Phone interviews for M&S jobs

STORES group Marks & Spencer has 12,500 extra jobs on offer in the run-up to Christmas - but the company won't be seeing any of the applicants.

It is to conduct touch-tone interviews over the phone. Hopefuls who dial a call centre will be asked a series of 14 questions designed to test their suitability to work in-store.

They include: 'Your boss has asked you to prepare a display for a group of executives visiting the store. You are pushed for time, and ten minutes before they are due to arrive a customer asks if you can help her find a wedding outfit. Do you . . .?'

The applicant is then given a choice of three answers such as: (a) go and help the customer; (b) carry on with the display and tell the customer you cannot help; or (c) find another member of staff to help the customer while you carry on with the display.

A spokesman for M&S said: 'We realise some people will find this process funny, but we are very serious about it. Managers were spending far too long doing interviews.

' This way we can cut down on that and quickly identify the very best people to be working in a store environment.'