To wonder how anyone gets a job in Tescos

[Tootsey11]

Ds20 has been applying for jobs over the last few months and has applied twice to our local Tesco store, most recently for Xmas staff. For the second time he has been rejected, not even getting to interview stage. We cannot work out what he is doing wrong.

He has 5 Gcse's, 6 A levels, is willing and able to work, and can take a variety of shifts, so fully flexible.

Can anyone give me an idea of what he is doing wrong.

The screening process should prioritise - customer always first, supporting other colleagues second and prioritising getting own task after those.

Sorry I saw you post about grades.

maybe ask a friend that has a job there - is he saying he wants temp only or wants to go to college etc?

with three A* has he applied to university? If not why not?

eh?

Where was she ignorant?

OP wants to know why he keeps getting rejected, the fact they are getting the company name wrong is a big flag. They have hundreds of applicants usually and typos have always been one of the first batch of CV dumps, if you cant get the company your applying to name right you clearly havent put in much effort.

Have you got a learn direct nearby ? I ask because I haven't worked for 20 years, in fact I have no.work history due to caring responsibilities. I signed up with our learn direct and did a customer services course and a basic health and safety course. , the customer service course gave a guaranteed interview at a local store and to my shock 2 weeks after walking into the learn direct office I was offered a job with a 25 hour contract (( could have had 40 but I still have caring responsibilities))

They also give help with interview techniques , the sort of questions that will be asked and what to.wear etc.

He got 5 grade c at Gcse's. He admitted he didn't try at all. Gave him a good talking too, he knew he needed to put a bit of effort in, first 2 years got A, C, C then following which was this August results were AAA*. He worked his arse off, I could not fault his input these last 2 years.

He failed the online questions if he didn't get to the right of work stage. The application doesn't go to the store manager until you produce your right to work so unfortunately he's not being rejected by the store itself, he's being rejected by the computer for not passing the test.

Not everyone wants to (or can afford to) go to university. Especially if they live in NI. There are only 2 universities here.

OP, get him to sign up to some agencies. It's not perfect, but it's a bit of money and experience to put on his CV while waiting for something better to come along.

Did he pass the online assessments? I've found it's not always deal with customer first, e.g. anything health and safety/liability risk would be higher priority. Unlike others I've found the ask manager was more of a last resort. If your colleague's job can effect revenue then do it e.g put baskets out if empty.

Some supermarkets will reject all subsequent applications for the next 6 months if you don't pass the online screening. I can't remember if Tesco is the same.

I eventually got a temporary job with Waitrose, and I'd applied everywhere got through screening. Had a couple of interviews but went nowhere.

Any petrol stations?

Only on munsnet.

It's unbelievable! There are so many staff shortages in England - is it the same in NI?

I applied for a seasonal job in Tesco last year; applied on the thursday, interview on Saturday and started on the Monday! Initially for 3 days a week. They were desperate tho () and had some very 'interesting' seasonal shelf stackers!

I took all the overtime i could, and ended up working 5 days a week. They couldn't keep me on in January though. Shame, as the staff discount is pretty good, as are the perks. Long days - 9 hours, 1.5 hours are breaks.

Only on mumsnet would somebody ask whether or not a young man who has spent twice the normal amount of time getting several A-Levels is planning to apply to universities/further education?

It’s a perfectly normal question. If his life goal was to work for Tesco then four years worth of hard study for further education seems a bit pointless really.

OP I have done three recent renovations in Northern Ireland and always chat to my lovely builders and trades as they are always fascinating, there is a MASSIVE shortage of trades on the island of ireland at the moment! If he was thinking of electrician then he should def think again about that. Or skilled joiner. Even labouring on a site would be v well paid, my head contractor started as a brickie and now runs big JCTs as he’s a v clever man. He was saying that £250 a day is common for labour. I heard brickies were making insane amounts down round the border last year. If he’s a clever, reliable driven lad he could make his career and his fortune - look at the huge projects planned for belfast alone, and no EU labour allowed and no one coming from GB to do it! When he’s young strong and hungry is when he can make it happen, come back to Tesco when he’s ready for a rest!

