I applied in-person. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Co-op (Tring, England) in Nov 2020
Interview
I applied for a position and interviewed on Sunday the 15th of November. The interview was originally scheduled to be with the Store Manager at 11:00am, I received a call at 10:30am asking to push it back to 12:00- not an issue for me!
I then arrived at the store for 11:50am and was asked to wait in the staff room, where I stayed until 12:20, 20mins after the original interview was scheduled. I was then taken into a back office and interview by a Supervisor rather than the Store Manager.
At the end of the interview, the Supervisor informed me I would hear back in the next week, I waited a week and heard nothing, then to my suprirse on Sunday the 22nd of November- I logged into the career portal to see that my applicaiton had been withdrawn, through no action of my own.
I rang the recruitment team, throughout the following week and on the 30th of November. At this point I spoke to a man who advised he would chase up with the store, and get back to me the following day with an outcome between 10 & 11am. I received no call or email between 10 & 11am on Tuesday the 1st of December.
Following this I tried to ring a number of times but couldn't reach anyone, before getting through again on the 8th of December. The person who spoke to me didn't know of my situation and I had to repeat what had occurred.
She advised the Store Manager would know what is going on and that they had sent an email and that she would send another, but that over the Christmas period, they didn't really expect the Manager to get back as they would be busy running the Store.
Given it's approaching a month since I interviewed, I assume that the decision was taken not to hire- but have been left in complete limbo with no answers and a number of broken promises on when I would be contacted back.
For a company who are supposed to represent their Community and coinciding with that; provide great customer service- this recruitment experience really was a far cry from that.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you've had to deal with a difficult customer
I applied online. I interviewed at Co-op in Jun 2026
Interview
It was nice and smooth and very intuitive. I liked how I had help from the website to prepare for the interview and so I was able to fully explain my previous experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Give me a time when you stood up for yourself or someone else
Very impersonal. All done online and the logic between what constitutes a good or bad answer is totally unidentifiable. You would have better luck turning up in person and asking if you can hand in your CV and interview in person instead!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Very insistent on working as many days/times as possible even if you are studying
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Co-op (Bournemouth, England) in May 2026
Interview
The interview process was very easy and straightforward. The interviewer was kind and made it feel more like a friendly, comfortable conversation than a formal interview. As well as one of the best interviews I've actually had.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked for my availability, as well as experience.