sees you ready to thrive and succeed on your journey to becoming a Partner. We can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!

Find out more about our recruitment process on our ‘How to Apply’ page.

Waitrose has confirmed that its first new full-line supermarket for seven years will be built at Brabazon, an award-winning new town in North Bristol. The 30,000 sq ft store will create around 150 new jobs and is expected to open in 2027.

The multi-million pound deal agreed with YTL Developments is the first major commercial partnership announced at Brabazon, which is one of the most sustainable examples of urban regeneration in the UK. It follows the YTL Group’s commitment in January to invest £4bn over the next five years.

Waitrose is broadening its reach across the UK with the Brabazon agreement, as well as the upcoming launch of a new convenience store in The Arches, Bristol; and recent expansions through franchised stores with Welcome Break in Spaldwick, Cambridgeshire and Rotherham, and a convenience store in Southwick, West Sussex. Later this summer two more stores will open at Welcome Break road service areas in Hickling, Leicestershire and Newark, Nottinghamshire.

More than 20 stores will undergo refurbishments this year, almost double the number year-on-year. It forms part of plans to inject a £1bn over the next three years into new stores and improvements to 150 existing shops, almost half of its estate.

James Bailey, Managing Director for Waitrose, said: “We are moving up a gear in store investment as we open in new locations and modernise our existing estate to bring the quality, service and value that customers love about Waitrose closer to more people.

“Brabazon is one of the most exciting new city districts in the UK, driving the growth of one of the UK’s most vibrant and successful regional economies. Partnering with YTL Developments at Brabazon underlines our ambition and the opportunity we believe we have to grow our reach.”

The new Waitrose supermarket will be located in a prime position on the A38 Gloucester Road at the gateway to Brabazon, and just 500m from a new train station which is expected to open in 2026. It will occupy the ground floor of a seven storey office building, designed by AHR architects and be served by an adjacent multi-storey car park with space for over 1,500 vehicles.

Waitrose has announced the recipients of a new £500k fund aimed at helping British farmers transition to low carbon farming methods, as part of its commitment to reach net zero across its UK farms by 2035 and the entire supply chain by 2050.

The net zero farm fund will support nine innovative projects that reduce agricultural emissions and build resilience in farming.

James Bailey, Managing Director, Waitrose said: “We’re really pleased to be able to support our farmers with projects that will not only help drive down real emissions but help them invest in their futures.

“It’s a challenging time for farmers, yet we saw a real ambition from applicants to the fund to drive forward climate and nature friendly farming. We’re excited to see the projects come to life and all the amazing benefits they will bring.”

Waitrose invited over 2,000 farmers and suppliers to apply. Nine successful applicants — all of whom directly supply Waitrose — will now implement projects designed to reduce environmental impact and improve sustainability.

The new projects span a range of low carbon innovations, including water and fertiliser recycling, establishing wilded habitats alongside traditional farming, testing cover cropping in orchards, and converting waste materials like poultry litter into fertiliser.

Additionally, some farms plan to introduce agroforestry and wildflower planting for better water management, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, while others are exploring renewable energy and emissions tracking systems.

Clair Brettell, Egg Producer said: “As Organic egg producers, we’re always talking about improving bird welfare and encouraging biodiversity on the fields where our hens range. The net zero grant fund by Waitrose is a fabulous initiative to support farmers. We’re excited to be working with Waitrose on our project, to have a positive impact on the environment and lead to more sustainable practices on our farm.”

Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs said: “Climate change is a significant threat to agriculture and our broader food system, and reducing emissions from the sector is vital to meeting our net zero commitments. I’m extremely pleased to see new funds, such as Waitrose’s net zero farm fund, support the adoption of low carbon farming practices.”

“Funds such as these complement the government’s focus on ensuring farming becomes more profitable and businesses are viable for the future – delivering the long-term food security this country needs while protecting nature’s capacity to provide the stable climate, clean water and healthy soils that make farming possible.”

Building on the £1m investment for Farming for Nature, the new fund is a key step in the  programme, which is committed to provide access to affordable finance and provide resources to support their transition to regenerative and low carbon farming.

Waitrose has long supported British farmers and is strongly committed to sourcing products from British farmers, particularly for own-brand fresh produce.

