We were told to bring an object that describes us and wear comfortable clothes. I took a cup of coffee because I felt this describes me (strong, motivational, all that stuff...). I felt the odd one out though because everyone else bought objects that show their interests, not objects that describe them, such as a sketchbook with lots of drawings and paintings, dance shoes and a basketball. I felt as though I was the only one who really did what they asked even though it made me look like the odd one out. Anyway I am not a very loud, extroverted person although I'm not quiet and introverted. Every time I tried to speak I was immediately interrupted and lost my chance to speak, through no fault of my own. I understand that everyone else was keen to get the job but I felt like there was some hidden rivalry going on like people trying to out-do each other with compliments and nice facts. This is probably not the case for every interview but you do get a certain kind of person working at Lush. We then had to demonstrate a product to the interviewer in front of everyone. I felt this went well for me as I actually knew the product I was demonstrating, what was in it and what it was good for, everyone else just read from the book or did a bath bomb, which is a bit basic if I'm honest.
After the demonstration we went back into the back room and played a game called 'What if' where we pulled out random questions from a bag and had to answer them. These questions were things like 'What is your dream holiday', 'what celebrity would you talk to dead or alive', and 'if you were going to space, what 3 objects would you take with you'. I pulled out 'what is your dream pet' and answered monkey, immediately someone across the room began talking about how much they love monkeys and nonsense about their own pet, a few other people joined in as well. I know its not to do with Lush that the others interrupted me but it would have been nice for the interviewer to establish some kind of boundary to allow people adequate time to express themselves and make themselves stand out. I was not given this. The other question I received was 'If you were sat next to Jesus/Allah/Buddha etc..., what would you ask'. Now this is the worst question you could ask me as I am an atheist. I panicked and said a stupid answer. Now at first I just thought I was quite unlucky to get that question but now I'm actually pretty sure its illegal for an interviewer to ask you anything about your religion (it could give you a disadvantage as they don't want people taking loads of time off on religious holidays or anything similar). Correct me if I'm wrong but I have heard that interviewers asking questions like that is illegal. Either way, it really didn't work in my favour.
Little tip for any questions they ask you, don't try and vaguely link it with 'Animal rights or testing' because you'll look shallow and like you don't care when you can't justify your point. Don't say anything about 'Animal rights protesting' or 'Veganism' if you haven't done your research, otherwise you just look cheap and silly after. I didn't make this mistake but a few other people did and it made everyone feel really awkward when they were grasping at straws trying to figure a way out of it. Research is vital.
Overall I felt as though I would be suitable for the job although I would not completely get along with the people that work there. It was only my first job interview ever so I did not know what to expect at all, I didn't expect to get the job in the first place but I also didn't expect it to go as awfully as it did. In the end I felt cheated by some of the other applicants and was quite disappointed.
Good luck to anyone else applying, I hope this helped even though it was mainly negative but it does seem like a cool place to work. Just remember: Be confident, be loud, make sure you make the most of your opportunities to speak and most importantly of all, do your research.