Also I have an relative who is a spark, for years we all thought ‘oh poor old x that’s not a very exciting career for him’, we were the side of the family sent to uni… guess who in his fifties has the most exciting career ever, he specialised in something to do with cabling wind turbines and now literally picks contracts around the world and now is officially our Loaded Relative.

This time last year I applied for Tesco and got it. I’ve since left. You need to get the right combination of answers correct in the application process of there will be no progression. Some of them seem counter intuitive but it should be straight forward enough. Loads of lances will have intake at this time of year though so hopefully you have some choice locally.

This cracked me up. I also get annoyed by this - not you specifically op, just in general! I also get annoyed by 'I'm going to Asdas' instead of Asda!

I find that hard to believe about online only. I've just been on the Tesco website and it gives you the option to add a CV and also link to a LinkedIn account.

You have to go the extra mile. Even if it's not mandatory to upload a CV, he should do it. Same goes for a covering letter. He needs to stand out.

He should also create a LinkedIn account and link that to his application.

The days of filling in a few boxes online are over. There will be 50 other people who would have gone the extra mile for this job.

My nieces came to stay with their grandmother for a year from abroad. They have never worked a day in their lives. I did their CVs and they both had job interviews within days. Admittedly, we are in a city, not rural.

Tesco don't need highly qualified people to fill shelves

Maybe convenience type shops are the answer if retail is the route. My local SuperValu is frequently advertising for staff. As are Centra, EuroSpar etc. Many towns still have family run businesses making up many of the shops which could be a closed shop.
Apprenticeship levy is different in NI to other UK nations. He should still be eligible for applying just not for the equivalent qualification to what he already has. The website is pretty clear.

What a helpful response. I hope it made you feel really clever and important

I used to be a manager in Tesco and I always tell people this when they apply. When you are answering the questions on the online application make a note of your answers, if you get rejected try again with a different email address. Keep trying until you get an interview. We didn't really look at CVs or qualifications. Once you get to interview we access suitability then based on answers to the questions. Please don't be put off, it's a great company for young ones. Also putting a friend's name pushes you straight to interview for festive temps.

Where i live Asda is The Asda. Even though there's a million of them in this city. As in "im going the asda"

It will be the 5 GCSEs at 'C' that will not be getting him through the computerised sifting system. Being blunt there will be loads of people with more GCSEs at better grades than that. The computer will probably not recognise his numerous A levels with amazing grades.

Personally I would ring & /or go into the store and ask to speak to HR manger and explain the predicament - crap GCSEs but great A levels. The computer sifting process will have pretty brutal settings where GCSEs (number and grades) may usurp other qualifications particularly if it is store or warehouse positions

I got turned down for a supermarket job through screening questions as I answered honestly. They were mostly scenario type questions. I reapplied with all my answers being along the lines of ask my line manager and I was offered an interview and job.

Education is free if aged 18 at the beginning of the course.

It’s common.

OP, I would recommend encouraging your son to go to uni, he has a good education and I feel there would be better opportunities in the long run for him.

It is possible to work your way up from the bottom, but it’s incredibly hard to do, and most jobs in retail despite being very particular and fussy in who they employ (whilst apparently crying out for staff🤔) pay a low wage. These sort of jobs are ironically difficult to get, I agree with the poster saying often it’s not what you know but who you know.

I haven’t worked in retail however have worked in low paid jobs my whole life, and especially considering the cost of living crisis, it makes life very difficult. Especially when your son will one day be ready for some independence and will want his own house and a life of his own etc. I would encourage him to go to uni to pursue a better paid career. As long as he is wise with his chosen degree, and chooses something sensible which has a clear career path, he will be able to pay off any uni dept in instalments once he is earning a wage. He is still going to be still better off doing this than settling for a minimum wage job. Take it from me, I’m talking from hindsight, I wish I had taken this path at your sons age.