"Asda Magic"

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Seriously?

The carp you have go through these days for a basic job is ridiculous, silly group interview then if your lucky another 1 on 1 interview.

Actually, if you get through to the 1 on 1 interview, it means you were successful. They'll be giving you a contract then. Its no different to how it was 10+ years ago.

You wouldnt believe the number of applicants they get that fail the easy peasy group selection, lots of people who can barely communucate in English, cant talk to or get along with anyone else, and are just simply outright awkward from the minute they step into the group interview. They need to weed out the people who dont even possess the most basic communication skills, and these are like 50% of the applicants.

someone with a mental disability could stack shelves or man tills easily yet fail a group interview test garunteed every time

The job doesnt simply involve stacking shelves and / or manning the tills, the main thing that all employees will be doing is talking to, communicating with and helping customers. Theres no reason why any supermarket should have to recruit people who lack basic communication skills when the top priority for any retail job is being able to work well with others and being able to communicate in a polite and friendly manner to the customers.

The group selection is very simply a communication skills exercise, if someone lacks this extremely simple ability for any reason, then unfortunately they arent suitable for the job. Asda most definitely do not discriminate based on disability, but they get plenty enough applicants that are able to communicate and speak well enough to be able to help customers in a polite manner. Why would they reqruit someone who lacks such a basic requirement of communication skills for any reason when they get stronger applicants through the group selection?

group interviews allow companies to disciminate against people with a disability which is why they are so popular these days.

Wrong. If a disabled person is capable of simple basic communication and interaction with other people, they pass the group selection. They've been using these group selections for over a decade now, if they were discriminatory in any way they would have been disallowed a long time ago.
 
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asda magic is like a childrens (under 4's) party but with no children around, it's not a group interview, it's like big brother, they want to see how you handle yourself in an awkward situation with people you don't know as you are working around many customers who are going to have many questions for you etc.

if you survive that and smiling at the end then you get a real interview.
 
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asda magic is like a childrens (under 4's) party but with no children around, it's not a group interview, it's like big brother, they want to see how you handle yourself in an awkward situation with people you don't know as you are working around many customers who are going to have many questions for you etc.

if you survive that and smiling at the end then you get a real interview.

Exactly this. The surest way to fail the group selection is to take it deathly seriously and not even smiling once throughout it. Its funny that so many people think they are more than qualified for a job, or that getting a job which requires no qualifications yet they cant even comprehend or understand that the top priority for working in a supermarket is being able to talk to and help people who you have never met before in your life while being polite and simply having a smile on your face. Asda staff are also strongly encouraged to be able make and hold conversations with customers as well. If a person cant pass a simple group based communication exercise, then Asda have no need for them. I dont even get how people manage to fail them:

1) Introduce the person sat next you. This is pretty much the same thing as giving a presentation at university, you will be judged on your speaking skills. Also if you dont understand basic English and cant present the person sat next to you, bye bye, no job.

2) Get given numbered cards faced down with a clear instruction not to turn it over or look at it (turn it over and look at it = FAIL). Hold the card up against your chest and align yourselves into numerical order without telling anyone else what their number is. Dont smile once or show any sign of enjoyment over a simple fun activity = FAIL.

3) Get split up into smaller groups and have 5 minutes to build a tower out of straws. At 3 minutes each group is given a cup to place on top of the tower. At 2 minutes one person is called from each group and told that 'Each straw has to be tied into a knot', and to go back and tell their groups. Anyone that stresses out or over reacts in anyway = FAIL.

I dont comprehend how anyone can fail these easy, simple, kindergarten style exercises. If you do then tbh you dont deserve employment anywhere.

Also I remmeber in my group selection, only one person actually turned up in a suit. He was deathly serious through the whole thing and also when asked why he wanted to work at asda, his answer was 'Because I'd like the chance of being able to work my way up within the company'. Thinking you're better than anyone else in the group selection = Fail. You arent being selected to become a manager, you are being selected for shelve stacking (most management roles require a 2.1 degree anyway, completely separate interview process, or over 10 years working for the company).
 
