Man of Honour
The more I read, the more these group interviews sound like the interviewers are just having a laugh at everyones expense.
"Asda Magic"
- Thread starter willhub
- Start date
The more I read, the more these group interviews sound like the interviewers are just having a laugh at everyones expense.
Soldato
I agree, there is noway I would do well in these group interviews but am fully confident that I could do any menial supermarket job well, including dealing with customers.
If you get the "make a tower with paper and sticky tape able to hold this heavy box of chocolates" think tubes and tripod. Its all about the team effort and participation. But if you show the initiative to take lead with a good idea and win the prize. Its always a benefit.
Because a lot of people really need a job, get very stressed at the thought of not getting a job, and are then paraded across an HR circus doing things they don't understand why (just because you have rationalised this group selection process doesn't mean someone new to it understands what they hell you are trying to demonstrate to your interviewer by building straw towers). They try to do their best, taking it seriously and end up failing because they weren't the happy-chappy type of person that you are looking for. Basically, failing because they were too dilligent.
Any good interviewer should be able to figure out whether someone has customer facing skills through a quick interview, you don't need to make people feel uncomfortable.
There are scores of people applying for such jobs that would have no problem working in that particular environment, and be great at it, but "you" have structured a whole bizzarre recruitment act to figure out who is the best - instead of just talking to them.
The whole and sole purpose of the group interviews is because it's easy to filter through multiple candidates using few HR people at a time, a task that would otherwise take up a lot of resources to do on a face-to-face basis. All other excuses are just facitious bulldung. In the process you have allowed some HR muppets to go ballistic with their psychological experimental theoritical mumbo jambo on how to "read" candidates and extract the information they want, anything but talking to them like normal people!
btw, I've never applied for such a job so dont think I hold a grudge or something.
When I went into my straw tower building interview, I was completely new to it as well. The interviewers ease you in very well and say several times 'remember this is meant to be a fun activity, don't take it too seriously'. I had no trouble in my group selection at all, and I actually enjoyed it very much and got the job.
People looking at the group selection process like its all gloom and doom are exactly the people that Asda don't want to hire. Think what you like about yourself and how awesome you can stack shelves, in reality you aren't good enough for the job if you struggle at all or are uncomfortable in the group selection. That's why its there so they can select the correct people.
Its not dealt an out of place situation either, when you work in an Asda store you are surrounded by hundreds of people, other collegues and plenty more customers. If you cannot handle and easily breeze through such a brainlessly simple and fun group interview, you cannot work in a busy supermarket.
TBH if I were to ever carry out such a group interview, I'd do the singing challenge for the lulz now.
Oh, I remember one shop I tried applying for, I actually had to sing a nursery rhyme in front of everyone before they would even give me an application form. After filling it I didn't even hear back.
It doesn't matter if you think you can do the job, there are plenty of people with better communication (and confidence I suppose) skills that retail stores would rather hire instead.
People looking at the group selection process like its all gloom and doom are exactly the people that Asda don't want to hire. Think what you like about yourself and how awesome you can stack shelves, in reality you aren't good enough for the job if you struggle at all or are uncomfortable in the group selection. That's why its there so they can select the correct people.
Its not dealt an out of place situation either, when you work in an Asda store you are surrounded by hundreds of people, other collegues and plenty more customers. If you cannot handle and easily breeze through such a brainlessly simple and fun group interview, you cannot work in a busy supermarket.
TBH if I were to ever carry out such a group interview, I'd do the singing challenge for the lulz now.
Oh, I remember one shop I tried applying for, I actually had to sing a nursery rhyme in front of everyone before they would even give me an application form. After filling it I didn't even hear back.
It doesn't matter if you think you can do the job, there are plenty of people with better communication (and confidence I suppose) skills that retail stores would rather hire instead.
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Interview sounds very bizarre, when I applied I didn't get to the interview stage but up to that I had to; fill in all my details, upload a cv, include reference details, explain why I want to work at asda as well as explaining what customer service means to me and then answer 50 questions.
Soldato
Absolute Rubbish.
I don't think I'm above it, but I would eventually like a job that makes use of the degree, because at the end of the day a degree costs a lot of money, although one thing someone told me, "people do these degrees, but they never got taught the real skills of life", it's probably true.
I have never had a real paid job, I've got a voluntary position "up to 25 hours per week" on my CV from 2010 to present relating to my cycle coaching, and if that is not accepted as any form of work experience by a company I am not in a good position.