At the end of May, Waitrose welcomed customers through the doors of its brand new ‘Little Waitrose’ shop in Southwick, West Sussex in the formerly vacant Southwick Square building.

The 3000 sq ft shop offers over 3,000 products from Waitrose’s popular own brand ranges including Waitrose No. 1,  Essential Waitrose – a value range which doesn’t compromise on quality, taste or animal welfare, and Waitrose Duchy Organic across a wide range of categories including fresh, chilled and baked products; alongside favourite branded products.

Customers will be able to take advantage of Waitrose’s popular £5 lunchtime meal deal which includes a main, a snack and a drink, as well as Waitrose’s No.1 Evening Meal Deal for two, which offers a main, side, and a starter or dessert.

The drinks area is stocked with a carefully selected range of award-winning wines, and responding to demand for lower alcohol drinks an expanded range of low and no alcohol wines and beers.

Local customers will be able to order home delivery from the shop using Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat, and pick up John Lewis orders from the shop.

The opening of the shop has created 22 new local jobs. All new employees are now Partners in the Partnership.

The shop’s normal trading hours will be 7am-10pm from Monday to Sunday.

A few years ago, we announced our move into rental homes market as part of our plan to create a family of businesses that complement each other.

We have a sizeable property portfolio in locations where lots of people live and work with great transport links and local amenities.

By delivering homes in some of these locations we will generate new income streams that, in the long-term, will support investment back into our retail businesses, as well as helping to alleviate some of the growing pressures on the UK’s housing market.

West Ealing housing plans approved after successful appeal

We’re pleased to say we’ve recently been successful in our planning appeal to redevelop Waitrose West Ealing and build hundreds of much-needed new homes.

A government planning inspector confirmed the plans had been given the go ahead after we submitted an appeal in summer 2024 on the grounds of a ‘non-determination’.

The planning inspector’s decision follows the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million more homes in the next five years and its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in December, giving “substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes”.

In January, the government revealed new plans to deliver more houses on untapped land near commuter train stations to kick start economic growth.

The application to transform the existing Waitrose store and car park, which is located just 350 metres from the West Ealing Crossrail station, was made in summer 2023. As our second largest store in London, the shop serves a large area. The plans will create 428 much-needed homes, including 83 affordable rented homes, as well as a modernised store with parking.

The West Ealing scheme will contribute to the local infrastructure and services. Once complete, the new residential community will also boost the local economy; and a new public square, community facility and commercial space are designed to help bring together residents with the surrounding community.

Our founder, Spedan Lewis, had revolutionary ideas on how business could be done better. How, above all else, it could be a force for good. He once said: “The Partnership was created wholly and solely to make the world a bit happier and a bit more decent.” Today, that same sentiment remains at the core of the Partnership and a focal point for the Partners (employees) working here. His words form the foundation of our purpose; ‘Working in Partnership for a happier world’.

One way we see this purpose play out is through the important and dedicated ethics & sustainability work we carry out. Work that helps protect the environment, gives back to the people and communities we serve, and supports the suppliers we work with, both at a local level and across the globe.

Each area of our ethics & sustainability strategy is critical if we are to protect the planet and respect and support the interests of all those touched by our business.

Our annual Ethics & Sustainability Report for 2024/25

Of course, having a strategy is important but it’s what it achieves that really matters. Our latest annual ethics & sustainability report outlines the progress we’ve made over the past year.

From becoming the first major supermarket to source all own-label fresh milk and cream products from free-range diary herds to achieving a 24.3% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and generating £10.4m with our customers, Partners and suppliers for good causes.

DRIVEN BY PURPOSE

The responsibility of building a happier world doesn’t just sit with one team. All of our Partners have a role to play in seeing our purpose lived out day to day. Through small acts of kindness as well as larger idea generation. It’s all part of being a co-owner.

It’s this shared purpose that drives us individually and as a collective. Working together, we can all help create a Partnership where happier people thrive and where we can all contribute to building a happier business and world. Something you can be part of too. 

On Saturday 26th April, we marked 75-years since John Spedan Lewis, the Partnership’s Founder, signed the Second Trust Settlement, which transferred ownership of the business to Partners, cementing the co-ownership model we know today.

