How to Apply & Interview Questions

In a business as big as ours, there is so much variety to the job and career opportunities we have on offer.

You might be looking for your first job, or perhaps looking to change the direction of your current career path. You may even just be looking to further the career path you’re on with the Partnership.

The first step to understanding if the Partnership is the right employer for you is to look through the pages of our careers website. Here, you’ll find all of the information you need to know to make sure you’re making the right choice for you and you can begin to align yourself with the opportunities available.

It’s the perfect first step in the journey.

Once you’ve decided the Partnership is the place for you it’s time to apply.

You’ll be able to view all of the specific information about a role we’re recruiting for on our job adverts (which will help you when answering our application questions). This is also where you’ll be able to start your application by clicking on ‘Apply Now’.

When you do so, you’ll be taken to our application system, Workday, where you’ll be asked to sign-in or create an account.

The application will consist of questions relating to yourself and the role you’re applying for. We recommend you answer these questions as fully as you can so we can really start to learn more about you, your skills and experience and why you want to join the Partnership.

There will also be the opportunity to add your CV and Cover Letter if it’s required.

For some of our roles, we might ask you to complete some online role-specific tests. For roles like our Customers Assistants or Supermarket Assistants, you’ll find a Situational Judgement Test and Personality Questionnaire which will help us understand more about how you align to the Partnership behaviours and present you with realistic scenarios that you would be faced with in the role and you’ll be asked to choose the best course of action

For other roles, we may ask you to complete a technical competency test like a coding exercise or an Excel assessment, to make sure you have the right skills for the role.

To prepare, take a good look at the job description and think about how your past experiences relate to the role’s responsibilities.

Once you’ve successfully passed your online test, you’ll be able to complete and submit the rest of your application.

If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to either a 1-2-1 interview or Group Assessment where you’ll meet the hiring managers for the role you’ve applied for. These may be in-person or virtually. Clear instructions will be sent when we invite you.

During this stage, you’ll be assessed against our Partnership Behaviours and any technical requirements for the role.

We want you to perform at your best in your interview/assessment which is why we publish our behavioural based questions to help you prepare. You can find out more about our published questions above.

We published our Behavioural based interview questions to help you feel more at ease, so you can prepare in advance and perform at your best.

The following top tips have been pulled together to help you understand how best to prepare examples for the questions you’ll be asked and ensure you cover everything a hiring manager may be looking for.

Further down this page, you’ll find links to the published questions for the different levels of role in the Partnership.

Our Top Tips: 

– It’s helpful to know our interview questions in advance (more details below) but, on the day, focus on having a natural conversation with your interviewer instead of relying too much on your notes. If your prepared answer doesn’t match the question, it’s better to pause and think of a more relevant example than trying to force an answer that doesn’t quite answer the question being asked.

– We can only assess you based on what you say in your interview / assessment. Our hiring managers will make you feel at ease so you can be yourself.

– Our key difference in the Partnership is the fact we are a co-ownership. This come with different responsibilities that you’d find elsewhere. You’ll learn about this through our Behaviours (below) but can also find out further information on our ‘Being a Partner’ page.

– You don’t need to plan responses to all the questions we’ve published. Take the time to review your past experiences and identify a number of different examples in advance that could fit a range of questions and demonstrate your skills, experiences, and potential.These are some key points to consider when choosing examples:

Relevance: Select examples that closely align with the job requirements. Look for examples where you demonstrated relevant skills, knowledge, or experiences.  If you don’t have specific experience, look for where you might have transferable skills you can showcase.

Success:  Choose situations where your actions had a significant impact or produced tangible results. Highlight achievements or accomplishments that showcase specific outcomes.

Variety: Provide a diverse range of examples to demonstrate your versatility and adaptability. Include scenarios from different roles, projects, or experiences to showcase a well-rounded skill set.

Complexity: Select examples that demonstrate your ability to handle challenges and solve problems effectively. Highlight situations where you faced obstacles or difficult decisions and successfully navigated them.

– When preparing the examples, think about the following approach known as the STAR guide.

S – Situation: Describe the context or situation you were in. Provide enough detail for the interviewer to understand the scenario.

T – Task: Explain the specific task or goal you needed to accomplish within that situation. What were you responsible for?

A – Action: Outline the actions you took to address the situation or task. Be specific about what you did, including any skills or techniques you utilised.

R – Reflection/ Result: Share the outcome of your actions and the impact it had on you. What happened as a result of your efforts? Include any quantitative or qualitative results, and what you gained from the experience.

At the end of your interview / assessment, you’ll have an understanding of when you’re likely to hear back from us regarding your outcome. When the time comes, you’ll receive an email from us, but we also recommend you regularly check your account for updates. For some of our roles, you may also receive a phone call.

The email you receive will contain a formal Employment Agreement which, at this stage, is still subject to any pre-employment vetting required by the role.

