Blog

Preparing for an interview

tom — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:31 +0000

Preparation isn’t important… its paramount!You have every right to over prepare for an interview. From researching the business results, recent major events and topical news issues, this will show you have done your homework. You might not use all of the information, but at least you will be content in the knowledge you have done everything in your power to shine.

Always check what the format of the interview will be. Skills or competency based. An assessment centre. Job or experience focused. None of them should put you off… remember its in everyone’s interests to pick the right person for the job.

Make sure you have the application material you used for the role… if you are speaking to lots of potential employers its likely you will have tailored your CV/application letter to suit.

Give yourself plenty of time to arrive, take a quick look at your papers… and yourself, you don’t want to look like you’ve been in a rugby scrum… then get in the zone!

Always have questions for the people you are meeting, if they have answered them as you go, say so and show you have prepared.

My favourite question…”do you have any reservations about my ability to do this job, if so can we discuss as I think I would be ideal”. Courtesy of er, well, me actually J

Colin

Working with my team

tom — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:00:18 +0000

I enjoy the open and friendly atmosphere that we are given to work in. The support mechanisms in place give myself and my team piece of mind when dealing with any situation.

My day usually starts with a morning briefing with my team where we will discuss our performance so far for the week then we review any new customer feedback scores on FanTek. We will also discuss our previous evenings and have a laugh to create a good atmosphere for the day ahead. Then we get the store open, everyone getting on with their designated tasks that have been discussed. During the morning I will sometimes have to join a group chat or all stores call where will be updated with new products, company focus, and individuals in the area that have been highlighted for praise for creating ‘Fans’. I will then get any admin jobs out the way as soon as possible so that I can get onto the shop floor with my team to assist them and customers. Sometimes I will be the point of call for our regional area so I may have to take calls from other stores to answer any queries or customer issues they may have.

Recently O2 have simplified our admin tasks meaning more time can be spent with my team and on the shop floor. This really helps me to up skill and motivate the team on a more regular basis which in turn means that we can improve the customers experience and ensure we hit all of our targets.

Dave.

Love working at o2

tom — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:52:46 +0000

Hello, my name is Mandy and I’m a Branch Manager at O2. I’ve worked within O2 retail since our formation in 2002. Since that time we have seen many changes and our company is always evolving making O2 an exciting and rewarding place to work. We have a diverse workforce and one of the things I like most is that whether you are a student, working parent or someone looking for a full time career, there are positions and hours to suit.

We work in a fast paced industry where our customers are placed at the heart of everything we do, so if you have a passion for meeting and striking up a rapport with all types of people and pride yourself in helping them find the best possible solutions to their needs then we are the company for you. During your time with O2 we will provide you with all the tools and training to ensure you can deliver a great customer experience and we will reward you along the way for good work. I have had the pleasure of a days formula one driving experience, weekends away to Edinburgh and Barcelona as well as monthly rewards such as Spirit points which can be converted into vouchers to be used at hundreds of different stores/places.
I love working for O2 and can’t think of a better place to be so why not take a peek at some of the great opportunities available and apply today. Mandy
Branch Manager

Hints and tips

tom — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:50:28 +0000

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

Telephone Interview

tom — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:47:15 +0000

So you have a telephone interview booked…….
My name is Nicola and I work in the O2 resource team. My role is mainly conducting telephone interviews. I do complete other work but this is what I mainly do day in and day out.
I speak to many people who are terrified of the telephone interview experience and are worried, anxious and unnerved by the thought of it so I thought it would help if I gave some helpful advice and hints and tips to help calm those nerves and help you to make the most of your interview.
Here goes….
Telephone interviews take around 30 minutes to complete so always make sure when you have one you are in a quiet environment, indoors where you will not be interrupted. This way you can make sure you are focused and can concentrate on the situation fully.
Treat the interview as a formal interview as you would if you were being interviewed face to face. Be professional and polite and try to make a positive impression.
Relax, get comfortable and have a glass of water by you in case you get thirsty as you will be talking a lot. If you are nervous don’t be afraid to tell the interviewer and if you are unsure of anything and want the interviewer to repeat anything tell them.
Think about the role you are being interviewed for and what sorts of questions you may be asked and what skills the interviewer may be looking for.
Try to think about different situations you have been in that you can talk about in detail to the interviewer use examples you can use to really sell your self and demonstrate your skills to the best of your ability.
When you answer the questions make sure you are clear, direct and concise and if you are talking about a situation don’t rush things. Stop take note of what is being asked and try to visualise the situation in your head. This will help you go through the situation stage by stage and it is more likely to flow and less likely for you to miss anything out.

Good luck if you have been invited for a telephone interview!

Exciting new Careers website

Recruitment Team — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:46:20 +0000

Hello!

Last week I spent the day at one of our new design stores in the White Rose centre in Leeds with a film and camera crew. It was great fun, but hard work!

During the day we filmed and interviewed Sales Advisors, Assistant Branch Managers, Guru’s, Branch Managers, Senior Branch Manager, Area Managers and a Divisional Manager - phew!! We were asking them questions about their favourite day at O2, do they ever go out for a beer with their team, and some important work questions too, around targets, working in a team, the experience you need and the reward and recognition you receive.

Why are we doing this? So that you can watch the video clips and have a really good understanding of what’s its like to work at O2, straight from the horses mouth so to speak.

