J'ai postulé via une agence de recrutement. J'ai passé un entretien chez Howden (Thatcham, England) en mai 2021
Entretien
Overall a poor experience - unclear direction and misled by the interviewers.
I was contacted by a recruitment company who recommended the job to me. I had an initial telephone conversation with a manager for 45 minutes. I passed this stage, and was asked to fill in an application form and complete a 35 minute online test. I was then invited for a face to face competency based interview. During this interview, I was told that the next stage would be a role play to demonstrate my sales ability and "sell a holiday". This was actually incorrect as I was invited for a further meeting with another manager.
This was "informal" as the person I met was more interested in me as a person. He seemed positive and chirpy, but didn't really seem to ask that many questions.
I was then contacted by the recruitment agency the day after, who said "I'm not suitable for sales"
I feel I was misled, as they knew my experience (7 years in the insurance industry) and I wasn't provided a chance to demonstrate my skills in this area.
I'm sure the third meeting was just a chance for them to judge my personal appearance. I've emailed the branch manager for feedback but I'm yet to hear from them, and I don't expect to. Overall it felt like a waste of time.
Questions d'entretien [1]
Question 1
Basic competency questions were asked during this interview.
Thank-you for leaving feedback, I have discussed your experience with the manager and believe there was some missed communication which was also part of the reason that an offer wasn't made. I am more than happy to provide you with some further feedback if you wish - you can contact me on paul.sissons@aplan.co.uk and we can arrange a telephone call from there.
Expérience neutre
Entretien moyen
Candidature
J'ai postulé via une autre source. J'ai passé un entretien chez Howden (Poole, Angleterre) en oct. 2021
Entretien
Had an initial 45 minute phone interview with a member of the team.
I was then invited in the following day for a face to face informal interview where the branch manager was interested in finding out more about me as a person.
I was then invited in for a further face to face, experience with the team, followed by a practical sales test and psychometric online test.
I felt the interviews went well at each stage and the branch manager was very friendly and helpful at each stage.
I did not receive an offer after this final stage and was given feedback that during my practical test I had not developed rapport well enough or exuded enough confidence, which I accept.
However, the feedback given also said I was late for the interview, which was untrue as I was given a time of 10.30am and arrived at 10.25. They claimed that it was scheduled for 10.00am, but made no mention of this on the day so I was unable to clarify this error.
They also gave me the option of completing my practical test out front or in a back office. I opted for the latter, which was later used in the feedback as another mark against me, which felt a touch deceptive.
Ultimately I was clearly not right for the role regardless of these points so it is moot, but these two factors marred an otherwise very positive overall interview experience.
Thank-you for leaving feedback, I have discussed your experience with the manager and believe there was some missed communication which was also part of the reason that an offer wasn't made. I am more than happy to provide you with some further feedback if you wish - you can contact me on paul.sissons@aplan.co.uk and we can arrange a telephone call from there.
J'ai postulé via un recruteur. Le processus a pris 2 semaines. J'ai passé un entretien chez Howden (Manchester, Angleterre) en févr. 2021
Entretien
Detailed interview with 3 stages. The first was a casual conversation to get to know the company culture and see if its a good fit. Other 2 interviews were with the branch manager and more detailed based on the role
Questions d'entretien [1]
Question 1
Give an example where you received good customer service