Science Museum Group Interview Questions

Application

The process took 2+ weeks. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England).

Interview

The interview is a fairly smooth process. The interviewers made me feel at ease.

Prior to the interview, they have me asked to prepare a short 2 minutes presentation about a destination that I would like to visit or have visited already and why would others’ visit the place. The main purpose of the presentation is to see how well you can ‘sell’ a destination.

On the day of the interview I was asked to perform some tasks in group and individually. First they have asked us to tell about an animal that represents us the best and why. Then groups have been formed, 3 or 4 members in each group. We have been given the name of a scientific object and asked to make a model of it using papers. It is quite crucial to stand out in the group task as the managers notice every move have been made and how good are you as a team player.

After these tasks, I have been called for an one to one interview on the same day. Make sure to put your hands up first if you want to be interviewed first. Usually there are around 10-14 people who would be there for the interview.

In the interview they have asked pretty straightforward questions. Having previous experiences in crow control and customer service will help to answer the questions as it can be related with the questions quite easily.

The managers are very friendly and will make you feel comfortable. Make sure you are there at least 10 minutes before the allocated time for the interview as there usually lot of people and you need to sign to enter the museum.
Try to keep the entire day free as the interview might take a long time.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in May 2018.

Interview

Not what you'd expect from a reputable organisation. The interview process was poorly planned - candidates who were considered unsuitable were phoned during the breaks and asked not to return. I felt I had to compete with other candidates in order to make myself stand out. People who are usually introverts will not stand a chance as others can easily take over activities and tasks set by the management team. I made it to the one on one interview stage but after a full day of assessments and stress waiting to see if I would be a called in the breaks, my answers were probably a little lack luster.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in February 2018.

Interview

Applied online through the SMG Recruitment page and filled an application form and responded to 3 questions.

A couple of weeks later, HR called (Friday afternoon) to arrange an interview for the following Monday morning. I was abroad at the time but managed to attend the interview.

It was a panel interview with 3 members of staff related to Collections Management and Documentation, with whom the selected applicants would eventually work directly with.
The panel explained the role and took turns asking the questions, roughly 9 questions and a practical object handling assessment.

They were all very nice and informed me that, due having several more interviews to conduct over the week, I should only expect to hear back from them on the following Monday.

Unfortunately, I wasn't selected but I was able to contact them for feedback. One of the members of the panel called and we talked about my interview, going through each question asked and points given for each of my answers, as well as where I went well and also not so well. This was very useful, I took notes and was able to learn a lot from it, making use of it for future applications and interviews.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in October 2017.

Interview

It is a group interview (mine was approx 13 people) with a number of sections. First, there is an ice breaker, where you introduce yourself and answer a nonsense question, i.e. what colour you would wear for the rest of your life.

Secondly, you are asked when invited to interview, to do a short presentation on your favourite destination, why it's remarkable and why they should visit. Try and make it memorable and sell it convincingly.

Then, it is a group task. The task we were given is 24 items from the science group and we had to choose 8 of these items to save from a flood. It's a good idea to do some research on some of the most prominent items in the collection before hand so you are well prepared. It's really important to be dominant in this task as everyone is trying to make themselves heard. Try and make sure that your passion for science and the museum shines as well as leadership skills are demonstrated.

Once this task is complete, there is a short break (approx 10 mins) where they decide who to take forward in the process. I was not taken further, but the next part of the process was some sort of activity on the museum floor and then if you succeeded in that, it was on to the interview stage.

Overall, the two staff members conducting the interview were very nice and made everyone feel relaxed. I also asked for feedback after the interview and they sent some over very promptly. However, I do think the process is quite ridiculous for such a low paying job. Many of the candidates going for the role were very overqualified, many with Masters degrees in heritage or related areas.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in August 2017.

Interview

The content of the interview was good. You could see waht was being tested. However the process itself was quite bad, rather, brutal. They send you off fo r a break or lunch and then call you to say not to come back. It would be better to be told face to face or texted. They also rejected withing 10 minutes of the next round after 40minutes break which wasn't ideal. They need to sort this system out. The interview part itself was good; groupwork, scenarios and a presentation. I assume the round after was the interviews but didn't get through to that. I have no idea why as they don't offer feedback which is something they really should consider, especially if you get through to the second round. For a very low paying job it is a rigorous process that could really be done a lot better.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England).

Interview

They advise you to not plan anything for that day as it can take up the whole day.

I applied online then received a call a week later asking me to come in. They also emailed me the times and where to meet and that I should prepare a short presentation on my favourite place.

Day consists of a greeting with managers then various group tasks which you must perform well in. You must make sure you stand out. This is because after the group tasks you get eliminated based on your performance. And if you did well you go for a 1:1 interview. There's normally a lot of people at the recruitment that's why they advise the whole day because you don't know when you are going to get interviewed unless you put your hand up first to go first.

1:1 isn't too intense they ask you general life experience questions like ones about yourself, when you had to use a specific skill/ quality or normal questions referring to your last job. Interview takes about 10-20 minutes. Make sure you plan beforehand.

Received a call on the same day saying I got the job. They normally want you to start ASAP so a long notice period from your previous job will not suffice.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in June 2017.

Interview

I was invited to attend a panel interview at the Science Museum in London. At the start of the interview I was asked to talk through my prepared response for an interview task I received when invited (I prepared a PowerPoint presentation). Then, I was asked around six or seven different questions. The interview took over an hour.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in May 2017.

Interview

Applied online
Receive the phone call asking for the interview (2 May)
the interview is on 10 May

Before the interview, they asked you to prepare for a short presentation (2 mins) .
The interview is divided into two processes. Once you pass the first stage, you will go to the second stage.

At the first stage (around 2 hours), we introduced to each other and then second is the short presentation. After everyone presents their presentation is the group task that we have to figure out which collections we want to take with you when the flood is coming to the museum.

They will tell us their decision whether you pass the fist stage or not shortly after the first stage.

The second stage is the individual interview (10-20mins). Basically, they asked similar questions as the questions on the online application. They would like to know the best customer service experience, how you behave when you face difficulties, why you want to do this job, and so on.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in March 2017.

Interview

Learn a script, then perform it. My script was specifically for black history month, looking at the role black scientists have played in the history of medicine. The script itself was easy to learn and included props and a powerpoint slide show. The whole event is aimed at very young children.
After which if successful you get a second interview, I was told on the phone approximately 20 minutes later that I hadn't been successful.
I am a scientist, but I feel as though they were looking for an actor instead of a scientist, the woman interviewing me told me that she used to jump out from under the table during the presentation.

The feedback I was given was that I wasn't very silly or playful, which is fair enough considering I come from a very academic background and I am used to presenting to academics.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Science Museum Group (London, England) in May 2016.

Interview

After a phone-interview you are invited in for an assessment day. You have to do a group task which is fun followed by a presentation in front of two interviewers. Potentially you are called in that afternoon for a second round interview.

Interview Questions