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Caporegime
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Wrong. If a disabled person is capable of simple basic communication and interaction with other people, they pass the group selection. They've been using these group selections for over a decade now, if they were discriminatory in any way they would have been disallowed a long time ago.

http://www.vwv.co.uk/site/briefings...ine2_job_applicant_with_Aspergers_030611.html

im autistic and earn 40k + bonuses yet i would fail to get a job at a supermarket or anywhere else that uses group interviews even though i could do the job easily.

i have no problem dealing with customers but when it comes to making friends or role playing scenarios i just cant do it.

Dont smile once or show any sign of enjoyment over a simple fun activity = FAIL.
nice way of weeding out all autistic people then even though they are protected under the discimination act
 
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Autism doesnt prevent you from being able to simply talk to people and pass a group selection. If you can type on these forums you can talk to people, simple.

Does your current job require talking to hundreds of customers face to face every week? What you do in a supermarket situation when people are coming up to you every 10-15 mins asking for help? Your assumption that working in a supermarket only involves stacking shelves or manning tills shows that you know little about the work, and would be unsuitable for it. You're on a checkout and a nice customer comes up to you and starts chatting expecting you to converse, what do you do? Then an angry customer comes up to you the next minute and starts yelling, cussing and swearing, what do you do?

It doesnt matter what job you currently have or how much you earn, if you lack basic communication skills you cant work in a supermarket, simple as that.


The job company did nothing wrong there, they did not discriminate at all. If an applicant doesnt get enough points regardless of disability, they dont get the job. If they get enough points regardless of disability they get a job. Are Cambridge and Oxford university discrimiating if they dont let on students with lower than required grades due to any kind of disability? No they are not.

If you are disabled in anyway, that doesnt mean that you deserve a reduction to the mark you require to pass the test, simple.

nice way of weeding out all autistic people then even though they are protected under the discimination act

Claptrap, you arent being discriminated against by being unsitable for the job, just as it wouldnt be discriminatory not to give a shelve stacking job to a person with no arms.
 
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Years ago I was Part-Time contracted to do 24 hours a week with another well known supermarket.

The weeks leading up to Xmas I was doing 60 - 70 hours a week - Christmas week I actually did a 91 hour week ( I worked 18 hours on 23rd, got about 4 hours sleep - then back in for another 16 hour day ) - On average, my week was around 50-55 hours - which consisted of me doing all the days/times the Full-timers didn't want to do.

Needless to say - I didn't last long in the position - as it was pretty back breaking work lifting 100's of bags of spuds, bananas etc with pay around £4.60 an hour ( a few years ago ). What was most annoying was the fact I didn't get any choice in coming in (if I refused they made my life hell) - and I got zero perks like the full-timers. But - I had just finished being a student and needed the money - so I suffered for a couple of years until moving on to a job at a company that actually treated it's employees like humans ;)
 
Soldato
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Grocery colleague / shop floor assistant..........why not just put shelf stacker? :confused:

If I get any application forms with the words "shelf stacker" on it, I bin it. Anyone who thinks working in my store involves just putting some items on a shelf as you please is so far wrong.

These Asda "magic" things are ridiculous, a few of my friends work there and in their "magic" day, they basically had to sing, attempt to convince the group leader to buy a product (one was a returned pair of socks.. why the hell..), it sounded like an utter joke to me.

I did apply there not long after the store first opened not knowing all the bs you have to go through for them, but they, along with Tesco, rejected me because I was applying for a CSA job and having worked at lower management level elsewhere, I was "overqualified". That annoys me that does. Reject people with experience and knowledge but employ 300 clowns!
 
