Unit 2

Unit 2- Fact File for Preparation and Progression

Interview Questions What are the qualities of a good leader?

A good leader will be confident; to ensure their staff they know what they are doing. They should be punctual to set a good example. They should be reliable and take initiative but also reinforce the importance of independence to their staff. They themselves should be indecent but also be able to work within their team.

How well did your college experience prepare you for this job?

College has prepared me well for this role, the course I am studying has given me an insight into the job role whilst the college environment has helped prepare me for the working world. I have gained confidence by working both independently and within a team. I have learnt to take initiative and work within tight deadlines; this has also improved my time management skills.

What has been your biggest professional disappointment?

My biggest professional disappointment is actually before I even got a job. When applying for jobs and attending interviews I should have been more confident in myself; I should have gone for the jobs I persuade myself not to because I might have ended up in a different place professionally entirely.

Do you prefer to work in a small, medium or large company?

Well, when working for a larger company the staffing and team sizes are larger and it would be good to see the communication between each person and team.

Whereas working for a smaller company would be a lot of independence. If I was a buyer for an independent retailor I would more than likely do more jobs than the typical buyer would and this would be good to further improve my independence. I think I would prefer to work within a medium company to get the best of both environments.

Who was your favourite manager and why?

My favourite manager was my very first manager Janine. Not only was she kind enough to see past my lack of experience in retail and see the potential I could have, she trained me up and never undermined me when I didn’t know something. She showed me how having a good manager can impact the work ethic of a team.

How did you handle meeting a tight deadline?

I believe time management is key; if I plan ahead, set myself smaller goals to complete smaller tasks I will handle a deadline much more efficiently and appropriately. An action plan or time schedule usually helps me; whether that be a physical one written down or a mental schedule to keep up with.

Interview Questions How did you prepare for this interview?

I have done much researched into this company and the position I am applying for; I believe the best way to understand what you’re looking for in a candidate is to research. But I have also researched in order to see if this is the correct role for me and I believe it is.

A team experience you found disappointing?

Failing a mystery shop; due to a single team member not following basic customer service skills our entire team failed a mystery shop, this then reflected badly on us all. However after multiple team work sessions you could see the level of team work increasing.

Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?

I enjoy working in a team as I think a job can seem less stressful and more enjoyable when there is more than one person, more than one idea or more than one approach to a task. But I do like working independently and to my own schedule. I do like having the freedom to take a task and having my own approach to complete it.

Do you work well under pressure?

I do think I work well under pressure. Completing my A levels and level 4 qualification, I was consistently under pressure to finish deadlines and I believe I handled the pressure well and always finished on time. And when dealing with pressures in work I do think I work well. Working weekends means I am consistently rushed off my feet serving multiple customers at once and having to deal excellent customer service to each one.

What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organised?

I tend to time manage my time quite a bit. In the past year alone my week has consisted of work and college which were both quite full on and busy but by time managing I could still make time for socialising and going out, learning to drive and even completing a weeks’ worth of work experience.

Tell me about a difficult experience you had in the workplace?

Team members not co-operating; working in a small team of six can be difficult in the workplace when they do not act as part of a team. For example when they have been given a task to complete by the manager and has not completed it. However I communicate with the team and try to come up with a solution. For example if the manager has asked for delivery to be put away I will talk to the team and work out a system that’s best suited to everyone.

How do you feel about taking no for an answer?

It depends on the situation; for example, if a manager had told me no I would respect their decision but also ask to how to improve. If It was a customer and they told me no to a product I would except that and still help them to find an alternative.

Interview Questions When given an important assignment, how do you approach it?

I like to look at the tasks involved and figure out the best way to approach them. I like giving myself smaller deadlines before the main assignment is due to try and effectively manage my time.

What was the most stressful situation you have faced?

The most stressful situation I have faced was about a year ago in work one day. It was the Saturday before Easter Sunday and the weekend before the races were due to take place in Liverpool. My shop was packed that day and I was unfortunately left alone due to a rota error. I was serving up to 4 customers at one time whilst also dealing with returns, angry customers and customer ordering. But despite the very high stress levels on that day I do believe I handled the situation very well and severe each customer with a high level of customer service.

What do you think you can bring to this position?

I think I am an outgoing individual who tries her best no matter what. I am determined to not only prove to you that I am the ideal candidate for this position but also prove to others you have made the right decision in hiring me.

How do you evaluate your ability to handle conflict?

I believe that I handle conflict well; I encountered it most days in my job with customers but I listen to their conflicting ideas and try to solve the issue. I try to handle conflict and change it into content.

What quality of yours or personal trait matters the most in your career?

My determination; whenever given a task I am always determine to finish it to the best of my abilities.

You have not done this sort of job before. How will you succeed?

I will succeed by using my knowledge of this job role and listening to the people around me. I trust that they will give me help and advice to succeed but I will also work on my own initiative.

