Greggs Interview, Questions.

Hey

I'm 17 years old, have been looking for a part time/weekend job for months now, after months of applying for jobs I've finally been offered to attend a job interview for Greggs.

I have a few questions:
1) This is my first job interview, what can I expect at the interview, what questions should also be expected?

2) What should I wear to the interview?

3) Anyone know what it's like working for Greggs and how good pay is?

4) Finally any useful tips/pointers for me?

Sorry it's quite a few questions but any help would be much appreciated.

James :smile:

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Reply 1

Leon Trotsky

Working in Greggs would be ******* awesome.

Reply 2

freebeing

First of all congrats! getting an interview is quite an achievement, for somewhere such as greggs I can imagine the interview wont be too intense.

It's just discuss what sort of hours you are available to work / make sure you don't have some massive facial tattoos or anything..

Smart jeans + shoes n polo top would be my personal choice, long as you're comfortable and don't look too scruffy :wink:

Pay is unlikely to be above £6 / hr, but think of all the free pasties!

Goodluck =D

Reply 3

Kaatie123

Well done!! :biggrin:

I was in the same postiton as you I've looking for a part-time job for agees. I had my interview on saturday and they got back to me today and offered me the job :smile:

i was well chuffed.

1) It was my first proper interview aswell so i was nervous but don't worry mine was really relaxed she just started off asking me questions about my right to work in the UK and if I have any holidays booked. then she went on to like the main questions and it was just stuff like Why do you want to work for greggs ? and talk about a time you have interacted with the public or offered customer service. I just said like working at a tuck shop which is pretty pathetic but she didn't mind. They don't care about work experience either I don't have any and kept apologising that i didn't have answers to some questions but she said they really don't mind if you have experience or not.

2)I'm a girl so its different but i just wore smart black trousers, a white t-shirt and a leather jacket but its pretty relaxed so you don't need to dress to fancy just don't look scruffy.

3)I don't know what its like to work there yet obviously but the pay is £5.16 and hour and goes up after 12 weeks and you get a 50% discount on all bakery and 25% off birthday cakes and bought in stuff like walkers crisps and drinks.

4) Only tip is really just relax don't get too nervous :smile:

Good Luck

Reply 4

JamJam92

Thank you for your help :biggrin:

Reply 5

Jazmine

1) This is my first job interview, what can I expect at the interview, what questions should also be expected?
The interviewer asked me a lot of questions about working as a team. E.g., "At Greggs, we like our team to be open and honest. What do you think being open and honest means?". She also asked what duties I think I might do (they are big on hygiene for one thing, showing I knew Greggs values seemed to impress her). She also asked about my future plans, whether I was going to Uni, etc (they take on a lot of Uni students apparently) - but I'm nineteen, I don't think they'd ask you that.

2) What should I wear to the interview?
Smart casual. I wore smart trousers and a shirt with a vest underneath. Seeing as you're a guy, I'd say trousers and a shirt? Maybe a jacket, forget about a tie though.. ha ha. It's pretty relaxed, as Kaatie123 said. But don't wear jeans...

3) Anyone know what it's like working for Greggs and how good pay is?
I will be paid £6.07 per hour. Your age may affect how much you get paid though. For me, it will go up to £6.25 after 12 weeks. With the 50% off stuff as mentioned. I'm going to an induction on the 14th. Can tell you about it then if you like!

4) Finally any useful tips/pointers for me?
Yeah, it's really casual - seriously. So don't be nervous. But no worries if you are though, I was hella nervous when I went! They work on a point system, so I was trying to hit as many key words as possible. I thought my interview went terribly (it was my first interview also!), but she said she was impressed with me, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought! Just don't worry about it, that's my advice! Oh, and the classic: good eye contact and a firm handshake. < Not sure if it matters, but people kept saying I should do that, ha ha.

Reply 6

JamJam92

Thanks for the help Jazmine :smile:

Yeah, please do tell me about your induction on the 14th if you can.

Reply 7

Jazmine

It was 7hrs long and throughout most of it we were just listening to a woman talk about various procedures and rules (nothing out there; health & safety, the Discrimination Act, your wages, the company's values, etc) all very briefly - apparently they have DVDs of some stuff now, but they only had a flip chart! - and then we had two exercises. One was manual handling (literally we just took turns to lift a box) and till work (doing a mock-experience of the tills).

Hmm, also we had two tests - but the tests are small and seemingly very insignificant. 3 in 5 of us got 100%. So it's nothing to worry about, we were all worried. Ha ha. Oh and we had a break where we got to ask for Greggs items for lunch, all for free. Plus, we get paid for the induction! And I'd like to say the induction was fun. Lovely people (other employees from different locations) and a lovely trainer. =)

Have you had your interview yet?

Reply 8

JamJam92

Sounds nice.

I haven't yet, my interview is next Saturday(21st).

Reply 9

b737ng driver

I had an interview with Greggs a few weeks ago, it was also my first interview and was very nervous maybe why i didnt get the job.

Good luck everybody

Reply 10

Jazmine

Sorry to hear about that b737ng driver! You can always ask if they can provide any information as to why you were rejected. I didn't have other interviews, but after failing the job application processes of some places.. I e-mailed to ask why they rejected me and so far they've always responded to me. It's worth a try if you want feedback, x.