We will be updating our Retail careers site with some photos and video clips of our new design stores, so you can see how cool and trendy they look. All of the interviews with the guys above will be on there too. Its a great opportunity for you to get a glimpse into the life of our store teams and see if O2 is a place you’d like to work. I’m sure you’ll love the clips and will be applying straight away.

Watch out for this new content on our Retail careers site, it should be live by the end of May.

I look forward to welcoming you to O2!

Sonia

Retail Resourcing Consultant

My Journey

tom — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:59:10 +0000

I originally joined Cellnet in 1996 as a customer services advisor, back in the day when car phones as large as your passenger seat were all the rage! I moved into training on a secondment basis and loved every minute of it! For me, there’s nothing better than the emotional reward of watching people progress and I’ve remained in Training/ Learning and Development ever since. I moved onto pastures new, working first for another mobile phone company, an insurance company and in the motor industry which included an exciting move to London. 12 years later, I came full circle, living back in the area and working for O2 again as L&D Operations Manager, looking after the L&D Delivery team in Leeds. I am now the Operations Development Manager for Business Customer Services. My team and I are responsible for the development and engagement for 300 staff. It’s a big challenge, but every day is different and that’s why we enjoy it.

Amy

Its a great place to be

tom — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:57:50 +0000

I have worked here for almost 4 years now.In all this time I can say with honesty and truthfulness that O2 are an excellent company to work for.

I have found that if I want to advance my career within O2, there are always people to get information from or point me in the right direction on how to make the best approach for whatever particular role I wish to apply for.

There are even external courses that will help in a particular role or even help me gain relevant qualifications for that role that are funded either: Wholly or in part by O2!

In addition to this type of support, the encouragement to advance myself is total and there is lots of help available in this field.

Although O2 is owned by Telefonica, I don’t feel as if I have to learn a whole new raft of policies or systems or even worry about what they will do to O2, considering the economic climate at present, there are many thousands of business facing closure or empty order books due to this downturn.

O2 seem to have ridden or ARE riding this economic tidal wave quite well, and this does give me a secure feeling!

We do have a good management structure (although like all businesses, it can be confusing!) and information of every conceivable type is passed or cascaded down and through to everyone either by email, word of mouth, or the printed word or even through our communications teams and put on the Plasma TV screens all around the O2 site.

Our local Intranet is very, very useful too! I can find just about anything I want to know (relevant to O2 that is).

With the advent of our CEO’s New Blog’ approach, we have a better and direct way of communicating with the very top directors and senior management and therefore, we have access to direct answers that perhaps we may not have had prior to this aspect being rolled out across O2.

It is I think, the best way forward if O2 is to maintain both momentum and be innovative especially in times such as these.

Honesty is always the best policy in any and all situations, so O2 have given us the chance to see that honesty and transparency by listening and taking on board what the work place is telling them.

Of course as in every walk of life or business, there are always things that need tweaking occasionally or reviewing and updating at least O2 do attend to these areas and policies, even if we do not agree with them! We learn, adapt, apply and win! (Well most of the time!)

Comparatively speaking and with regard to pay, perks and rewards, O2 is strictly Miles Ahead of most other businesses!

I believe that other big companies and businesses can learn from this ‘opening up’ and being Transparent as the way forward in driving their strategies just like O2 are doing. It also means better autonomy of each department with everyone being able to contribute no matter how small or insignificant each may think their ideas are that is the point: it is for Everyone!

Way to go O2!

David Hayes

Working in retail

tom — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:53:12 +0000

How time flies by! I started working for O2 as a part-time sales advisor, thinking that it would be a temporary job while looking for somewhere else. How wrong I was! 3 years later I’m an Assistant Manager and every day has a different and fantastic twist.What’s so fantastic about working for our company is the diversity of the people you speak to every day, and how quickly and rapidly things can change. Its brilliant having the latest products to test out for yourself, and to be able to show others how good they are for them. Seeing that smile on someone’s face as they leave feeling as happy as you do is priceless and makes coming in to work every day an awesome treat.

Added to that, the people that you work with are as brilliant as you, with as much passion and drive as you can imagine, everyone supports each other and there’s an opportunity to make an amazing set of like-minded friends.

So 3 years down the line do I have any regrets? No way! Here’s to another 3 years and hopefully I’ll see you too!

LaurenceAssistant Branch Manager

Its all about Fans

tom — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:51:12 +0000

Hi my name is Julie and I have been working in o2 Retail since it exploded into the mobile telecommunications market in 2002. I have seen many changes during that time and I have to say all of them have been positive. We no longer just sell phones we sell communication solutions for our customers and being a part of that makes you feel you are making a valuable contribution.I genuinely believe o2 puts people at the very top of its agenda, we want both customers and employees to be fans of our business and we conduct ourselves in a way that makes that happen. I have had some great opportunities and rewards through O2 and experienced things that I would never have done if not for them. I was lucky enough to win a VIP trip to South Africa and white water raft down the Zambezi River, I have stayed in a castle at the tip of the country in John o Grouts and been treat like royalty and I have had the pleasure of working with some fabulous people and making some great friends as well as colleagues.If being valued and treat with respect is important to you then you need look no further than o2 as quite frankly it has it all.Julie

Area Manager