How to screen a retail assistant

Must-haves to check first

Decide these before you advertise. Keep the list short - every extra requirement narrows your pool.

• Availability for weekends, late nights and your peak dates Possible knock-out
• Can travel to the store or stores Possible knock-out
• Customer service or till experience - nice-to-have Nice to have

8 questions to ask every retail assistant applicant

Ask everyone the same core questions, in the same order, and follow up where their CV leaves a gap. That's what makes a screen fair and comparable.

1. Which days and hours can you work, including weekends and late nights?Listen for: Availability that covers your busiest trading hours.
2. For Christmas roles: are you available through December and January sales?Listen for: Clear dates.
3. Which of our stores can you get to?Listen for: Realistic travel to one or more stores.
4. Tell me about a time you gave a customer great service.Listen for: A specific example - retail or not.
5. A customer wants to return an item without a receipt. What do you do?Listen for: Follows the policy, stays polite, involves a manager if needed.
6. How would you approach a customer who looks unsure what to buy?Listen for: Friendly, helpful, asks questions rather than pushing.
7. Have you used a till or handled cash?Listen for: Useful but trainable.
8. Team leader roles: have you opened or closed a store, or been a keyholder?Listen for: Experience of responsibility.

What not to ask

And for every role, avoid asking about:

• Age or date of birth - unless the law sets a minimum age for the task
• Health, sickness record or disability before a job offer (Equality Act 2010, section 60). The narrow exceptions include asking about adjustments for the recruitment process, and whether someone can carry out a task that is intrinsic to the job - ask about the task, not the condition
• Pregnancy, children, childcare or plans to start a family
• Nationality or "where are you from?" - instead, ask every applicant whether they have the right to work in the UK, and check documents before they start
• Religion, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, or gender reassignment

More on this in AI screening and UK law.

Screening retail assistants at volume

If you get more retail assistants applicants than your team can phone, the questions above are only fair if everyone gets asked them. BeCareers asks every applicant about your must-haves and these questions in a short conversation - in their own language, at any time of day - and gives you the transcript and a summary. You decide who to interview.

See also: AI screening for retail.