These three slides show typical questions that may be asked in a interview. The 13 questions discuss team work, different situations and environments and work ethic.

Some questions were easier to answer than others; for example ‘what do you think you can bring to this position?’, however some were much harder and took more time and thought to answer. For example ‘what has been your biggest professional disappoint?’. Despite finding some of these questions difficult, I used my past experiences, both in work and college to generate the best answer.

Overall I found the task to be challenging at times, however I now believe I am more prepared to answer questions in a interview as I am more prepared for multiple types of questions.

Cover letter ‘A cover letter is a document sent alongside your CV when applying for jobs.’ (Google.co.uk, 2017)

To ensure an employer understands why I am the ideal candidate for a position; I have constructed a cover letter which can be sent alongside my CV. The cover letter discusses my passion for the fashion industry as well as what makes me qualified for the position. It includes my recent successes and some information about myself.

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of my Cover letter; I believe It reflects me, my accomplishments and my passions well. I also believe it is written well enough to use when applying for jobs In the future.

CV

After completing my cover letter, I began to re-write my CV. Since I last used my CV, I had to update the information on it, including my employment history and my qualifications section.

I believe my updated CV reflects my skills and accomplishments well; I believe my cv is more desirable to employs and more likely to hire me.

Teamwork Activity- Planning Libby

Steph

Photography stances

Hair and Makeup styling board

(me)

Photography Supply clothing Camera and pins

Paige

Source model

Joy

Ellie

Layout/editing

look book

Styling

For the teamwork activity we are conducting a photoshoot to produce a styling board and look book. There are six people in the team; each person has been allocated a single role in order to contribute to the project which will help us all to improve our team work skills as well as handling responsibility.

We will be using work I have previously produced for unit 3 for the photoshoot, styling board and look book. The collection we will use will be the ‘Career Conscious’ Collection.

(See below)

Team work Task- Look Book These images show how the ‘Career Conscious collection can be styled in the workplace; I believe the reflect my collection well and would help consumers to visualise themselves wearing the collection.

Team work Task- Look Book These images show how the ‘Career Conscious collection can be styled both in and out of the workplace. I believe these images demonstrate the versatility of the collection.

Team work Task- Styling Board

Team Work Task Evaluation For the team work task, we all took part in a photoshoot and created a look book from the images taken. Before conducting the photoshoot, my team of six discussed how we would manage the shoot and who would control what part of the shoot.

Me: My job role in the shoot was to provide a camera and take the photo’s; overall I found the task easy to complete. At first using the professional camera was really complicated due to all of the different settings, however after a few test shots, it became clear to me which settings where better for the studio lighting.

Libby: Libby's role in the shoot was to inform the model how to stand and think of specifics stances that would work both in an office and at a bar location. This worked well and the images worked well for the locations they were edited into.

Steph: As Steph's is passionate about hair and makeup, her job was to produce a makeup and hair styling board that could be placed into the look book. I believe the styling board works well with collection as it shows how to style you hair and makeup from the office to the bar.

Paige: Paige provided the clothes and sourced the model we used for the photoshoot. The model she sourced was formal and worked well with our team. Paige also styled the model in her own clothes; I think the clothes and the way they were styled work well for the collection and reflect the best qualities of the collection.

Joy: Joy is very talented with editing photos and for this reason we gave her the photos to edit to then be placed in the look book. I believe she edited the photos in a good way and they look great in the look book.

Ellie: Ellie is very good on Photoshop and for this reason we gave her the task of putting the look book together. She placed the images of the model into different locations such as the office and the bar in order to demonstrate the versatile nature of the collection.

In conclusion, I believe we worked well as a team and the work we have produced as a team is to a high standard. I think that our communication before, during and after the shoot helped to keep the process smooth, stress free and efficient. We completed the shoot, the styling board and the look book within one day which demonstrated how well the team worked together.

Job Progression Opportunities

Sales Assistant benefits on offer: •25% discount on Arcadia Brands •Generous clothing allowance (up to 4 times per year) •Team incentives including Company paid activities, social events and prizes for high performing stores •28 days holiday allowance for full time staff (including bank holidays)

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We are looking for talented Sales Assistants with visual merchandising experience to join our dynamic and fast paced team.

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Our Sales Assistants are fundamental to our business; they are the face of OUTFIT and therefore must be passionate, energetic, provide excellent customer service and must love fashion!

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Sales Assistants support our stores in maximising profit and achieving sales targets by showing a passion for customer service and ensuring customers leave with a lasting, positive impression of OUTFIT.

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We are currently recruiting for Visual Merchandising Sales Assistants to join our Liverpool Speke store.

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Due the nature of this role, we are looking for candidate with the flexibility to work from 5am.

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If you have previous retail experience and are interested in joining our team, we would love to hear from you!

