What do I wear to a Woolworths or Coles interview?

Smart casual. Closed-toe shoes, a clean plain shirt, no logos louder than the store's own, and no rips in your jeans. You do not need a suit. Aim for one notch above what the staff on the floor are wearing.

I have zero work experience. What do I say when they ask about it?

Talk about school projects, sport, volunteering, family responsibilities and any unpaid work. Group assignments cover teamwork. Captaining a side covers leadership. Looking after younger siblings covers reliability. The interviewer is checking whether you turn up and follow instructions, not whether you have a CV.

How long is a first-job interview?

Usually 10 to 25 minutes. Group interviews for supermarkets and fast food can run 60 to 90 minutes because they pool ten candidates and rotate them through tasks.

Yes, because junior pay rates are legal and depend on age. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes the junior rates per award; they are a percentage of the adult rate and step up each birthday.

First-job interview prep for school students and leavers

Your first job interview is almost never about whether you can do the work. It is about whether you will turn up on time, follow instructions, and not be weird with customers. Most casual hires have zero experience; the interviewer assumes that.

This guide is for casual retail, supermarket, fast food and hospitality interviews you might have at age 14 to 18.

Before the interview

Sort the boring stuff:

Apply for a Tax File Number through the ATO. It is free and takes about 28 days to arrive in the post; you can usually start work before it lands. Source: Services Australia TFN.
Look up the award and junior rate for the role. Fair Work publishes them per award; under-18s earn a percentage of the adult rate that scales by age. Source: Fair Work junior pay rates.
Read the job ad twice. Note any specific phrases the employer uses (for example "team player", "fast-paced", "customer service"). Mirror those words back at them in answers; that is not manipulation, it is showing you read the ad.
Have a clean version of your resume saved as a PDF, even if it is one page. Send the PDF, never a Word file.

What to wear

Smart casual, one notch above the staff on the floor.

Supermarket: dark jeans or chinos, plain shirt with a collar, clean closed-toe shoes. No singlets, no thongs.
Hospitality (cafe or restaurant): black trousers or skirt, white or black shirt, closed shoes. Tie hair back if it is long.
Fast food: jeans or chinos, clean t-shirt or polo, closed shoes.
Retail clothing: dress how you would dress shopping in that store. They want to see you can model the brand.

Do not wear a suit. It signals you have misread the role.

The five questions you will almost certainly get

Practise these out loud. Two-minute answers maximum.

Tell me about yourself. 30 seconds: your year level, school, one hobby, why you want this specific job. Do not recite your full CV.
Why do you want to work here? Be specific to the brand. "It is close to home" is honest but weak. Better: "I shop here, I notice you always have someone at the door, and I like that you train Year 10s on the register first." Mentioning a real detail proves you have visited.
When are you available? Have the answer ready before you walk in. Know your school timetable, sport commitments and any prior arrangement. Casual roles want flexibility; if you can do Saturday mornings, say so.
Tell me a time you worked in a team. A school group project, a sport team, a band, a cadet unit, a Duke of Ed volunteer day. Pick one. Describe the situation, what you did, and what the result was. This is a baby version of the STAR method (situation, task, action, result).
Do you have any questions for us? Always say yes. Good ones: "How long is the training period?", "What is the busiest shift?", "What does a typical first month look like?". Bad ones: "How much do I get paid?" (you should already know, and ask after the offer).

What to say when you have zero work experience

Translate everything from school and home into work language.

Group assignment with a deadline = teamwork and time management.
Captaining a sport team = leadership.
Babysitting siblings = responsibility and reliability.
Looking after the cash float for a school fundraiser = handling money.
Helping at a parent's small business or community fete = customer service.
Tutoring younger students = communication.

Pick two examples and rehearse them properly. Specifics matter: "I babysat my sister and brother every Tuesday after school for two terms" beats "I'm responsible".

Group interviews

Supermarkets, fast food chains and some retail brands run group interviews. They pool 8 to 12 candidates in a back room for an hour. Expect:

A short intro round where you say your name and one fact about yourself.
A team task: build something with limited supplies, sort a pile of items by category, or roleplay a customer interaction.
A short one-on-one with the manager at the end, often 5 minutes.

The trap is being too loud or too quiet. Aim for: contributing one good idea, asking one teammate's opinion, and not interrupting. Recruiters scribble notes next to your name; the people they hire are usually the ones who made another candidate look good.

Roleplay scenarios

If you are interviewing for a customer-facing role, you might be asked to roleplay handling a tough customer. Common ones:

A customer wants a refund for an item without a receipt. Default: stay calm, do not promise anything, escalate to the supervisor.
A customer complains the food took too long. Default: apologise without blaming, offer to check with the kitchen, do not argue.
A customer is angry about the price. Default: confirm the price on the tag or system, do not negotiate, offer to call the supervisor.

The right answer is almost always: stay polite, do not promise anything you cannot deliver, escalate to the supervisor. They are testing whether you can avoid making the manager's day worse.

After the interview

Send a short thank-you message via the same channel they used to invite you (email or SMS). Two sentences. "Thanks for your time today, I really enjoyed meeting the team and would love the role" is fine.
If they said they would let you know by Friday and Friday passes, send one polite follow-up next Monday. If still nothing after that, move on; you have your answer.
Keep applying. Recruiters fill casual roles in waves; if you miss this round there is usually another in 4 to 6 weeks.

What is illegal and what is not

A few questions you might get and should not have to answer:

Religion, sexuality, political views, family planning, disability unrelated to the job: protected by the Australian Human Rights Commission. You can decline.
Age: legal, because junior rates depend on it.
Visa status: legal, because they need to confirm work rights.
Criminal record (yes or no): legal if relevant to the role, but they should not ask for specifics unless a Working with Children Check or police check is a condition of the role.

If something feels off, you can still answer with a deflection ("I'd rather focus on the role"), finish the interview, and decide afterwards whether you want to work there.

ExamExplained does not provide legal, migration or workplace-relations advice. Pay rates and award conditions change; check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay calculator before agreeing to a wage.