Specsavers Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed May 2011 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took a day)

Recently I went for an interview at Specsavers Opticians which was arranged by an agency. I was told it was an initial meeting for a chance to get to know each other. This was only the second interview I had gone for so I hadn't much experience of what to expect. The interview was entirely planned through the agency, all I had to do was to confirm dates and times. The interview itself was about an hour long and consisted of two pages of questions that the manager asked me and then wrote down my responses. This was the first really thorough interview I had been to and I found it quite tough. Heres some of the questions as I remember them:
Tell me about a situation where you have had to motivate someone?
Tell me about a stressful situation you have had to deal with?
Tell me about a recent challenge you have overcome?
Tell me about how you were able to achieve success recently?
What motivates you?
How do you achieve goals?
How do you meet your targets?
How have you gone out of your way to help someone?
What do you think are the three most important skills for an optometrist?
What do you think is a downside to your role as an optometrist?
How would you define professionalism?
How have you overcome a negative situation at work?
How do you think Specsavers as a company can improve?
What aspect of your work/routine do you think you could improve on?
How do you conduct a successful three-way handover? (patient-dispenser-optician)
How do you/have you increase sales as an optometrist?
How have you contributed to the commercial success of your store?
For what reasons would you recommend new glasses for a patient other than change in refraction?
How do you think your manager would describe you?

Generally they were questions drawing on my experience or trying to gauge how I would act in a certain situation. As I said it was intense for some questions as I hadn't prepared for them and had to think up a coherent answer on the spot. I thought the people I briefly met there seemed very professional and friendly enough, but then it is different in different stores. Having worked at Specsavers in the past, I think their culture is about professionalism, team spirit, warmth and of course cheap glasses (its in the name). They also want you (as an optician) to push the commercial sales side a lot while seeing a large volume of patients. Ultimately its about being a good salesman as well as an optician. I would advise anyone having an interview with Specsavers or any other opticians, to prepare answers in advance to the typical kind of situational questions that they probably will ask you. You don't have to draw on optical experience only, any previous experience where you can display relevant skills is ok. I think its good to ask at least a couple of questions at the end, it will show you've done some research and know a bit about the company. Good luck!