I am currently working in a retail environment for a high end fashion company and therefore I do fit the category to be a sales assistant as part of this visual merchandising role. The Level 4 course also qualifies me to work at this level of retail because I have discussed detail within this course how visual merchandising is a marketing strategy that helps to improve sales; I have produced various visual merchandising projects which would help me to present myself as qualified for the position.

Job Progression Opportunities

• In this role, you’ll support the team to deliver robust multi channel financial planning processes and analysis to support key decisions within the Trading Teams and wider business. You’ll act as a key link between the Buying, Merchandising and Commercial Finance teams to facilitate essential budgeting and trading actions and will work collaboratively within the Central Planning Team and wider business to build strong relationships and identify opportunities and risks within your department.

• By supporting the team with the production of business models, reports and historical data, you’ll help the Merchandising team with making key trading actions and decisions and will be a point of contact for questions and queries relating to the interpretation and content of the documentation created.

• You’ll be responsible for effectively managing the Event Planning Critical Path, ensuring alignment to Marketing, Retail and Buying & Merchandising whilst proactively and accurately keeping the trade planning calendar up to date .

• Liaising effectively with key stakeholders, you’ll co-ordinate detailed promotional and sale information to ensure a smooth implementation and will maintain the integrity of the Pricing File including the management of any Promotions and or Price changes across all channels.

This role is a higher position than the visual merchandising role for the Arcadia Company.

I found this job when looking for Trainee positions on indeed; this specific role is a trainee assistant merchandisers working as part of the trade and financial section of the business. A trainee assistant shadows the assistant merchandisers and helps them with their work load.

There is a lot more responsibility within this role and therefore the job is longer hours, more pay and within a head office environment.

Job Progression Opportunities

• The company supply to some of the UKs biggest retailers including supermarkets and are looking for an experienced Assistant Buyer / Buyers Assistant to join their team as they continue to grow the business in to other areas.

• As the Assistant Buyer you will support the Buying team with all administration as well as managing samples, creating technical specification sheets and co-ordinating suppliers. Outstanding communication skills are a must as they have an in house design team and you will be responsible for managing briefs from retailers to ensure the product is created in line with their needs.

• You will get to work directly with the Head of Buying who has recently joined the business and is looking for new avenues for growth therefore you may be involved in responsibilities above the usual Assistant Buyer level.

• If you are looking for a role within a family owned growing business and want something where you can work autonomously this is the position for you! If you have buying experience in either a supplier or retailer, apply today.

This positon is the highest in comparison to the trainee assistant merchandiser position at Matalan.

As an assistant buyer, the employee would assist the head Buyer in all of their daily tasks. Assistant buyers have a lot of responsibility and are often given many tasks the head buyer cannot complete themselves.

This positon focuses on buying in gift items for the company Zachary Daniels in Wigan. This role is slightly different to fashion buying however the buyers will still conduct many of the same tasks such as looking for popular gifts (trend forecasting) and meeting with suppliers.

Progression Plan Level 4 Buying and Range Planning For Fashion Retail.

(1 year)

BA hons Fashion Communication at John Moore's University (2 Years)

Internship (buying/Merchandising (few weeks)(PayedYear)

Complete Degree

Trainee Buyer Positon (1 year)

Assistant Buyer (2 year)

Head Buyer

After completing the level 4 qualification in July, I will continue my studies at John Mores University and complete my degree. While completing my degree/after, I would like to try and obtain an internship in the buying industry. I would prefer the internship to be a year long and payed but I also would enjoy shorter, unpaid internships. After completing me degree/ internship, I would like to begin my career as a buyer, possibly at a trainee assistant position, moving onto a buying assistant role and eventually be the head of my own buying team.

I believe this course has given me a great starting point to begin my career into industry and a good beginning to my final years in education.

Level 4 Buying and Range Planning For Fashion Retail. (1 Year)

Trainee Buyer Positon (1 year)

Assistant Buyer (2 years)

Head Buyer

After completing this course, I could also look for a full time job rather than completing my degree in university. I could obtain a job as a trainee buyer after completing this course and work my way up within a company.

This progression plan would take less time in comparison to the first progression plan I have produced, however I would like to go to university and complete my degree. This progression plan could take up to 7 years.

Bibliography https://www.peoplebank.com/pb3/Adverts/yaml/140974/jdpdf/Sales %20Assistant%20Expectations.pdf https://www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/careers/arcadia-job-search https://www.matalan.jobs/vacancies/3585/trainee-assistantmerchandiser--trade--financial-planning.html https://www.retailchoice.com/job/assistant-buyer/zachary-danielsjob74084523?WT.mc_id=A_RE_IDPPC_RET_MP1_14 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cover+letter&oq=cove&aqs=chro me.2.69i57j0l5.8866j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#