JamJam92, good luck in your interview with Greggs! =D

Reply 11

G O D I S N O W H E R E

I had an interview wid Greggs a few days back, was a bit nervous bt was confident wid my answers. The interviwer asked a few questions, which was basics like say wht wud u do in dis situation and prepare well to answer the question, ''ummm, why you chose to work with Greggs''. To be honest I had no answer for dat freakin....question bt i den used my WORDS, '' If u cant convince anyone then confuse 'em '' which worked i think. Still waiting for dat positive reply. I think m gonna make it.for sure....X X =D

Reply 12

FormerlyHistoryStudent

I worked at Greggs for two years, starting off as a general assistant but going up the chain to assistant manager, and I got to look at the interview questions (I even got to sit in an interview once, but that was a management one for the purpose to find my replacement, so isn't that relevant to you.) A few points you might find useful;

- wear smart/casual - not suit and tie, but not jeans and trainers either.

- I know it sounds obvious, but make sure you've washed your hair, have clean nails and have had a shower & used deodorant before you arrive at the interview, because on the interview sheets where they write down in note form your replies to the questions, there's a section where they have to put down whether or not you look clean & presentable and have good hygiene - if you don't, then they have to put it down, and it'll probably make your chance of getting the job less likely! Especially when you consider that bad personal hygiene doesn't go very well in a food environment in particular!

- Greggs are very keen on their core values, and the whole interview is split into sections based on one or two at a time. These are; openness, honesty, fairness, respect, consideration, enthusiasm, supportiveness and being appreciative. Think to yourself what each of these mean to you (have a look on their website to get some help with this), and after you've been asked each question, think which of these values are relevant to it, and work them into your answer.

- Remember that the interviewer is not 'out to get you' or trying to intimidate you - they genuinely want you to do well and will be doing their very best to put you at ease and put you in the best position you can be to answer their questions with confidence. They will help you as much as they are allowed, and if you look lost or unable to answer, you can ask them to rephrase the question.

P.S. Although obviously they don't go below the minimum wage anywhere, the exact amount of pay varies from area to area, even shop to shop. One thing that is certain is that your pay will go up after the first three months, once you've finished the 'Basic Ingredients' booklet. ( By about 50p p/h, I think.)

Reply 13

LRainbow~

I've just recently got a job at greggs and the questions weren't really that hard. There was only question i couldnt answer [give an example of when you'd be open and honest in greggs] and they still offered me the job. :smile:

I think written references help a lot too. :smile:

They asked me other qs such as what would I do if i had to do a job i wasn't fond of and how i could make it more enjoyable. They also asked me how i would like to be treated by other employees if i got the job, i just went on about people being friendly and welcoming and mention smiling as that's a big thing.

Could anyone who has worked at greggs tell me how they knew all the names of different pastys, cakes and different types of bread? As i've only had my induction last sat and they said they're putting me on the tills next week and i'm quite nervous as i don't know half the names of stuff and i'm afriad i'm going to badly mess up. :/ So any help would REALLY be appreciated!

Reply 14

Jazmine

LRainbow~

Could anyone who has worked at greggs tell me how they knew all the names of different pastys, cakes and different types of bread? As i've only had my induction last sat and they said they're putting me on the tills next week and i'm quite nervous as i don't know half the names of stuff and i'm afriad i'm going to badly mess up. :/ So any help would REALLY be appreciated!

You will learn it all on the day! Ha ha. I didn't know some of the names, I'd have to ask customers to point to what they wanted or to ask a staff member to tell me what was what. Don't worry though, you get more used to it as the day goes and people tend to buy specific items a lot more than others, so you don't need to learn them all in a day! E.g., the steak bake, chicken bake, sausage roll and one of the ice-ringed doughnuts were the most popular the day I worked at the tills! That I can remember anyways. Didn't have to do too much else, fortunately...

If you mess up, don't worry! =) Just keep truckin'!

Reply 15

FormerlyHistoryStudent

LRainbow~

With the pasties, they all have different patterns on. In my area at least, the steak bakes have short diagonal lines running down the middle, the cheese & onions have 'v's going down the middle, the vegetables just have a little raised blob in the middle, the chickens have long wavy lines running across them, and the sausage, cheese & bean ones have three or four lines running right across horizontally. Just deliberately try to remember which pattern goes with which pasty, and you'll be fine!
The cakes can be a bit harder, especially when customers call them different names to what they actually are (customers here call the belgian buns 'chelsea buns' sometimes, for example.) However, with the majority of cakes it's usually pretty obvious what name goes with what cake (different types of doughnut, apple turnovers, gingerbread men, crispy cakes, muffins, cookies.) There's only really a few which are difficult to tell just from the name - Tottenham cakes, for example, which are squares of sponge with bright pink icing on, and Swiss buns, which are just long plain buns with white icing on.
The bread is usually kept behind the counters, so you should be able to see the labels from where you are on the till. If really stuck, or if the label doesn't seem to tally with what bread is actually there, then a good trick is to go over and say to the customer 'was it this one you wanted?' whilst putting your hand over one of them. They'll usually just say something like 'no, the one just to the left of that', which will help you.

Reply 16

G O D I S N O W H E R E

I got a job in Greggs, i m so so so... happy. Having an induction tomorrow does anybody know what happens in an induction, do they put you in a shop...? I am so excited....

Reply 17

Jazmine

This was what happened in my induction.

Reply 18

FormerlyHistoryStudent

G O D I S N W H E R

I got a job in Greggs, i m so so so... happy. Having an induction tomorrow does anybody know what happens in an induction, do they put you in a shop...? I am so excited....

Mine wasn't very long at all, an hour at the most - all it was was filling in forms, doing a couple of small tests and going through a flip chart with the manager. No going on tills or anything like that. You might well do though, all places have to do them but some do them more officially than others.

Reply 19

G O D I S N O W H E R E

It was nice, had nearly 4 hours, was told about health n safety did some test and was taught to use the EPOS with a very good trainer... had food and some hot drinks..and the induction was paid..so it was fun..starting my training from tomorrow. Hope this goes on....but so happy to get salary.....