Trainee Optical Assistant
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Specsavers Wellingborough
Are you a caring individual looking to start your career as an Optical Assistant? You've come to the right place.
We aren't looking for people with years of experience and heaps of qualifications, just passionate, hard-workers ready to confidently welcome and help customers as they walk through our doors. And once you've found your feet as a Trainee Optical Assistant, you don't just have to stop there. We have plenty of professional training and development in other business areas, as well as the support of experienced Opticians and Technicians supporting you on your journey. So whatever you want your career to look like, you can bring it to life at Specsavers.
Our team
We have a wonderful team of dedicated people in our store ready and waiting for you to meet.
What's on offer?
As well as all the support you need and great training and development opportunities, we have a whole load of benefits on offer for you to enjoy. These include:
- Salary from £8.20 - £12.91 per hour
- Working hours 37.5 hours per week
- 28 days holiday - Enjoy an additional paid day off on your birthday to celebrate you!
- We will auto-enroll you into the pension scheme with an employer contribution when you contribute too
- Specsavers Perks - a portal to a world of great everyday discounts and savings
- WeCare - our employee support service to help you and your immediate family when you need it most
- Complimentary subscription to the Headspace app
- Eyecare and hearcare discounts for you and your family
What we're looking for?
Some of the responsibilities of this role include:
- Welcoming customers into store
- Booking in eye tests
- Pre-screening patients
- Providing style advice
- Measuring frames
- Taking phone calls
Find out more
If you are comfortable with the responsibilities we're looking for and are excited by this opportunity, we're excited to hear from you.
Got what we're looking for? This job will close when it's filled, so don't delay, apply today!
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Open your CV with a personal statement that explicitly mentions customer-facing experience and a caring attitude — the advert prioritises these over qualifications.
📊 Quantify any previous customer service experience: "Served 80+ customers daily in a retail environment, maintaining a 95% satisfaction score."
🎯 Highlight any experience booking appointments or handling phone calls, as these are listed core responsibilities — even informal or voluntary experience counts here.
🌐 Mention any exposure to healthcare, pharmacy, or optical retail settings, even briefly, as Specsavers values sector familiarity for trainee progression.
🤝 Include a line about willingness to undertake professional training and development, referencing Specsavers' own training pathways, to show long-term commitment to the role.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Welcomed and assisted 60+ customers daily in a busy retail setting, maintaining consistent positive feedback and repeat footfall across a 6-month period.
- •Managed appointment booking for a 4-person service team, reducing scheduling errors by 30% through accurate telephone and in-person coordination.
- •Delivered personalised product advice to customers across a range of styles and budgets, contributing to a 15% uplift in add-on sales over one quarter.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
Your cover letter is ready
We've drafted a cover letter for Specsavers. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Specsavers
Dear Hiring Manager,
Specsavers' reputation for patient-centred eyecare and its structured trainee development programme make the Trainee Optical Assistant role in Wellingborough exactly the right first step for my career in optics. I am confident welcoming customers, comfortable handling telephone enquiries, and keen to develop hands-on skills in pre-screening and frame measuring from day one.
My background in customer-facing retail has given me a strong foundation in putting people at ease, managing busy appointment schedules, and delivering clear, friendly advice — skills I am ready to apply directly to an optical environment at Specsavers.
Free signup, no card needed. Export to PDF/Word requires a £1.99 trial (14 days).
Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach pre-screening a patient who has never had an eye test before?
- ›What steps would you take to accurately measure a customer's frame fit?
- ›How would you handle a phone call from a customer wanting to book an eye test for a child?
- ›What do you understand about the difference between an optometrist's and an optical assistant's role?
- ›How would you advise a customer on frame styles to suit their face shape?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you made a customer feel welcome and at ease in a service environment.
- ›Describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult or upset customer — how did you handle it?
- ›Give an example of when you had to learn a new skill or process quickly on the job.
- ›Tell me about a time you worked as part of a team to deliver good service under pressure.
- ›Describe a moment when you went out of your way to help someone — what was the outcome?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you made a customer feel welcome and at ease in a service environment.
Give an example of when you had to learn a new skill or process quickly on the job.