Although I notice the Asda application form does not actually ask for any qualifications at all.
I'm going to apply at Marks and Sparks next week when the vacancies come up for shelve stacker, in the mean time I've applied for a HR related job at Marks and Sparks at Salford Quays. Not expecting anything from it but if I at least get an interview then I'll be surprised and it'll be a bonus.
Associate
I've been in involved with hiring people and people can be very different from how they come across in a 1-1 (well these days 2 interviewers) interviews, and how they are in actual group situations. They may seem perfectly pleasant and normal when you ask them all your interview questions, but when you actually hire them and they work in a team, people find they are a-holes/can't communicate ideas well/are not pro-active etc. Basically, it is easy to fool people in a face to face interview, but it's much harder when you are thrown into an unexpected scenario and have to interact with other people.
Absolute truth actually. The post above is also completely spot on. If you actually fear a group selection as much as so many people in this thread do, then you are completely incapable of doing a supermarket job well.
A 1 on 1 interview does nothing to show the employer how well you will handle working in a busy supermarket, and everysingle time people keep saying 'its just stacking shelves and manning the tills' goes to show how little they know about it.
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good job im good enough for a much more demanding job that pays 3-4x the salary then is it not
i can work on multi million pound projects but im not good enough to stack a few shelves.......
i would ace that straw tower or the paper tower challenege though
That may be because the interviewer is not competent enough to get this information out of the interviewee.
People get much more demanding jobs that require the ability to withstand multiple times more pressure, responsibility etc. on 1-2-1 interviews. How does that work?
The actual challenges themselves are meaningless, showing again that you just don't get it. You are being marked on how you interact with others, not how well you carry out the task.
And for someone who already has a 40k job and no interest in working in a supermarket, you show far too much interest in this thread. And to remind you again, 'stacking shelves' is not a job at Asda. Its simply a side task you are expected to do, every employees first and most important job is customer service. You cannot do any job on the shop floor if you are rubbish with customers, /thread.
And for someone who already has a 40k job and no interest in working in a supermarket, you show far too much interest in this thread. And to remind you again, 'stacking shelves' is not a job at Asda. Its simply a side task you are expected to do, every employees first and most important job is customer service. You cannot do any job on the shop floor if you are rubbish with customers, /thread.
ASDA Magic is all about the team building. They want to see what you're like in certain situations as mentioned above, and to also see who you are as a person. They try to make your experience as much fun as possible - I used to work at ASDA and my ASDA Magic session was actually great fun...
Retail is all about 'team work'... Can't work in a team or interact with customers? Then you're not good enough, it's a simple as that...
Retail is all about 'team work'... Can't work in a team or interact with customers? Then you're not good enough, it's a simple as that...
Working with people and customers isn't 'pressure' or 'responsibility' its simply something that is simple and easy to do, unless a person lacks people skills, which is what the group selection is looking for. You cannot determine how a person works with other people based on a 1-1 interview, and any interviewee can simply lie to get the job. Its much more clearer when the applicants are put together and given such communication based tasks to spot the people who would be bad at working with customers.
And having done and passed it myself, I can't see how people can complain about it. It was the most fun and enjoyable interview I have ever had, Id rather do the group selection again than a 1 on 1 interview, even if it required singing.
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Soldato
I remember many moons ago getting a job in Asda (Well, it was Presto or Hintons back then), merely involved finding the manager in the store and simply asking him.
It's impossible to get a job like that now.
at the asda near me the customer service is to ignore customers or tell them to use the self service checkouts.
one day i was so angry i told them to open a ****** till because having a 20minute queue on the one till is a ****** joke and we obviously didnt want to use the self service checkouts.
the manager claimed it was store policy to be like that
i complained on the website and was told the actual company policy is for available members of staff to open a till regardless of how many people were using the self service checkouts and no one should feel forced into using them.
its a store thats only been open for 1-2 months aswell.... its put me right off ever going to asda again
Associate
'Asda Magic' sounds a bit childish. 
Soldato
How many Moons? I worked at Asda when I was around 19, I'm now 30. When I applied back then, It was a group interview and a follow up face to face.
The group interview was basically us creating an advertisement for a product and selling it. We had to make a poster and do a talk in front of the rest of the group. I honestly cant remember a single detail of what we actually did other than that....
I think its my brains way of saving me from the traumer.
Good look Willhub