The Settlement came into effect on 26 April 1950, 21 years after the First Trust Settlement, which saw Spedan transfer shares in John Lewis, Peter Jones and Odney to trustees. Any profits were to pass straight to the trustees for distribution among the employees, rather than to himself, and established the John Lewis Partnership. The Second Trust Settlement saw him transfer all his remaining shares and hand ultimate control to a new company, John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited, whose trustees include the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the three Trustees of the Constitution.

“The Second Trust Settlement marks the moment that, at 21 years of age, and after facing into years of wartime difficulties, the Partnership experiment was entering maturity,” explains Imogen Livesley, Partnership Archivist. “The Settlement stands as an extraordinary gift to Partners and serves as Spedan’s swansong in his career-long endeavour to create Partnership for All.”

Today, Spedan’s vision is expressed by the phrase ‘We All Own It’, which defines the Partner Difference and what makes being a Partner in our co-owned business special.

Speaking to the Gazette (our weekly internal publication), Johnny Aisher, Trustee, alongside Trustees Baiju Naik and Matthew Street, added: “It is a wonderful testament to Spedan’s vision that his experiment has lasted so long and is increasingly inspiring other businesses to adopt similar co-ownership models. It’s also brilliant that, as with our Elected Directors, any Partner can stand to be a Trustee and share the privilege of protecting what we have so fortunately inherited for those hundreds of thousands of Partners who will come after us.”

The Partnership’s Second Trust Settlement: Five Facts

• The Second Trust Settlement was seven years in the making.

• It was signed in the boardroom at 35 Cavendish Square, London.

• Enid Lockett, who was instrumental in its creation, was an early female lawyer, and the first female barrister to be instructed in a murder case in the UK.

• Enid addressed Central Council, saying: “The Partnership now in essence and in fact belongs to all employed in it, and in return for this gift the Chairman has received not one penny. Its future success depends on all who work in it and thereby own it” (reported in the Gazette on 24 June 1950).

• It was calculated that the 12,000 Deferred Ordinary Shares that Spedan signed over were worth over £100,000, which is roughly around £3 million today.

We’re pleased to announce that Andy Mounsey has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer.

Andy previously held the CFO position on an interim basis since the autumn 2024.

Andy, who previously held the position of the Partnership’s Group Finance and Strategy Director, has been with the business for 13-years in a number of senior finance roles. A Chartered Accountant, Andy previously worked at EY for 12 years, where he advised large listed clients globally across the consumer sector.

Andy Mounsey, CFO, said: “I’m honoured and excited to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at such a transformative time for the Partnership. We’re seeing solid progress in our key financial metrics and continued improvements in customer sentiment. The Partnership is in strong financial health and stepping up investment this year for customers and Partners. I look forward to working with the entire team to build on this progress and ensure the long-term financial strength of our unique business.”

Jason Tarry, Chairman of the Partnership, said: “Andy’s contribution as interim CFO has been invaluable, and it’s great to have him as part of the team. His deep understanding of the Partnership and the retail sector, combined with his extensive experience in various senior finance roles, makes him ideal for this position. I’m confident that Andy’s leadership will be instrumental in driving our financial strategy and ensuring the long-term success of the Partnership.”

With this appointment Andy will also join the Partnership’s Board.

Today’s shopper wants the food on their plate to match their values; they want transparency, confidence and to trust their supermarket.

That’s why at Waitrose we’re proud to announce a groundbreaking leap in animal welfare: from this month we begin the process of adding clear and unambiguous welfare labels to our fresh meat, beginning with all of our fresh and frozen chicken.

We’re the first UK supermarket to introduce welfare labelling, allowing our customers to easily see the higher welfare standards their chicken has been reared to. Organic, Free Range, Better Chicken Commitment; the choice is yours at Waitrose. Our customers trust us and we hear them loud and clear when they tell us they want higher welfare and they want British.

Our customers are telling us they want clear transparency and they want to know the food they buy has been produced to the highest standards. When we asked them, nearly all (97%) of our customers said that when they buy fresh chicken they want to know that the animals were treated well. Customers want clarity and they are demanding more animal friendly ways of farming.

And this isn’t just a promise on packaging. By doing this we are empowering our customers to take a stand against the animal welfare crisis caused by fast growing chickens, and backing up our commitment with real action and huge investment.

