The Co-operative Group

I have an interview with them in December and was unfortunately unsuccessful... even though I thought it went quite well!

It was basically going through what you have written on the application form. Asking questions similar to those you have answered on the form and your grades so far and extra curricular activities and stuff. Then at the end there are a few of the usual competency questions, I can't remember anything specific as it was so long ago. Have you applied for the CIMA scheme or the other one? If it's the CIMA I would recommend knowing all about the qualification, I think that may have been where I messed up a bit as I didn't look into it as much as I should have. I got asked about the modules that you sit.

In general the Co-op are a good company to work for. I worked there over the summer in one of their side projects and really enjoyed it. Hope I helped a bit! I couldn't find anything on the process before I went!

I also have an interview for them in a couple of weeks...

Sorry to hear you were unsuccessful Rachel. Can you remember how quickly you heard from them after the interview? Also, I know it was a while ago now, but can you remember which competency questions they asked you at the end at all?

I'd greatly appreciate any response : )

Hiya, I have accepted an offer with the co-op for 2009 start! As for the interview you should hear back within a couple of days, I say should because I didn't as they couldn't contact me on my mobile!lol.. oh well.

As for the competency questions the asked me about - the CIMA to gage my awareness of it.... I mentioned that I realized auditing wasn't taught and asked if I could use my training allowance to get a separate qualification in auditing (prob won't but it seemed to work)! - They asked about the switch to accounting.... my degree is neuroscience - the usual tell be about a time when..... -the only advice I can give is re-read ur application becase they want the answers from there. Also, they have a wired format where ur answer has to have a overview, one sentence begining, one sentence middle and one sentence end (so don't be thrown) if they don't like the example they may ask for another or or specific one. -Also, they may ask why you over the other applicants (they did at my assessment center)

Good luck with it all, maybe we'll meet in september!

Thanks Dionne! That's really helpful stuff!

Thanks Dionne! That's really helpful stuff!

I would like to know more about what the assessment day is like? Information on the web from past applicants seems relatively limited! Wonder if this is down to the relatively few people invited to assessment days compared to other grad schemes?

I would imagine it's because the job is advertised for Manchester rather than other jobs that give a number of offices to choose from with regards to location. Although from what I remember being told you could be based anywhere really depending on what projects you get/want.

My comment above relates to the limited information... less offices mean less jobs going and as it is just Manchester I would say less people applying. (Although not sure why... I love Manchester :D)

So, I got through to the assessment centre! :-D

Is there anyone else on here who's going to one of the assessment centres? (they're in June)

mancmackem, wannabeHRfave - did you both get through? which dates are your assessment centres?

Well done with your assessment centres!!! Gosh hope it goes well, just sent off my contract this morning and am already slacking off revision and looking at apartments in town instead!

To those that are successful and intend to take the job get in touch, would be nice to know someone before all the meet n' greets..... I find them rather fake myself! Oooh I'm so excited

Thanks Dionne...

Just wondering if there's anything more you can tell me about the assessment day? From what I understand, there's a repeat of the numerical and verbal reasoning tests, a group exercise, and another competency based interview. Am I missing anything out?

Can you shed any more light on the questions in the group exercise and in the interview? Any help you could offer would be much appreciated - I'm just so, so keen on the Co-Op!

And yes, I will defo get in touch if I'm successful in June!

Hi Dionne would have been super nice if you gave a general tone about the assessment centre...Well I have an assessment centre 1st week of may...Whats the general tone... Do we re-take the numerical and verbal test again? Oh and Big Congratulations on your success? Its a plus to be employed at this particular period so I am sure you must be excited? Hopefully will get through as well.

Does the assessment centre consist of only role play, group exercises, individual exercises, a presentation and an interview.... Just need to know what to focus my energy on? Any advise without violating their privacy would be appreciated.....

Hi all, this blanket covers the A/C day- Initially we all met in the foyer of the assessment center. Hanna (HR lady was v.prompt so don't be late... I live in Manchester and I almost was). The day starts with a presentation by Hanna on the company and the roles (finance and management). A current member of the grad scheme sat in and he talked a bit about the company. Following that managers (the interviewers) came in and we had a ice breaking session.. it was basically us saying our name, uni, degree and interesting fact and them (managers) speaking about their role in the company.Next we continued the ice breaker with a bingo -esque game... incidentally I won (woop woop).

My assessment center was fairly large with more management applicants than finance.... there were 3 finance and like 15 management. we were split into two timetables. I was in time table one so I'll give you mine (both were the same just different ordering of exercises). 1st. interview- Same format as initial interview, lasts approx.1hr 2nd. Psychometric tests- guess they were PSL but slightly harder than online tests. A calculator is provided. 3rd preparation for debate -the preparation was individual but the debate is group. Each applicant is given a proposal and asked to analyze it... you don't know the proposals of the other applicants. The aim is to present your proposal in a boardroom type situation (i.e talking with no aides) giving the pros and cons of yours and the other applicants proposal. This is timed and you are assessed on your group interaction, ideas presented and your ability to influence the group. I won... you should aim to, it shows your ability to influence. There are approx 4 in each group... Golden advice, BE PATIENT I had a twat in my group who kept on repeating is points without adding to the discussion and at one point I turned away from him when he was speaking. this was picked up on but they understoood why.

