ASDA stores is a UK-wide supermarket chain that nearly collapsed in the early 90′s as a result of an over-commitment that had been financed by heavy borrowing. It was then rescued by a strong management team before being sold to the US-based supermarket giant, Walmart, for £6.7bn in 1999.
Since then it has gradually expanded to where it now has in the UK:
- 400 supermarkets
- 80 optical departments
- 150 pharmacies
- 27 distribution depots
It also runs a line of budget-priced fashionwear that carries its in-house ‘George’ brand. From inspection of their website, it is obvious that Asda have great aspirations for this side of their business and, in their own words, they “intend to make it the UK’s leading volume fashion retailer by 2011″. The implication to job-seekers is that there is sense in ‘getting on the George bandwagon’ as there is more potential for upward propulsion than in some of the other posts.
The Asda website’s home page is well set out but, nevertheless, rather busy. In the bottom left of the screen is the word ‘Careers’ which takes us to Asda jobs.
This page makes for a very crowded screen and it is difficult to see the way forward. In the bottom right corner is a list of the latest vacancies and an ‘advanced search’ link however this does not lead to any options for checkout operators etc. It is better to choose the link in the middle of the screen which says ‘Find out more about what you can do’.
This takes you to George jobs which lists five groups of jobs.
- Shopfloor Colleagues
- Design
- Buying
- Merchandising
- George Manager – Store
Choosing ‘Shopfloor Colleagues’ takes us to a page which bizarrely tells more about George Managers. At the end of the text is a link which says – ‘hourly paid colleagues here’.
This then leads to – http://asda.jobs/hourly/ on whose right hand side is a link which says ‘Search and apply for jobs near you’
This then goes to – https://hourly.asda.jobs/2057/ASP/TG/cim_home.asp
On that page’s left hand side is written ‘Search’
This moves you on to a search page which offers drop-downs for:
- Location
- Business Unit
- Position type
- Full time / Part time
- Shift pattern
Selecting ‘All’ for each gives 150 jobs nationwide.
Investigating a few at random quickly establishes that the descriptions are standardised but the locations are, at least, clear.
In order to apply for a job you need to log in but the database does offer to remember your applications for 3 months.
Sadly the salary and the holiday allocation are not stated.
Returning to the ‘What can I do?’ page and choosing ‘George Manager’ takes us to a page with a big ’10′ on it. At the top it says ‘how do I apply’ and then, from the next page, clicking on ‘complete the online application process’ takes us to a search screen.
You will find a lot more information about the Asda recruitment process here.
Unfortunately no matter what options are selected, no jobs are ever returned.
Retreating to the FAQ’s – http://www.asda.jobs/faqs/index.html – the salary situation is explained.
“When you complete your online application we ask you what your salary expectations are. If we feel that these are too high or low for a particular vacancy we’ll not invite you to the next stage of assessment.”
That is unfriendly, somewhat bizarre, and tough on lower-echelon employees.
The Asda site is better than many but many aspects need improving.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
i have been working for asds portbury through kcr
How have you found them as employers, Robert?