Coles Group
Interview Guide
Coles Liquor and Express SM
Candidate
Interviewers
Date
Position
We’re an equal opportunity employer and are commited to gender
balance in our workplace. Where possible, please ensure your
interview panel is gender balanced.
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Instructions for use
This guide is designed to align the assessment of each candidate against a defined set of criteria and
ensures all candidates are assessed in a fair and consistent process.
We want to offer our candidates a great experience with Coles, no matter the outcome of their
application - they may be our customers or be connected to other candidates we want to hire, so
please be mindful of your contribution to their recruitment experience.
Here are some tips to help you run a great interview:
1. Give yourself 5 minutes before the interview to prepare and make sure you have everything you
need.
2. Make sure that your team know to expect the candidate’s arrival.
3. Welcome the candidate in the interview.
4. Introduce yourselves by name and be sure to let them know what your role is.
5. Describe the interview process to the candidate, explaining that:
There will be a few introductory questions followed by 5 competency or behvioural questions and
the interview will take 30 – 45 minutes.
The interviewers will take it in turn to ask questions, taking notes as they go.
The interview questions are behavioral and technical based, so the candidate should give relevant
and specific examples to best reflect their experience.
Keep an eye on the time to make sure you are able to cover all the questions.
6. Provide the candidate a clear outline and overview of the role, outlining key responsibilities,
challenges and priorities. Where possible take the candidate through the store, site or DC to help
them understand the role.
7. If possible, use the position description when outlining the role. This is especially important for
people with disability to easily determine if they need to request adjustments to perform the
essential requirements of the role.
8. Work your way through asking the interview questions, taking detailed notes of the candidates
responses.
9. Ask the candidate if they have any further questions.
10. Thank the candidate for their time, advise them of the next steps and escort them out.
How to Use the Questions in This Guide
The interview questions have been developed based on key competencies that have been identified for
this role.
Make sure you take detailed notes throughout the interview as they will help you recall their responses
later, and will inform further interviews or feedback to the candidate if they are unsuccessful.
Please be mindful that interview guides are retained for audit purposes so ensure that your notes in
this section are appropriate and only reflect the candidate’s response.
Version 1.0 (August 2020)
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Information about the STAR Technique
Behavioral based questions are best answered using the STAR technique and it may be beneficial to
remind the candidate of this before their interview begins. We apply this technique because
understanding how candidates have or would approach specific situations can provide insight into how
they may perform in another work context.
Situation you were in
Task you were undertaking
Action you took and how you did it
Result
Scoring the Interview
Please work with your co-interviewer after the candidate has left the room to allocate a unanimous
score for each question using the rating summary below to help you.
Rating Summary
1. Did not meet – answers are significantly below expectations for the role, and there are siginicant
concerns or areas of development
2. Met most - Answers met most expectations for the role, however there are some concerns or
areas of development
3. Met all - Clearly articulated answers that meet expectations for the role with no immediate
concerns
4. Exceeded - Highly proficient answers that display high proficiencies and go beyond what is
expected for the role
Note: Successful candidates should ideally fall within the range of 3 and 4 across the majority of
dimensions.
Positive Indicators
Articulate with well structured responses that clearly answers the questions
Provides good detail around their ways of working and approaches taken
Demonstrates the ability to effectively collaborate and work with others
Takes accountability for their actions and decision making
Displays self awareness and appreciates how their actions can impact others
Uses tangible information, data and insights to influence and support decision making
Displays LEaD behaviours (Look ahead, Energise everyone and Deliver with pride)
Demonstrates initiative, creative thinking and role model behaviour
Provides clear and/or measurable outcomes and demonstrates delivering results in their
responses
Develops approaches, plans or strategies that positively impacts and add value
Demonstrates resilience and agility when facing into challenges
Providing final scoring and feedback
To help with finalising interview outcomes and providing feedback to our candidates, please tally the
overall score and provide detailed feedback on the back page of this guide.
1. The information requested includes:
Score out of four for each question
Feedback that we can share with the candidate
Outcome decision
2. Please then return the completed interview guides to Talent Acquisition after the interview to
ensure we progress swiftly through the recruitment process and give our candidates the best
experience possible.
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Opening questions
Question: Give us a brief summary of your recent roles and experience, and any
highlights you’re particularly proud of.
Notes:
Question: Why have you applied for this role and how does it fit into your career
plan?
Notes:
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Interview questions
Leadership 1 2 3 4
The following questions investigate a candidate’s leadership abilities. Can they engage, motivate
Rating:
and empower teams and will they champion Coles values, including preferences for feedback and
recognition?
Look for:
Evidence the candidate understands individual team members are motivated by a range of
incentives (i.e. financial, career driven, work/life balance). Examples showing experience
leveraging these motivations.
Evidence the candidate engages in reward, recognition and constructive feedback.
A consistent and supportive approach to performance management including identifying root
causes and developing improvement plans.
Evidence that the candidate understands the importance of team culture and empowers
others to deliver results.
Ask one or more of the below questions
Energizing and engaging your team is key to great leadership…
1. Can you give me an example of how you managed a team to achieve a positive result?
2. Give me an example of how you created an environment where others could offer input?
3. Can you tell me about a time you have had to address a team member’s performance?
You may want to ask probing questions to get further information from the candidate such as:
How did you approach it? How did you do it? (Listen for specific action steps.)
