How to get a job at Boots

Boots hires customer advisors, beauty and brand advisors, pharmacy dispensers, online order pickers, warehouse staff and store managers across the UK. You apply online at boots.jobs, and for most store jobs you then do a short online assessment and a one-hour interview in store. Boots says it usually takes about 14 days to hear back after an interview.

This guide explains the jobs Boots hires for, what its adverts pay, the benefits it lists, each step of the application, and how to answer its interview questions. Every figure says where it comes from and when we checked it.

What jobs does Boots hire for?

Most Boots vacancies are in its stores and pharmacies. There are also jobs in its warehouses, its opticians, its customer support centre and its head office.

Store jobs

The main entry-level store job is Customer Advisor. You serve customers on the tills, give advice on products, fill shelves, work in the stockroom and keep the store clean and tidy. Boots says you need no qualifications to start in retail. It looks for people who enjoy customer service.

Other store roles include:

• Beauty Specialist. Advising customers on beauty products and helping them choose.
• No7 Advisor and Liz Earle Advisor. Brand roles focused on one range of skincare or beauty products.
• Store Fulfilment Assistant. Picking and packing online orders, and helping on the shop floor when it is busy.
• Store management roles. Leading the team and running the store.

Pharmacy and healthcare jobs

Boots is a pharmacy as well as a shop, so it hires a lot of pharmacy support staff. A Trainee Dispenser (also called a Trainee Pharmacy Advisor) needs no experience. You train on the job towards the Pharmacy Advisor NVQ Level 2 while helping with prescriptions and advising patients.

A qualified Dispenser already holds that qualification or an equivalent. Boots also hires health and wellness sales advisors, nurses and phlebotomists (people who take blood samples), plus pharmacists and optometrists. Those professional roles have their own entry rules.

Seasonal, warehouse and early careers

Boots takes on extra staff for Christmas. In October 2025 it announced over 6,000 seasonal roles: about 4,000 Christmas customer advisors, 1,000 customer operations assistants, 1,600 warehouse roles at its Beeston and Burton-on-Trent sites, and 350 roles in its customer support centre. Its 2026 total had not been announced when we checked. Our Christmas retail jobs guide covers other retailers' plans too.

Boots also offers apprenticeships to anyone over 16, all year round, as roles come up. Its early careers page also mentions a virtual work experience programme for 14 to 19 year olds.

What does Boots pay?

Boots publishes an hourly rate on each advert. When we checked in September 2026, its store adverts paid from £13.02 an hour, with more at selected London stores. That is above the legal minimum of £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over.

_Source: Boots adverts on boots.jobs, when we checked in September 2026._

The customer advisor advert we read also said the hourly rate goes up after six months in the role. It did not say by how much. Ask about this at interview if it matters to you.

Hours vary a lot. Many store jobs are part-time, and the seasonal fulfilment advert we saw offered 22.5 hours a week. The qualified dispenser advert offered 37.5 hours. Always check the hours and shift times on the advert before you apply.

What benefits and staff discount does Boots offer?

Boots lists a staff discount, a pension and a range of wellbeing benefits on its careers site. It does not publish a discount percentage, so check the details with your manager once you have an offer.

The main benefits on Boots' rewards page and in its adverts are:

• Staff discount. Discounts on Boots products, with bigger discounts on Boots' own brands, Boots Opticians and Boots Hearingcare. You also get discounts at other retailers, cinemas and holiday firms.
• Pension. The Boots Retirement Savings Plan.
• Bonus. A discretionary yearly bonus for eligible roles. The dispenser advert also mentioned a discretionary Christmas gift payment.
• Holiday. Your holiday allowance goes up the longer you stay.
• Health support. A 24-hour counselling and support line, free online physiotherapy for eligible staff, and help with HRT prescription costs.
• Flexible benefits. Options such as cycle to work, gym discounts, dental cover and buying extra holiday, paid for from your salary before tax.
• Family support. Enhanced parental leave pay and help for colleagues who are carers.

Boots says its benefits can change and may depend on your role. What you get as a part-time customer advisor may differ from a manager's package.

How does the Boots application process work?

For store, beauty and healthcare support jobs, there are five steps: an online form, a short online assessment, an interview in store, an offer, and then checks. Boots only takes applications online.

Step 1: The online application

You apply at boots.jobs. Boots does not accept CVs handed in at a store or sent by email. You create an account, which also lets you track each application.

Boots first checks you meet the basics, such as being free for the shifts the store needs. If you do not, you get an email saying you have not been successful. So be honest and clear about when you can work. You can sometimes apply for more than one role, but for store jobs Boots recommends applying for the one you prefer.

Step 2: The online assessment

If you meet the basics, you may be invited to a short online assessment. Boots says it is not timed. You usually have seven days to complete it, but doing it quickly helps, because candidates move forward as they pass.

If you passed the assessment in the last 12 months, you do not take it again. Pharmacist, optometrist and nurse applicants get an informal screening call about the vacancy, and some head office applicants do too.

Step 3: The interview

If you pass, you are invited to an interview with a leader in the store. Sometimes the hiring manager phones you to arrange it. The next two sections explain what happens on the day.

Step 4: The offer

If you are successful, Boots phones you with a verbal offer. You then get an email with a link to its onboarding portal. There you sign your offer letter and contract and add your personal details.

Step 5: Pre-employment checks

Some roles need checks before you start. These can include references, a criminal record check, a driving licence check or professional registration. Pharmacy roles are the most likely to need them. Our guide to writing a retail CV helps you get your work history ready for references.

Is there a trial shift at Boots?