LUNCH 4th. 1.5hr preparation for individual presentation. You are given loads of info in a booklet on a fictional co-op and told to prepare according to the aims in your booklet. I don't know if they differed between applicants but mine said to compare 3 stores performance and give possible reasons why and possible ways to improve it. Use the numbers (financial, demographics etc) in your presentation but don't get bogged down with them. the presentation lasts 15 minutes.. they will cut you off if you go over (happened to the twat from the debate). It wasn't that stressful but water is available on the table in the room.

Assessment center debrief End of assessment center Drinks with graduates and managers.. advice, don't be the 1st or last to leave!

On a final note, they were lovely and I am so happy to have gotten it.... also, the perks are great! Each exercise is scaled on 1-4 with 4 being the best. no individual exercise will prevent you from getting the job. My best ones were the interview and debate (I got 4s from all of the assessors) but I F**KED up my presentation because I didn't use any of the numbers (profit etc) but luckily I am a confident speaker so that saved me!

You find out quite quickly.. I heard back in 4 days a friend in 3 (she didn't get it). Don't worry, no need is good news. they email with rejection and phone to accept you.

I hope this helped.

Oh yea, there was no official role play just the goup exercise. The day was quite laid back and all the graduates and managers were really nice. They really put your mind at ease... I'm sure you'll all do great. I hope the above post was useful if I missed anything out let me know!

Dionne, that's amazing, thank you. You are a star!

It sounds quite similar to a lot of the ones I've been on already, although the networking drinks at the end is a bit different (and cool). I know exactly what you mean about people in group discussions just repeating their points and not really adding anything! lol.

They do seem really nice at The Co-Op, so hopefully my day will go as smoothly as yours. I'll definitely let you know how I get on in June.

T

Thank you so so much ..........Dionne....got mine in 3 days.....Thanks .......

Hey could anyone who was at wednesdays (6th May 09) assessment centre post when they hear back?

ok will try to..........Was exactly as posted.......

take it nobody heard today?!

Just top say good luck to those of you that have had an A/C already! You sould find out soon enough.. my A/C was on a wednesday and I didn't hear back until the Monday!

Didn't get it, very disappointed. Thought I had done well (with one or two points I knew I could have done better on) so will be interesting to hear feedback.

Thats a shame wannabeHRfave, I'm guessing that was the general reply following the lack of feedback from others at your A/C. Anyhow, hope all works out on the graduate job front!

Hi all.

Has anyone else who was unsuccessful at one of the assessment days recently been contacted about other jobs in the business? Because I have and I was just interested to see how many others they've contacted?

Cheers

Hello guys! i am thinking of applying to the finance scheme with the coop but don't feel particularly confident. I got the ucas points and a 2:1 but am i wasting my time if i went to Leicester? Sorry to put a down on it only i have applied to many schemes where im trying to compete against the OxBridge guys and kind of feel my time would be better used elsewhere??

Thanks in advance :)

Havent a clue mate..... i dont want to Cooperate!

I don't think it will matter at all where you went to uni. As long as you have the qualifications they want and prove yourself in the interviews thats all that matters.

@redunderthebed

Mate despite the well documented reputation of Oxbridge, I can't understand why you would ever be afraid of applying anywhere because of Oxbridge candidates. Fair enough, these guys are clever, but I personally fancy my chances against anyone. I have friends studying in Princeton, Yale , Harvard and Stanford and would fancy my chances against anyone of them. Please read the following lines from Andrew Lahde a hedge fund manager who managed nearly a 600% rate of return on his fund in 2007-2008

"The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America."

I hope this provides you with inspiration and self believe.

Cheers guys!

I am very confident of my ability i have studied some difficult degree's but have always checked the graduate profiles on websites and seen the same top end grads in jobs that only require a 2:2?!!

But anyway thanks for the confidence boost especially 'Einhorn VS Buffet' its much appreciated!!

Have either of you (Rachel, Einhorn VS Buffet) applied to any finance schemes?

Thanks again!

@redunderthebed

I am not applying for any finance schemes. My applications have mainly involved Investment Banks Front Office, Asset Management firms and last but not the least Hedge Funds. The main criterion for me while applying is the "intellectual challenge" a job can offer me and hence my decisions.

I wish you luck with your application.

Cheers

@redunderthebed

I am not applying for any finance schemes. My applications have mainly involved Investment Banks Front Office, Asset Management firms and last but not the least Hedge Funds. The main criterion for me while applying is the "intellectual challenge" a job can offer me and hence my decisions.

I wish you luck with your application.

Cheers

@ Einhorn VS Buffet

I have a similar plan in mind - i want to get into corporate finance sell side and thought either accountancy or law were the best ways in. So have decided to do a CIMA then go in via that route.

Thanks for the help again and good luck to you too!

To Redunderthebed

Have you applied for the Cooperative Group at the end? If so have you heard from them yet? I am currently applying for the finance scheeme, with the deadline in a week, hopefully it's not too late.

