rogue12 said:
Hi all,
Ive never applied for a job at all and was just thinking nightfill (coles or woolies) would be ok job to start off with.
What kind of questions could you exspect from a typical nightfill job interview?
I hear if your tall it can be advantageous when packing shelfs etc.., any truth to it?
Is there any kind of testing involved if you get to get into nightfill position?
Should you apply by phone, as i hear the online way can take a while?
Also i used thr resume guide from this website
http://www.alec.co.uk/resume-examples/high-school-resume-samples.htm to write my resume up it just shows some examples but i followed the same order its in, is this kind any good or should i use a different type of resume format?
Thanks for any help.
Hey Rogue,
I worked for 12 months at Big W as a nightfill associate, so its very similar to nightfill at woolies, and prob coles too.
They probably won't interview you for a nightfill job. They will prob interview you (as they did to me and all of the other people that worked there) just as a normal job interview in which they will ask you if you want to work nightfill, or cash register etc.
Some of the questions they asked me (although I can't remember them all) were:
1) What hours are you willing to work (they got me to fill out a form)
2) What experience have I had (this isn't usually a requirement, so if you don't have any experience then don't worry).
They also asked me about my future plans, where I see myself in 5 years, 10 years etc. They also asked about my schooling and stuff.
It's all pretty straight forward questions, you'll be fine if you go to the interview.
Haha they aren't going to not hire you if you're not tall. They don't really mind, because the majority of the stock is in easy reach of someone short, and they have stepladders and blocks for you to stand on if you can't reach something at the top of one of the aisles. And also remember, that if you're really really tall, it doesn't mean they are going to hire you either. In other words, height doesn't play a factor at all. Come to think of it, one of the girls I worked with was tiny. She didn't even come up to my shoulders (we used to pay her out about how short she was) and I'm not even 6ft, so she was pretty short.
In regards to testing, Nightfill is basically the lowest of the low. It is a good place to start and because it is a basic entry level job, there shouldn't be any kind of specific testing. I know that coles have a much bigger recruitment proces than woolies and bigw, in which when you apply they will probably come back and ask you to participate in a quiz. It's not a big deal, its just to test your thinking, and I'd be surprised if you didn't pass. It's basically like a really easy IQ test, testing what traits you have etc. Woolies doesn't have that test though.
Before you start at woolies/bigw/coles, you will probably have to go to an induction (orientation) where they will teach you about the store policies, what is expected of you, uniforms, pay, super accounts, tax etc. Mine lasted for 6 hours and I think most of them last for quite a while because there is alot of stuff you need to know. But don't worry, you get paid for it, so its really not that bad.
To apply, I would go online. The
www.wowcareers.com.au website will let you search for jobs across all of the woolies brands (Dick smith, woolies, bigw, tandy, liquor etc) and they often post entry level jobs quite regularly. It probably would have been better for you to get a job over christmas because thats when they hire a stackload of people, but there should be regular job posts that you can apply for. I don't think applying by phone is going to do much, because most people don't know this, but the store doesn't actually hire the employees. There is usually a recruitment manager that does the recruitment for many stores around your area, and these are the people that post the jobs, and usually contact you (although sometimes I have heard of store managers, assistant managers etc contacting potential employees). So I would apply online (Sometimes it takes a while, depends whether they need people, I got contacted within 2 weeks, others don't get contacted at all). If there aren't any positions available, both the woolies and coles websites let you post your own profile, which sometimes recruitment managers look through and contact directly without even posting the job. So ASAP, post your profile, and apply for any jobs that interest you at both coles and woolies.
I looked at the resume template and it looks fine. Your resume doesn't have to be perfect because when you apply, you basically have to fill out all of your education, experience, references on the application form/profile so most of the things on your resume will also be on your application/profile. Because your applying for an entry level/first job position, they won't be expecting a big glamorous resume, just one that outlines who you are, what qualities you have, experience (if any), education etc. If you follow that resume template, that will be fine.
Geez I've written an essay. haha hope that helps. Post any more quesitons if you need help.