(I have also written a blog post detailing River Island's interview questions and answers)

I went to a recruitment event today for River Island. I considered wearing something interesting, like a hat. In the end, I just thought fuck it and turned up with what I had on.

When I got there, I discovered there were twelve of us, and most of the other candidates were 16 or 17 year-old girls. I was one of the oldest, at 26.

The manager took us to the staff room. We sat around the table and had to introduce ourselves, by giving our name, a bit about ourselves, and what country we'd most like to visit. I gave the answer Japan because "the fashion there is so different" (honestly, I know nothing about Japanese fashion).

The manager told half of us to split into two groups and to choose an outfit for a celebrity of our choice. So I, a guy and a girl formed a group. The guy suggested we choose Zayn Malik as our celebrity.

"Who?" I asked. "That guy from Radio 1?"

"No, not Alex Zane," he said, rolling his eyes.

So the guy and girl went around the shop confidently choosing an outfit, while I felt uncomfortable.

When they finished, we returned to the staff room. The other candidates were filling in an availability form.

The manager had started interviewing people one at a time in a quiet part of the store. After our interview we could go. She never asked about the outfits we had chosen for our celebrities (I assume she skipped this part because she wanted to go home early).

I was interviewed near to the end. So while I waited, I spent an hour sitting with the other candidates, talking. The conversation was about Geordie Shore, college, being a young mum and earning £2.60 an hour.

These were my interview questions (I presume they are the same for all candidates).

1. Describe a time when you went out of your way to help someone.
2. Describe a time when you worked in a team to complete a project.
3. Describe a project you saw through to completion.
4. How would your friends and previous managers describe you? (I said that I am happy, sociable, and hard working, and that I like busy environments. I emphasised that I am sociable. I think that's what they want to hear).

After this were a few other questions, such as my availability and how soon I could start. She asked to see my passport to confirm I was a UK citizen.

And that was it. Two days later, they called to tell me I'd got the job!