We’re super-charging our progress on the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), meaning that by the end of August this year – well ahead of the 2026 deadline – all Waitrose own-brand chicken, from fresh to the chicken used as an ingredient in things such as ready meals, soups and sandwiches – will meet the BCC’s higher welfare standards. Our chickens will have more natural light, more space, no cages and have lived longer, healthier lives. We want the care and effort our dedicated farming group put into producing Waitrose food to be clear to our customers.

This is a trailblazing move for animal welfare and our UK farmers. In our opinion, UK farming is the best in the world and produces food to the highest standards, so collectively we have to make everyday choices to support them.

Without clear labelling, first to show country of origin and now – in Waitrose – to show the standard of animal welfare, customers can’t make informed choices and make a difference.

We would like to see a future where animal welfare labelling is mandated to give customers transparent, comparable information regardless of where they shop. I’ve been encouraged to see that boosting welfare is on the government’s priority list, and I want our labelling scheme to be a helpful step towards an industry solution which we, and shoppers, would welcome.

We all need to eat, so why the fuss about how that food is made and where it’s come from? Because it really matters. If you love food you probably don’t need us to explain it – where it’s from, and how it’s made makes all the difference to taste, enjoyment and your health. Securing the highest standards of animal welfare, and investing in the lives our animals live, is something we simply have to do. If we try to make things as cheap as possible, we’ll end up destroying the way we farm and produce our food. We have to focus on quality, not just on cost.

At Waitrose, we believe that clear information is key for shoppers to make informed choices about the standards behind the food they buy. We are proud of the long standing relationships we have with all of our farmers, who share our passion for animal welfare. But we know that true impact comes from industry-wide transparency. That’s why I’d urge others to consider introducing their own transparent labelling.

As I have already said, we start with chicken but intend to introduce welfare labelling across more meat products. It matters, so we’ll continue to invest in better standards and better information for our customers. We must work together to ensure a sustainable future for our farmers and the planet.

Waitrose has announced that, as of February 2025, it has diverted the equivalent of 25 million meals from surplus food, delivered from over 300 stores and distribution centres, to people in need through FareShare.

The retailer has committed to halving food waste in its operations and supply chains by 2030, and helping customers do so at home by the same date. The partnership with FareShare is fundamental in helping divert surplus food from branches and distribution centres and saving it from becoming waste.

2024 was Waitrose’s best year ever for surplus redistribution in terms of volume, driven by increased donations from stores and building upon a long-standing partnership with FareShare. Since 2017, Waitrose has worked closely with FareShare, donating 25,439,334 meals by the end of January 2025. In 2024 alone, 6,097,210 meals were donated, representing 2,561 tonnes of surplus food and saving 5,140 tonnes of CO2 while supporting 3,971 charities.

To further enhance its ‘FareShare Go’ model, Waitrose has integrated OLIO, a free app that helps people share surplus food within their local communities, enabling OLIO Food Waste Heroes to rescue surplus food where FareShare is unable to collect.

Marija Rompani, Director of Ethics & Sustainability, John Lewis Partnership said “Not only are we incredibly proud that our partnership with FareShare has helped drive down food waste, but we’re pleased to be able to support those in our communities who need help and need access to nutritious food. 25 million meals is a huge milestone and we can’t wait to see it go further.”

Simon Millard, Director of Food at FareShare said: “We’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with Waitrose. Their support has enabled us to provide 25 million meals worth of good-to-eat surplus food to our network of 8,000 charities across the UK. These charities, from afterschool and breakfast clubs to hospices and homelessness shelters, transform meals into support, strengthening communities and changing lives across the UK. Thank you to everyone at Waitrose for reaching this milestone.”

On top of diverting the equivalent of 25 million meals from surplus food, Waitrose is helping combat food poverty in the UK by providing surplus pasta to FareShare as part of the Coronation Food Project. Working with its own-brand pasta supplier, Daybreak, Waitrose will divert approximately 130 tonnes of surplus pasta per year – the equivalent of 350,000 meals – to FareShare.

Further down the supply chain, Waitrose is working with suppliers to analyse whole supply chain waste and identify food waste hotspots. Where surplus food is identified, Waitrose is exploring opportunities to divert it to charities to redistribute to those in need.