“There is no such thing as a silly question”

Can you explain what Specsavers Home Visits is all about?

It’s a vital part of the Specsavers’ business, focussed on how we care and support those who can’t come into store. We provide eye care and a range of frames, all in the comfort of their own homes.

What is the one piece of advice that you’d give to someone who wanted to work for Home Visits?

If you have a passion for your community and are interested in doing more to support it, Home Visits is for you. Try joining us for a taster day, where you’ll spend the day with one of our team and see first-hand, exactly how big a difference Home Visits make to our patients. You’ll spend time with a Home Visits optometrist who will show you how they run clinics and interact with patients. It’s the best way to learn what it’s all about.

When you’re shortlisting candidates, what’s the very first thing that you look for?

Someone who has empathy and compassion and is keen to use their clinical skills to make a difference. This is important when you’re working with older or more vulnerable patients. You’ve also got to be a confident driver due to the travelling involved.

How important is work experience?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a newly qualified optometrist or you’ve been doing it for 20 years. You just need the right attitude, values and qualities. Domiciliary experience isn’t essential. In fact, many who join us are from a High Street or hospital background. You’ll get training when you start, along with regular opportunities to develop your career.

When researching a job, nothing beats speaking to the people already doing it

How important is the cover letter in applications that you receive?

It isn’t necessary as we prefer to keep things informal to begin with. If you’re interested in finding out more about Home Visits, keep an eye out for one of our adverts, visit our careers site, or find me on LinkedIn. We can arrange a chat about what you want and the opportunities we have available. 

What interview tips would you offer?

Preparation is key and the best way to do that is to go on a taster day. When researching a job, nothing beats speaking to the people already doing it. Just make sure you ask lots of questions. This will give you plenty of insight and confidence for an interview, and for what you might get asked.

What are Specsavers’ most important values?

We want to change lives through better sight and hearing, using our clinical expertise, care, and compassion. We want to treat our patients the way we would like to be treated ourselves.

How do you go about ensuring fairness and equality in your hiring process? Do you have specific programmes in place to guarantee it?

We’ve extensively reviewed all our recruitment and talent management activities to make sure any role we advertise is accessible to the broadest range of people and skillsets possible.

It’s essential we do this because we know how important and beneficial it is to have a diverse and inclusive workforce.

A new employee is preparing for their first week at Specsavers. What tip would you give them to be successful?

Keep an open mind. Give yourself time to find your feet and settle in, especially if you don’t have domiciliary experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – there is no such thing as a silly question.

How important is employee wellbeing at Specsavers Home Visits?

We’re passionate about supporting people to make sure they feel cared for. From colleague networks to wellbeing apps, we provide a range of tools to help colleagues maintain positive mental and physical health.