What was the result? What was the impact?
Notes:
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Interview questions
Directing Work and
1 Driving Results
2 3 4
The following questions investigate a candidate’s ability to direct their team and drive results.
Rating:
Can they plan, execute and deliver set targets? Are they able to communicate their vision to the
team and hold them accountable?
Look for:
Evidence a candidate is comfortable and has experience directing a team in a supportive and
effective way (i.e. doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations or decisions, delegates
effectively, checks in with team)
Evidence they plan ahead but are comfortable taking immediate action. The ability to take a
proactive approach to problems and unforeseen challenges.
Examples where they hold themselves and the team accountable and can communicate a
clear vision.
Ask one or more of the below questions
Leading a team in order to achieve set goals is one of the most important roles of a manager…
1. When you were in a leadership position, tell me how you organised the workload, set
objectives and checked in with the team.
2. Talk us through your approach to delegation. Can you provide an example of a time you did
this well and had positive results?
You may want to ask probing questions to get further information from the candidate such as:
How did you approach it? How did you do it? (Listen for specific action steps.)
What was the result? What was the impact?
Notes:
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Interview questions
Customer Focus 1 2 3 4
The following questions investigate a candidate’s customer focus. Is the customer at the heart of
Rating:
everything they do and can they utilse customer insights to provide an even better customer
experience?
Look for:
Examples where customer service was delivered beyond expectations. Evidence that they
ensure the same standards are delivered across their team.
Use of customer feedback to improve service across their team.
Awareness of their customer base and use of insights to improve service and offering (i.e.
understanding of local customer demographics, needs and wants, buying patterns, past
feedback etc.).
Ask one or more of the below questions
Customers are at the heart of everything we do. Can you…
1. Tell me about a time when you almost lost a customer and had to turn the situation around.
2. Tell me about a time you created a new service or process, based on customer feedback.
You may want to ask probing questions to get further information from the candidate such as:
How did you approach it? How did you do it? (Listen for specific action steps.)
What was the result? What was the impact?
Notes:
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Interview questions
Being Resilient 1 2 3 4
These questions investigate a candidate’s resilience and ability to deal with unexpected
Rating:
challenges. Would the candidate be able to cope with the pressures of a fast-paced retail
environment?
Look for:
Examples a candidate can work well under pressure, both in the moment and long term.
Evidence a candidate can maintain a positive attitude and calm leadership under pressure or
crisis situations.
A solutions-based attitude and approach to challenges.
Ask one or more of the below questions
There are often occasions where managers are faced with a challenging situation, or must lead
under pressure…
1. Can you talk me through a time when you have had to lead in a time of crisis or adversity?
2. Can you tell me about a time you had to manage a crisis which demanded urgent attention
and required immediate action?
You may want to ask probing questions to get further information from the candidate such as:
How did you approach it? How did you do it? (Listen for specific action steps.)
What was the result? What was the impact?
Notes:
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Interview questions
Commercial and Operational
1 Knowledge 3
2 4
The following questions investigate a candidate’s understanding of key operational fundamentals
Rating:
e.g. profitability, connecting outcomes to KPIs and understanding contribution to business results.
Can candidates utilise their operational and commercial knowledge to drive great results?
Look for:
Understanding of key commercial drivers and how to influence them (i.e. sales, budgeting,
stock loss, wage control).
How they use commercial insights to make successful operational changes (i.e. reducing
waste, increasing availability etc.
Ask one or more of the below questions
Coles has achieved great commercial success as a retailer and this is driven by our team…
1. What is a key performance indicator or metric that you have previously performed badly on
and why? How did you turn this around?
2. Tell me about a time your business knowledge resulted in a good decision. How did this
improve your KPIs?
You may want to ask probing questions to get further information from the candidate such as:
How did you approach it? How did you do it? (Listen for specific action steps.)
What was the result? What was the impact?
Notes:
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Closing the interview
To close the interview
Ask the candidate if they have any further questions
Ask the candidate if they require any adjustments in the recruitment process or to perform the
essential requirements of role, if successful.
o If yes, please provide more detail. For any further adjustments to the recruitment
process connect with the TA Inclusive Recruitment team and for adjustments to the
workplace or work arrangements connect with P&C to confirm if the adjustment can be
made.
Thank the candidate for their time and advise them that our Talent Acquisition Team will be in touch to
follow up on the interview and discuss next steps.
When the candidate has left the interview
Please follow the below steps to make sure that the interview is closed out correctly:
Read over your notes, ensuring you captured all your thoughts and feedback.
Agree a unanimous score with your other interviewer, circling the appropriate rating for each
question.
Add up the individual question scores to calculate an overall score and provide your feedback on
the back page of this guide.
Return the completed interview guides to Talent Acquisition straight after the interview to ensure
we continue to progress swiftly through the recruitment process, giving our candidates the best
experience possible and supporting us to secure top talent.
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Interview Feedback
Scoring
Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5
Total
/4 /4 /4 /4 /4 /20
Feedback
Please provide 3-5 points of specific feedback. Here are some suggestions on what to detail:
Summary of interview performance
Skills and experience in relation to the role
Behavioural and cultural fit
Any constructive feedback
Outcome decision
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