It’s important that you read through the details of this agreement and let us know as soon as possible if you’re willing to accept. Your offer may be withdrawn automatically if we do not hear back from you.

Once accepted, any pre-employment checks required will begin.

If you accept our offer for a role that requires a pre-employment check, you’ll receive an email giving you full instructions. You’ll be asked to log into Zinc where you will complete a consent form and an online screening form. This should be completed as soon as possible. 

Usually, this process is very straight-forward. Occasionally, however, we may need to contact you to ask for additional information or documentation – we will do this by email. 

Types for check include, but are not limited to;

• Instant Employment Verification – Employment reference checks information of employment history.
• Basic DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service Checks) – provides information on any unspent criminal convictions (this was previously known as CRB check).
• Qualification Check – verifies your qualifications with the awarding body.

Where they are applicable, background checks are a mandatory part of the process and must be conducted through our supplier, Zinc.

Right to Work in the UK

As a business, we must make sure that anyone we’re looking to employ is legally allowed to work in the UK before their employment begins.

To check your right to work, you will receive an email from our identity checking provider Zinc, which will enable you to provide evidence of your entitlement to work in the UK. Depending on the type of right to work documentation you have, this may also require an in person check in one of our John Lewis or Waitrose stores.Whilst the use of Zinc is our preferred method of establishing your right to work, we can provide an alternative route if you prefer. Please see our FAQ’s section for more information on digital right to work checks.

Please note, if you are applying for a role in one of our Channel Island locations, we will ask you to bring your right to work documents to your assessment or interview instead.

For more information on what documents you can bring to show you’ve the right to work, go to the Check if a document allows someone to work in the UK of the gov.uk website.

Check what you need to show

You automatically have the right to work in the UK if:

• you’re a British or Irish citizen
• you have pre-settled or settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme – or you’ve applied and you’re waiting for a decision
• you have a family permit from the EU Settlement Scheme
• you have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK
• you have right of abode in the UK

You might have a right to work in the UK if you’ve got a visa with a time limit. This is called having ‘limited leave to enter or remain’. If your leave has ended, you don’t have the right to work in the UK.

Check if you’re a British citizen

You should check if you’re a British citizen if you’re not sure – for example, you might be a British citizen if you:

• have a British parent
• were born in the UK or a British overseas territory
• were born in a British colony before 1983

To check go to the Check if you’re a British citizen on the gov.uk website.

If you’ve got limited leave to enter or remain 

You’ll have limited leave to enter or remain if you’ve got a visa with a time limit.

You’ll usually have a document which says if you’ve got the right to work – for example, a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

You might have restrictions on the type of job or work you can do, or the number of hours you can work.

For more information on what documents you can bring to show you have the right to work, go to the Check if a document allows someone to work in the UK of the gov.uk website.

If you’ve got a student visa

You’re only allowed to work a certain number of hours. If you’re not sure how many hours you can work, you should check your immigration documents or talk to your education provider.

More information on the rules about working with a student visa can be found on the Student work page of the UKCISA website.

As your start date approaches, you’ll continue to receive information and notifications from us, so make sure you regularly check your emails and candidate account. There are important actions for you to complete at this stage (like adding in your bank details so you can be paid!).

You’ll also receive information about your first day so you know just what to expect and where to go.

The first days and weeks will include completing your mandatory training and induction into the Partnership. You’ll be supported by our Partners throughout this time so you can find your feet in your new role.

Earning Membership

Earning Membership is a simple framework designed to help you settle in and thrive from day one. It’s all about understanding our purpose, values, and how we work together to achieve success.

Find out more about the Earning Membership 90-Day journey.

As an employer committed to accessibility and disability inclusion, we want to ensure everyone feels supported when they apply to join the Partnership. We continuously look for ways to improve our recruitment process to support individuals with disabilities.

If you have a disability, – which you believe may affect your performance when applying for a role or at an interview, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to apply and perform at your best.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and we’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process to all. For disabled candidates who have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme, where they meet the minimum criteria as outlined on the advert and job outline, they will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and ability at an assessment or interview. That is unless it is not practical or appropriate to do this for all disabled candidates, such as during high-peak times or for high volume roles.

What do I do if I need support with my application?

If you have a question about your application or you require additional support, visit our FAQs page or use ‘Lewy’ our Chatbot where we have answers to the most common questions we receive.

You’ll also have the opportunity to let us know if you need support when you start your application. You will then be able to provide us with details relating to the support you need as well as being provided a phone number to call us to discuss in more detail if needed.

Support Available

We would like to do as much as we can to support you with completing your application or performing at your best at an interview. An application process could involve elements of the following:

• Online tests
• Interview
• Group exercise
• Individual exercise

and depending on the role, these may involve:

• Reading
• Writing
• Using a computer
• Analysing
• Interpreting information
• Group discussions
• Role play
• Presenting

Our team can talk through the process specifically for the role you’ve applied for to help you identify where you may require adjustments. Contact us.