Boots is the United Kingdom’s leading pharmacy and beauty retailer with over 2,300 stores. Their mission as a company is to be people’s first choice for pharmacy, health, and beauty-caring needs while providing excellent service to their patrons. Boots offers a wide range of services in their many locations, such as providing optician and hearing care services.
Boots has many different types of storefronts ranging from large health and beauty shops to small local pharmacies. While Boots is primarily based in the United Kingdom, Boots has store locations in other countries like Ireland, Italy, Norway, and more.
The employees at Boots have been noted to love the environment and team-oriented mindset that Boots provides for them. Additionally, Boots has a long list of benefits for their employees, such as graduate programs, health insurance, child-care, and even employee financial assistance programs—it’s no surprise that Boots is considered one of the best pharmacy retail companies in the world.
What Is BOOTS Hiring Process?
Boots’ recruitment process consists of three main parts: their Online Application, Psychometric Assessments, and the final Assessment Centre. Each step has different outcomes and goals that the candidate must meet before continuing forward in the hiring process. A few of these steps may include psychometric assessments or additional interviews for recruiters to understand their job seekers’ skills more accurately.
Online Application
To begin the pre-employment process at Boots, begin by creating a profile on their website. Here, job seekers can browse jobs in various locations to narrow down their selection. Once you’ve selected a job to apply to, fill out the Online Application form. This will ask for your CV, statement of interest, as well as a few competency-based initial questions to determine if the basic requirements for the role are met.
Once a recruiter has completed the initial screening of your application, they will forward a link with information on the psychometric assessments that are required for the position. They will also provide you with details on the subject of the assessments, which will give you a heads up on how to best prepare ahead of time.
BOOTS’ Psychometric Tests
Boots provides potential candidates with assessments in order to ensure that they meet the standard requirements that are necessary to be successful in the position they are applying for. As a result, they can make or break a person’s chances of moving through the hiring process.
Although the type of assessment varies depending on what role you are applying for at Boots, nearly all of them will be timed. These tests aim to determine your skills and how you fare under a time constraint.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT) – The situational judgement test will present you with scenarios that are commonly experienced in the job that you are applying for. As such, the subject of each test will vary depending on the role. You’ll select two out of five of the answers in order to express what you would mostly likely do and what you would be least likely to do in each scenario. This test gives BOOTS an idea of the kind of team member you may be, how well you can handle common problems, and whether or not your answers are consistent with each other.
Numerical Reasoning Test – The numerical reasoning test is used to determine candidates’ mathematical comprehension and aptitude. The test presents data in a variety of ways, like tables, graphs, or word problems. You’ll be asked to analyze the information and select one of the multiple-choice answers for each question. The test is timed out to give you a little bit less than a minute per question, so be sure to brush up on your math skills ahead of time by practising.
Verbal Reasoning Test – The verbal reasoning test will ask questions to establish your analytical and comprehension skills. You’ll be given text paragraphs to read through thoroughly to answer the questions that follow. Each will have multiple-choice answers to select from by answering the question as true, false, or cannot say. The assessment is timed and will score you based on your accuracy and overall completion of the assessment; to best answer, you must be sure that you are basing your answer on the information provided.
Telephone Screening
After your assessment results are approved by the BOOTS recruiting process, you will be asked to join in on a phone screening call with one of BOOTS’ hiring managers. This screening lets you discuss the position you’re applying for with a recruiter, while allowing the recruiter to understand more about yourself and your experiences that qualify you for the role.
BOOTS’ Assessment Centre
Your scores will be evaluated by Boots’ recruiters as soon as you complete the assessments. If your results are approved, you’ll be invited to attend a day at Boots Assessment Centre, located at Boots’ support office and headquarters in Nottingham, England.
At the Assessment Centre, you’ll be given more information on what a career with Boots may look like. This can include learning more about what is to be expected in the role you have applied for. Additionally, you may be asked to complete several exercises, such as an interview, a group project, and/or a case study. Some or all of these may be required during your Assessment Centre, but this can vary between different roles.
The Interview – This interview follows a traditional interview format. You’ll be interviewed by a senior staff member or HR representative and asked competency-based questions that primarily focus on your drive to solve problems and how supportive of a team member you may be. The interviewer will also go over information that you provided in your initial application, so try to familiarize yourself with your answers ahead of time.
Case Study – The study and its subject matter will be provided to candidates upon arrival at the Assessment Center. It will focus on the specific area of business that you have applied for and is a great chance to showcase your speaking skills and ability to comprehend complex and dynamic information. You’ll need to be able to process the information that is presented to you, synthesize it into a decision, and be able to explain your conclusion to the panel of recruiters.
Group Exercise – The specifics of the group exercise will vary depending on what role you are interviewing for. However, the basic premise gives candidates and their group a brief that contains a fictional business scenario with related information. For example, it may involve a customer experiencing an issue or a conflict with a coworker. The scenario selected is designed to mimic a situation that you will more than likely encounter in the role. You will ultimately be graded on how you interact in a group setting, whether or not you collaborate well with others, and how you approached coming up with a solution to the scenario presented.
BOOTS’ Tests Tips
Ensure there are minimal distractions present when you take your assessments. Utilize practice assessments and test questions to become familiar with the formatting of the test. Practising before the real assessment will not only help you feel more confident, but it will help your score and completion time stand out from other applicants.
It’s also a good idea to review your resume ahead of time to prepare any relevant past work experience stories or accolades that Boots may want to know about as they consider you for the job. Try to give concise and focused answers when you are asked for more elaboration. Mock interview questions can be great tools to help you get into the proper mindset before the Assessment Centre, so be sure to practice with them ahead of time.
How to Prepare for BOOTS Assessment?
The best way to prepare for Boots’ assessments is by getting enough practice ahead of time. By training with mock assessments to simulate what the assessment will be like, you will feel more prepared and confident when you are faced with the real ones. Time constraints can be tricky to work around when you are not prepared to do so, which is why getting familiar with the testing format will lead to drastically improved scores.
Other tips for Boots’ hiring process involve familiarizing yourself with what the company expects out of their employees/in the job that you are going after. Having a clear goal and expectation in mind will help you focus and give you better results later on.
Ultimately, preparation will be the difference between what gets you the position you’re after and what doesn’t. Practice assessments are vital for candidates’ success in passing tests and assessments that employers will subject them to. By completing your exam efficiently and accurately, you will stand out from the crowd for the better and increase your chances of continuing on throughout the hiring process. With enough time and practice, you will set yourself up for the best success and outcomes possible going forward.