Boots' careers pages do not mention a trial shift for store roles. Instead, its interview may include time on the shop floor with real customers. If a store asks you to do a trial shift, ask whether it is paid before you agree.

What happens at a Boots interview?

A Boots store interview lasts about 60 minutes. You answer questions about your experience, and you may also spend time talking to customers on the shop floor.

The questions

The interview starts with a chat to get to know you. Then you answer competency questions. These ask what you did in a real situation, and often begin "Tell me about a time when..." or "Describe a time when...".

Boots' own interview guide suggests the CAR model for your answers. It is close to the STAR model you may know:

• Context. Set the scene briefly. Where were you, and what was happening?
• Action. Explain what you did yourself, and why.
• Result. Say how it turned out, and what you learned.

Boots suggests you spend about the same time on each part. You are allowed to take notes into the interview, and you can take a moment to think of your best example.

The customer task

You may spend some time on the shop floor talking to customers about products. Afterwards, the interviewer asks you some follow-up questions. Boots' guide encourages you to think about your body language and tone, the customer's needs, the questions you would ask, and showing enthusiasm.

What to wear and bring

Boots suggests professional clothing that you feel comfortable in, because you will be on the shop floor. Arrive at least five minutes early.

Bring your right-to-work documents. Boots' guide says the interview may not go ahead without them. It only accepts original documents, not copies. If you need adjustments, tell the store or Boots at least 48 hours before.

Boots interview questions and how to answer them

Boots does not publish a list of its questions. The ones below are typical of competency interviews for customer advisor roles. Each has an outline in the CAR style. Use your own real examples, from work, school, college, sport or volunteering.

"Tell me about a time you gave a customer great service."

• Context: Someone needed help you could give, such as a shopper at a weekend job or a visitor at a school event.
• Action: You listened, asked questions to find out what they needed, and went a step further, such as finding an item or checking stock.
• Result: They left happy, or came back. Say what you learned about listening first.

"Describe a time you dealt with an upset customer or person."

• Context: Someone was unhappy, for example about a delay or a mistake.
• Action: You stayed calm, let them explain, said sorry for the problem, and offered a fix or found someone who could help.
• Result: The problem was solved or eased. Say what you would do again.

"Tell me about a time you worked well in a team."

• Context: A busy shift, a group project or a team event.
• Action: You took on a clear task, helped someone who was struggling, and kept others updated.
• Result: The job got done on time. Say what the team achieved together.

"Why do you want to work at Boots?"

This is not a CAR question, but Boots' guide tells you to think about it. Link your answer to something real, such as an interest in health or beauty products, wanting to help people with advice, or the chance to train as a dispenser later.

"How would you help a customer who is not sure what to buy?"

This links to the shop-floor task. Talk about asking open questions, listening, suggesting two or three options, and checking with a pharmacist when a question is about medicines.

For more practice, see our list of 30 common retail interview questions.

How to stand out in your Boots application

The best way to stand out is to show you care about customers and can work the shifts the store needs. Boots checks availability first, so it matters from the start.

• Be clear about your hours. Boots store shifts in the adverts we read ran from early morning to 10pm, seven days a week. The more of these you can cover, the better.
• Show interest in health and beauty. You do not need expert knowledge. Knowing Boots sells both everyday medicines and beauty brands shows you have done some homework.
• Remember it is a pharmacy. Customers often ask about health worries. Showing you would pass medicine questions to the pharmacy team, and not guess, is a good sign.
• Practise the customer task. Ask a friend to play a shopper. Practise greeting them, asking what they need and suggesting a product.
• Read the job description. Boots' guide suggests reading it in your boots.jobs account before the interview.
• Prepare a question to ask. For example, ask what training new starters get, or how the pay rise after six months works.

Frequently asked questions

How old do you have to be to work at Boots?

Boots' careers FAQ says you must be 15 to work as a customer advisor in most of its UK stores, and 18 in airport stores. If you are still at school or college, there are limits on the hours and days you can work.

Can I hand my CV in at a Boots store?

No. Boots says it does not accept CVs in stores or by email. You must apply online at boots.jobs.

How long does the Boots online assessment take?

Boots says the assessment is short and not timed. You usually have seven days to finish it after you are invited.

How long does it take to hear back after a Boots interview?

Boots says it usually takes about 14 days. If you hear nothing, you can email its careers team at careers@boots.co.uk.

Do I need experience to work at Boots?

Not for customer advisor, seasonal or trainee dispenser roles. Boots says full training is given. Its customer advisor training is accredited by the Institute of Customer Service.

Can a Christmas job at Boots become permanent?

Sometimes. Boots' Christmas jobs page says you may be able to stay on where there are roles, but it does not promise this.

Find Boots jobs near you

We collect retail vacancies from retailers' own careers sites, so you can compare them in one place. See the latest Boots jobs we list, or search for pharmacy dispenser jobs if you want to train in a pharmacy. Our membership adds job alerts and a tracker for your applications.

Sources and further reading

• Application and interview process — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Frequently asked questions — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Interview preparation guidance (PDF) — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Retail jobs at Boots — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Customer Advisor jobs — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Customer Advisor advert, Cambridge (282597BR) — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Store Fulfilment Assistant (Seasonal) advert, Falkirk (282155BR) — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Trainee Dispenser advert, Builth Wells (274173BR) — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Dispenser advert, Bromley (281923BR) — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Pharmacy and healthcare support jobs — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Rewards and benefits — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Christmas jobs at Boots — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Early careers — Boots, checked 28 September 2026
• Boots is recruiting over 6,000 for the festive season — Boots UK, checked 28 September 2026
• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates — GOV.UK, checked 28 September 2026

_This is general information, not legal or careers advice. Check the retailer's advert and the official source before you act._