Tesco Graduate Program

BArra

ive been shortlisted for an interview at the end of this month at the tesco HQ, for assessment for their graduate program.

its the general program which is an 18month role, which gives insight into finance, marketing, personnel, support office, supply chain and so on...

im just looking for any helpful hints or tips, or indeed what to expect as this would be the first interview. ie. will it be a panel interview with just myself,or a group interview scenario with fellow joe publics looking for the job. also would there be any written test scenarios or apptitude testing?

anyone outhere experienced this before and can give some advice ?

cheers

elmicko

Anyone been through this before? What are they looking for? What does the scheme entail?

piby

elmicko wrote: »

What are they looking for? What does the scheme entail?

Trying not to sound like a smart ass but why don't you just check the website?

http://www.tesco.ie/careers/vacancies.html

There's also the UK wersion which I think gives a more in depth insight

http://www.tesco-graduates.com/home

I think I'm going to try for a few of these sort of graduate programmes as well but I imagine with a narrowing job market dur to the big 'R' competition will be quite tight.

elmicko

I probably should've clarified, and I'll assume it's the same for BArra, that we've been through the application procedure and have therefore seen the above pages. I (and I assume BArra) now have an interview to go to and from the confirmation email
"There will be three exercises over the 4 hours to include:
- One to One Interview
- Group Exercise
- Presentation"
and I was wondering if anyone has been through the process already and what to expect, and at the end of the day, any advice people can give to help my chances.

elmicko

So I went to the interview...
First off there was a one on one interview, straightforward, analysing 5 key competencies; customer focus, dealing with conflict, the rest I can't really remember (try to, they ask you to recap these at the end). They don't look at your CV at all.
The next step was a group project whereby you were given a list of 14 items you'd bring onto a lifeboat. As a team you've got to pick 10 items you'd bring on and rank their importance. They're looking for people who stand out, hint: be the one in the group to offer to make a list for the group and present it. They're looking for leaders (I didn't do this, but the guy who did seemed to get kudos for it). Also, on that task don't bring the compass. They give the suggested items at the end and compass wasn't on it. Most are obvious, the not so obvious ones: both the plastic sheet and regular blanket (one for cover, one for heat) and the fishing net for food (not the tinned food).
Lastly, and this is the real test, a presentation. You're given a staff evaluation form whereby you're a hypothetical manager of this John guy and you have to present to 3 assessors how you would conduct a meeting with John to discuss certain performance issues that he has. This is the only tricky part and they explained after, that the content is not the most important part, the way you handle the pressure and conduct yourself is.

This is probably no help to most, but I know there is at least one group going in next week. Just to clarify, this is not the retail grad scheme, but it is the same idea (a girl turned up saying she applied to the retail scheme to which the guy running it said it didn't make a difference)

piby

Thanks thats was very informative. I'll have a good idea of what to expect if I do apply

Newcarneeded

Hey guys,

I'm just wondering what your background was?

Are you business grads or other disciplines?
What grades are they looking for, First Class Honours only?
Did you have a primary degree or Masters only?

Cheers

elmicko

I've a Computer Science degree from 2003, got a 2.1, and a Master's in E-Commerce from DCU also a 2.1, which I got in 2005. Went to Oz, now I'm mega unemployed and can't find anything so I figured Tesco would be easier to got into than most. I also figured that the competition mightn't be as tough as say the big 4 or the consulting firms, it was. Most other people had Master's, a good few from Smurfit, but some didn't; there was one guy working in a bar who didn't have a Masters.
Just to let you know about the competition, on this scheme, this year there are 5 positions (usually 15), they've received over 500 applications and there was 12 in my interview group, and they mentioned three other groups, so you're talking around 50 people being interviewed.

dster

Anyone applied this year? Have you heard anything back yet?