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I first joined O2 as an Advisor back in 2007 and for the first couple of years I was more than happy with that role.  I loved working for O2 but progression was never something I was interested in.  That all changed in 2010 when I found out our store was to get its very own O2 Guru!  Ever since I was young I have been obsessed with technology.  I remember when I was about 11 and we bought a new VHS player and I asked my Dad could I have the old one - to dismantle and put back together again.  So, obviously becoming an O2 Guru was right up my street.

After speaking to my Store Leader I decided to apply for the position.  Once I had applied I was asked to complete a phone interview to assess my technical knowledge.  Even though I was pretty confident about my own knowledge I was still nervous about the questions they might ask.  Once I had passed the phone interview I then had to attend a face-to-face interview.  Even though the questions were challenging I was lucky enough to get the job - I was delighted!

Now, 18 months later, I am even more passionate about my role (and about O2) than ever.  I am extremely proud to be part of something special, the O2 Guru community.  When I was an Advisor I used to help customers make the right choice when it came to our products.  Now as an O2 Guru I help them make the right choice when it comes to all kinds of technology, all they have to do is ask.

Offering free, impartial advice is just the start of what I do on a daily basis. I am also there to help out when things aren’t working right.  Just yesterday I had someone come in all flustered and distraught because they had no idea how to move their contacts from their Blackberry to their iPhone.  It was an amazing feeling to see the look on their face when, just a few minutes later, not only their contacts, but their pictures and emails were now on their new phone!

Making things work is one of the things I really love about my job, but the thing I love the most is helping people get the most out of technology.  I always tell my customers that technology is there to enhance their lives and it’s my job to show them how.  There is an older lady who comes to see me every few weeks after her son bought her a Samsung Galaxy Ace.  Her last phone was a Nokia 3310 and she had never even used a computer before.  Every time she visits I show her something new, first it was basic things like how to make a call and send a text.  A few weeks later it was how to download apps and send email, now she is editing word documents and uploading them to Dropbox!  It really is a fantastic feeling to know that you’re going to work in the morning and making a small difference to people’s lives.

It really is a breath of fresh air to see a multinational company like O2 invest in their customers by providing such a fantastic service like the O2 Gurus.  It shows they are committed to providing a World Class customer experience and I’m proud to be playing a small part it making that happen.

Wayne

Armed with chocolates a mountain of stress balls and several lifetimes’ supply of pens, myself and my colleague Marie-Claire arrived at the Working Mums event centre in Islington bright eyed and bushy tailed in spite of the early hour.

Myself and Marie- Claire represented Retail and Customer Care at our stand on the day, with Andrea Jones and Helen Baird representing the Head Office and Managerial areas such as Marketing, Finance, HR, Operations etc.

Having set up the stand and ensuring that we had all information to hand, we all prepared ourselves for a busy and productive day. Boy, were we right! Come 9am, the doors opened and in flocked hundreds of attendees all keen to see what we had on our big screen and what jobs we had on offer.

We were extremely lucky to have the very energetic Lauren with us on the day as a working example of mums in the workforce. Lauren is part of a new job sharing initiative and as such was much in demand from mums looking for an insight into the daily working life of a mum in O2. I can safely say that we were rushed off our feet assisting attendees with all queries relating to job prospects with us.

On the day, we also ran a competition to win an iPhone 4S. Needless to say there was much interest in this and it also gave the attendees a chance to sign up to receive updates about new jobs direct to their email address.

Having dished out a vast amount of information, chocolates and hugs to the children in attendance, we left the event delighted with a very positive reaction from those in attendance. Everyone seemed extremely excited to find out about opportunities in O2 and in turn, we were delighted to have spoken to such qualified and enthusiastic potential future employees.

A great event and we can’t wait until the next one!

Stephanie

I have been an O2 customer since it was founded in 2002 and have always had the best of service but that was as a customer, I was interested to see how I would be treated as someone looking a job.

I spotted a job on the O2 career page and thought to myself they’re hyping that up a bit, come and join our big happy family, so I applied for the position.

On filling out my on line application the web site kept crashing as I was just about to submit my details after several attempts I called the EPSC in Dublin and got talking to someone who helped me submit the details, we then went on to have a conversation about the job, she wished me luck and I came off the phone thinking how friendly she was and just maybe it was a big happy family.

I got a call 2 days later from the same person to arrange my telephone interview and again we had another chat. I have done a few telephone interviews recently and I must say I don’t enjoy them as I like to see who I’m talking to but strangely I was looking forward to this one.

I arranged my telephone interview for 3 days later on the Monday at 10.00am.

Monday morning 10.00am on the button the phone rang and I had the most enjoyable interview with Helen, she made me feel at ease and we talked like we had known each other for years. A few days later I got a call from Helen congratulating me on getting this far and inviting me to an interview with the store manager, it’s all going too well I thought. I attended the interview with Neil and again I was impressed with how well I was being treated and made to feel at ease, I was now going to be really disappointed if I didn’t get the job.

I got the call about 5 days later offering me the position and if I wanted to accept I could start on the 26th March

On the morning I was due to start that’s the first time in the whole process that nerves kicked in. When I went into the store in Victoria Square, Belfast, I was immediately made to feel at home and after a few hours we were all getting on like we had known each other for years.

I know I have a lot to learn but the guys I’m working with don’t make me feel like a nuisance when I need assistance or something explained.  I can seriously say to anyone thinking of applying for a job with O2 that it is an enjoyable application process and really is one big happy family.
William.