Optical Assistant Review

During the summer holidays I worked at Specsavers and overall I really enjoyed it. The training they provided was really good which enabled me to take on more responsibility. As every patient was different, I enjoyed communicating with a diverse range of patients. Also I was fortunate enough to shadow some optometrists which confirmed my decision to study Optometry.

I felt really valued during my time at Specsavers because the colleagues I was working with were very friendly and welcoming. They were also very supportive so whenever I required help I could openly ask them. Also the fact I was constantly contributing to real work made me feel part of the team. I also had the opportunity to train a new recruit for an optical assistant role, so it was nice to be able to pass on my knowledge to others.

I received a lot of guidance and support during my summer job because the staff took time to go through regular procedures and processes with me. I also got regular feedback on my performance and work I was doing which was useful to me so I can improve in future. There were also e-learning modules to complete which outlined the basic procedures I carried out like retinal photography. My manager also set aside an hour each week to see how I was getting along and give me advice.

From my experience of working at Specsavers, it is a very fast paced environment. Therefore, a key skill which I have learned is working efficiently and managing my time as I did have to meet tight time deadlines. Additionally, I learned to tailor my communication to suit the patients I was handling which will be useful in my future career as many people are from different backgrounds, so it is really important.

The vacation job was very well structured because at the start I went through all the e-learning modules and training sessions. Then I shadowed what the optical assistants do, which helped me apply the knowledge I learned in the first week into real life applications. After that I was able to carry out daily tasks on my own and if I needed help or was unsure I asked for help. Additionally some tasks were learned on the job. Overall there was good structure to each day and I was constantly learning new things.

During my vacation job, the atmosphere was always buzzing. This was especially because the store was constantly busy with patients, in particular children due to the summer holidays. As well as that, the staff were really friendly which made it a very nice environment to work in. At times it can become stressful because of the volume of patients but generally it was calm.

Specsavers really invested in personal training and development throughout my summer job. Firstly, I was able to shadow other optical assistants to see how they carry out certain tasks and learn from them. Also the e-learning courses helped to get me up to speed with the rest of the staff. I also had an opportunity to complete some of these modules from home. The meetings I had with my manager helped to reflect on my performance and suggest ways I could improve which enabled me to grow throughout my time at Specsavers.

The insight helped me understand immensely what it would be like to have a full time role with Specsavers. As I want to do Optometry in future, I was able to shadow some optometrists and see what their day to day tasks are, so it was useful. Additionally, working as an Optical Assistant was useful as I was able to get a holistic understanding as to how the different teams interact with each other and contribute to the bigger picture.

Working within Specsavers definitely did help me get insider view into the company culture. For me it was certain that Specsaver staff live by their core company values. Also through talking to more staff and my manager I was able to understand more about the company culture. Also for Specsavers the company culture is important to attract staff especially as there is competition from other Opticians.

Shadowing an Optometrist was the most valuable part of working at Specsavers over the summer. Through shadowing I gained a deeper understanding of what their role is/ the day to day tasks they carry out/ how they treat and manage patient expectations. I found the role quite interesting and I am definitely going to study this further.

Yes I was paid minimum wage.

During lunch breaks and whilst carrying out work you meet other employees. There were no networking events whilst I was there but some employees did mention over Christmas they would have a party.

There were not really any network/social events whilst I was there.

There were not really any opportunities to get involved in activities outside work.

I would definitely recommend this job at Specsavers to a friend. Firstly, the training they provided was really good and detailed which helped me complete tasks efficiently. Secondly, the staff at Specsavers were really friendly and they live by the organisations core values. I felt very welcomed working at Specsavers. Also the amount of real work and responsibility given very early is another thing I liked.