I worked for them for a few months back in 2019/2020. It's not particularly useful advice for this moment, but I applied for a temporary Christmas role. It's your best chance of getting hired, because that's the point they are most desperate for new staff.

Once in the store as a temporary employee, I was able to really show them what I can do: it's always easier to prove your worth as an employee when you're actually doing the job. At the end of the season, they found room to offer me more temporary work - though I was the only person they kept on. After a couple of months, they offered me a permanent position, which was excellent! Of course, then the pandemic hit, and staff were furloughed a week before I was due to start my permanent contract, and I was let go.

What I will say is that my time there was a lot of fun. I've worked a few retail roles in my life, and this was the last, and the best. Not necessarily because of the company - they pay poorly, and your experience will vary greatly depending on your managers. But it was a joy to be selling something that I cared about, to customers who were often interested in (or even reliant on) my knowledge and taste! It was also the only staffroom I've ever been in where I was always interested in the conversations happening - it was nice to sit down with my lunch, and chat to lovely colleagues about books. Also, the 50% discount was alright, I suppose.