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Soldato
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the ''asda assesment centre'' thing isnt half bad from my experience

they just weed out the loud-mouths and people who don't get involved and keep people who are average/nice

i think they did a good job when i did it , bunch of good people got jobs and the people who some of us had thought ''shut up'' didnt.

it involved daft tasks like telling your partner about yourself so they could tell the rest of the group. ive always been shy but its incredible how shy some of the people who turn up for various group interviews are. like getting blood out of a stone getting a conversation out of some people

attempt to convince the group leader to buy a product (one was a returned pair of socks.. why the hell..), it sounded like an utter joke to me.

they dont care what you say , just that you say something and get involved. when i did it our task was to 'invent something' and then convince people its a good idea.

the people who sat in the corner didn't get jobs and the people who had a laugh 'inventing' some really bad ideas did.
 
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If I get any application forms with the words "shelf stacker" on it, I bin it. Anyone who thinks working in my store involves just putting some items on a shelf as you please is so far wrong.

+1

These Asda "magic" things are ridiculous, a few of my friends work there and in their "magic" day, they basically had to sing, attempt to convince the group leader to buy a product (one was a returned pair of socks.. why the hell..), it sounded like an utter joke to me.

-1. The group selections do not require singing, they require you to demonstrate your ability to do more than just stack shelves.

Enjoy.

I used to work at Sainsbury's stacking shelves at uni. Worst job I've ever had. Worse than the 3 months I spent in a butchers. I hated every second of it.

Yup, its pretty much the worst job you can have on the planet, and not because of the 'shelve stacking' or 'till manning' parts of it either, but simply because of all the ridiculous customers you will end up having to meet and deal with.
 
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Soldato
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Yup, its pretty much the worst job you can have on the planet, and not because of the 'shelve stacking' or 'till manning' parts of it either, but simply because of all the ridiculous customers you will end up having to meet and deal with.

i did shelf stacking (not for asda) when at college and i would never do it again during the day

i spent 70% of my time showing stupid people where things where even though id only been there a day myself and never been in the store before so had less of an idea than they did.

in a depot or in a closed store though.... one of the best non skilled jobs thats easily obtainable imo
 
Soldato
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http://www.vwv.co.uk/site/briefings...ine2_job_applicant_with_Aspergers_030611.html

im autistic and earn 40k + bonuses yet i would fail to get a job at a supermarket or anywhere else that uses group interviews even though i could do the job easily.

i have no problem dealing with customers but when it comes to making friends or role playing scenarios i just cant do it.


nice way of weeding out all autistic people then even though they are protected under the discimination act

Not really, if you can't communicate properly then you don't apply for customer facing jobs.
 
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Which Asda is it? I work at Eastlands in Manchester on the checkouts. I am contracted to work 16 hours a week but there is always overtime going. I only work part time whilst at university but a friend of mine who is also contracted to work 16 hours usually always works at least double that.

The interview was a group session which involved having to write and sing a song :|. They then called me back for a 1 to 1 interview the next day too.


Really?

Wow.. you're applying for a job, not a karaoke contest. I'd tell them to shove their job.

edit; Quoted wrong guy XD
 
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All this talk of check out people and Asda.... where is NickG / The Running Man? :eek:

Imagine if all the Asda check out girls were Autistic and didnt even look at, greet or speak to you. What an awesome shopping experience that would be :p
 
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My ASDA interview experience is slightly different to most of the others.

It started with group introductions, then went on to questioning one of your fellow interviewees, third was the group building a structure using only balloons and celotape (excuse bad spelling), then came the form filling (where you wanted to work, what shift patterns and so on), next was a half hour or so working in one part of the shop as well as a tour afterwards and finally come the 1 to 1 interview (which is the different part since everyone else had theirs on another day).

I then had to wait over a month to be told that I hadn't gotten a job.
 
Caporegime
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Not really, if you can't communicate properly then you don't apply for customer facing jobs.

its not about beeing able to communicate .

its about feeling out of place in forced situations that dont ocour in the real world in any asda store.

maybe i should tell my boss i want to resign because aparently i cant communicate with people due to having ASD.

no doubt he will ask whos beeing replacing me at all the company meetings, must be my twin
 
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