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I have worked in Recruitment for about 5 years now, recruiting for a variety of roles from call centre & head office staff right through to paramedics & factory workers, working in large international companies through to the NHS. When my temporary contract with the NHS ended in February, it seemed like a natural progression to come in to O2 and gain some more experience working in a large blue chip company.
I started in the recruitment department here in February 2010, as a temporary Recruitment Assistant. I have been recruiting for Customer Service Advisors & Retail Sales Advisors and will be working on the Guru Recruitment campaign starting in May.

Applying for the job

• Always fill in the correct information, O2 will always ask for references from your previous employers and if you have filled this out incorrectly it could come back to haunt you at a later date.
• Read the questions correctly before you apply!
• Read your applications before you press submit, this is your last chance to ensure everything is correct – it can not be changed after.
• Check your emails and junk email for our reply; we will always email you to let you know if you have been successful to go through to Telephone Interview or if you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Telephone Interviews

• When you receive the email inviting you to interview, call us as soon as possible, this will stop you being disappointed if all of the allocated interview slots have gone by the time you call us.
• When you call for your interview, if you cannot do the date and/or time we suggest tell us! We can book you in for another day.
• Ensure you are in a quiet place; we need to be able to hear your answers so we can take them down correctly.
• Make sure you have plenty of battery life if we are calling you on a mobile, your interview will last approximately 20 minutes.
• Speak clearly and not too fast (some of us cannot type as fast as you speak!)
• Prepare for your phone interview, read up on interview questions on the internet especially if you have not had an interview in a while, this will stop you being nervous and you will know what to expect.
• If you are not successful, we will offer feedback, take it! We will always let you know what you need to improve on and what you did well.

Face to Face Interviews

• Check to make sure you have received the email and call us back if you have not, we do not want you to miss out on your interview.
• Plan your journey before you go, ensure you have enough time to get there, with time to spare in case anything goes wrong!
• Dress smartly, you will be judged on your appearance.
• Research the company and the role you are being interviewed for.
• Know your CV and make sure your details of previous employers and education are correct.
• Let the interviewers know your skills and what you are good at…. People usually don’t like to give themselves praise, but go for it!
• Don’t go off on a tangent, take a minute to think about the questions you have been asked and stick to the point.

Nikki

Hi I am Meg Pringle, Head of Talent Development for O2 Retail.

 I have been working for O2 for just over a year and am responsible for all the Learning and Development in O2 Retail, from the Retail Leadership Team through to the Retail Stores, Franchise and our Retail Central Team. With so many different people to support with the help of my team I get exposure to many facets of development which keeps life busy and interesting.

 As part of the Retail Leadership Team I enjoy working on the Retail Strategy with my colleagues and helping to drive the operational business forward. I also need to keep an eye on costs in my area with over 4,000 people’s development in my budget this represents a significant spend and investment in our people.

 Although I am based in the Slough office my team and our Retail stores are spread all over the country so living near Oxford means that I am well placed to travel to our different venues.
 I also enjoy working closely with other areas of our business such as Customer Services, Business Sales and Technology, which gives us insight and exposure to different approaches. There is no doubt that we could not deliver the best experience for our people unless we worked especially closely with the HR and Resourcing Teams, so we work together on a day to day basis and get together twice a year as a full team to share strategy and have a bit of fun!

What is really great is that I have also had time to take care of my own development, one of the best workshops I have been on was Leading for Total Engagement which is managed by our O2 Central L & D team.

 Leo is now 17 months old which means I have been back at work following a years maternity leave for 5 months - they say time goes quickly when you are having fun! Prior to returning to work I had the same concerns as many other parents.  Would Leo settle in nursery, how would I cope if he caught chickenpox or a cold, how easy is it to juggle work and family responsibilities?

So far my experience has been a good one.  O2 are very keen to promote a work life balance and are sympathetic to the challenges presented by every day family life.  I work as PA within HR based at O2’s head office in Slough.  My line manager was happy to provide flexibility in terms of working hours and location and agreed to a four day week with two day in the office and two days working from home.  Of course Leo goes to nursery on the days I work from home - it would be impossible to sound professional on the phone whilst trying to prevent him from sticking a crayon up his nose!  What this arrangement does is save me from a long commute every day and the 2 hours gained can be spent productively on either O2 business or the hoovering (no contest).  When Leo did catch the dreaded chickenpox and had to be kept at home for 2 days the flexible approach from O2 and my line manager meant that I was able to care for him during the day and catch up on work in the evening when Dad took over the night shift.

Baby number two is due in August - testament to my positive experience as a working Mum at O2!

 - Sharon