I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Primark in Apr 2025
Interview
The application process starts in a pointlessly strenuous way for what is a basic near-minimum wage retail job. CV? Fine, of course. But then they make you do some cheesy personality/'social kills' type assessment which is basically just designed to discriminate against neurodivergent people when you look at studies on outcomes.
Anyway, I was invited to an interview and I was given a grand total of about 18 hours notice for it. The interview was on Thursday morning and I was told about it Wednesday early afternoon. It was a no-reply email so you couldn't confirm or re-arrange. I had a healthcare appointment so I tried ringing them to re-arrange and nobody picked up the phone!
I had to cancel my long-awaited healthcare appointment. When I showed up 5 minutes early (they requested no more than 5 mins early in the email) they left me waiting for about 15 minutes while the interviewing manager did other stuff-a sign of an understaffed store, as is common in retail these days.
Then they took me up to the interview room and left me for another 10 minutes. The interview wasn't too long and was basic. They ask questions, you answer-no room for a dialogue or conversation as they're just asking the questions off a sheet. "Tell me about a time when you... ; tell me a time when you demonstrated..." I don't remember the exact ones to be honest.
After the interview they thanked me and that was all good. They were polite and nice enough though I wouldn't say friendly.
Also, you needed to bring in NI and proof of identity (e.g., passport) within 48 hours of the interview. Given that this was arranged at short notice it was extremely hard to get the NI letter in time (photo was not accepted) and I had to ask a parent to post it 1st class.
Anyhow, I was rejected a couple of days later with no feedback and just an automated message. Once again this was a no-reply email so I couldn't ask for feedback that way. When I tried ringing them to ask for feedback nobody picked up yet again.
What a joke of a process. So disrespectful to the candidate.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when you overcame a difficult situation (or something like that).
There’s an exam first at home then an in person interview, it’s one manager interviewing you and it’s quite short, they don’t ask too many questions just know your CV and being able to work flexible hours helps
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked about previous experience, and how to handle certain situations with customers, also about flexibility
Questions you would expect in majority retail roles. Questions about shop floor interactions. Customer interactions etc. There's only a few questions. Interview focuses the most on your soft skills and your approach to the retail environment.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If there were clothes on the floor, what would you do and why?
I interviewed at Primark (Middlesbrough, Inghilterra)
Interview
very smooth, just went up to the checkout area and said i have an interview, we sat in the back and i just got asked a few questions, very friendly it felt more personal and easier to talk compared to other interviews i have had