Cheers

Hi Muriel, did you get your application off in time?? Hope it goes well! Will potentially see you at an asssment centre..

Hi Muriel, did you get your application off in time?? Hope it goes well! Will potentially see you at an asssment centre..

Hi Muriel, did you get your application off in time?? Hope it goes well! Will potentially see you at an asssment centre..

Hi Dionne,

From reading your previous posts on the Co-operative grad scheme blog, I understand you had managed to get on to the scheme last year.

I've got an assessment centre coming up on Tuesday and was wondering if you could possibly help me? I know [thanks to your previous posts] that the day consists of an interview, group exercise, psychometric tests and individual presentation. I am confident with the group exercise and interview but wanted to ask you about the psychometric tests and individual presentation.

1. Do you know how well I have to do to pass the numerical and verbal tests on the day? [I know that you got a 4 for your interview and group exercise, but you didn't say what you got for presentation and pscho tests??]

2. Is there any particular fashion or style that the co-op look for during the individual presentation exercise?

Sorry for the essay.... any help and advice would be highly appreciated!!

Kind regards, Shaz

Hi mate, I also interviewed with the Co-op last summer. You have to get a 3 (out of 5) in every exercise in order to pass. I was quite surprised by the numerical test because I usually find these quite straightforward but the one at the Co-op assessment centre was quite tough and extremely time pressured. To be honest though, if you'd scored really well on all the other exercises, I doubt a poor performance on the numerical test would actually prevent you from getting an offer.

For the individual presentation you have to look at a load of performance data for serveral fictional stores and then come up with recommendations on how to improve performance. One tip I'd give here is make sure you leave enough time to think your recommendations through (and pre-empt what questions they might fire at you once you've made these recommendations). I fell down because I'd spent too much time analysing all the data and not enough time thinking my recommendations through.

Hope that helps!

Hey,

Thanks ever so much for your advice. Just in time for my assessment dat tomorrow! lol

Thanks, Shaz

Re: Shaz123

hello,

so how's you day at assessment centre? was the format as same as the last year or any changes? I have also got an assessment coming up on this wednesday and I would be grateful if you let me know of your experience and any advice you would like to give me. Thanks

regards,

fizz

Re: Shaz123

hello,

so how's you day at assessment centre? was the format as same as the last year or any changes? I have also got an assessment coming up on this wednesday and I would be grateful if you let me know of your experience and any advice you would like to give me. Thanks

regards,

fizz

Hi everyone,

I know this its been a year since the last post re CFS but I'm just hoping that someone is still here posting...

Ive applied for the Graduate Development Prog in Manchester, and I was wondering whether candidates from last years ACs had the same experience as the previous year's?

Thanks to student4ever - your post was a great insight!

Can anyone else give us an update on what AC experience they have had this year or last year?

Thanks.

Hey,

Any comments on how your AC went? I've got mine on Thursday and the only details about the co-op ACs are from 2 years previous so wondering if any changes have been made, or is the format still very similar?

also, with regards to the individual presentation, is that in front of all the other candidates or just a couple of managers/HR staff?

cheers

Hi Eakere,

Disappointing that no one replied to your post. I have the assessment centre at the start of February and I would be hugely grateful if you could let me know a few things from your A/C. I hope you were succesful! The application process is so stressful!

1. Was it the same format as the previous comments? Obviously as you pointed out the posts are from two years ago so may be outdated.

2. the post from Dionne was very helpful (thanks to Dionne) but have you got any further advice or recommendations you could pass on? I have a few on gong applications but I am so, so keen to get a place with the Co-operative!

Massive thanks if you can help xxx

I wasn't successful, but nevermind! Onto the AC...

The format is pretty much as described previously. You start the day with some ice breakers, and you're then split into 2 groups. They do the same activities, but just on different schedules. For me, I started off with the interview. This was very similar to the first stage interview. infact, it was pretty much identical except they didnt ask me to summarise the start/end of my answers, but other people did have to do that so basically just expect the same thing. after that, i had quite a bit of waiting to do, and also had a numerical test. only people on the finance scheme do numerical tests. people on the HR scheme also have a short written exercise. if you're applying for anything else (most people there were for management i think) then you dont have to do anything like this. after that, we had the group exercise. for this, the people in the group you were assigned to at the start of the day are each given a different managerial position within a fictional company (which is basically the same as co-op, and you were split up between e.g. legal, food, pharmacy etc). the CEO or whoever has set a budget for some new ideas, and you're each given seperate proposals relating to your division. you have about 15 min prep time, which is basically for you to think about your proposals and what benefits/drawbacks they have. after the times up, you're taken into a room where the marker/candidate ratio is 1:1, so theres 6 graduates and 6 people watching you. this was the bit i really messed up on, it was real stressful for me in that kind of environment with everyone trying to compete and get a word in. i think you have like 45mins or an hour to discuss all the proposals and decide upon what you're gonna do. try not to be too forceful with fighting your own corner, and always provide feedback on others ideas. finally, the presentation. you're given loads of prep time (over an hour, cant remember exactly how much) to look through loads of facts and figures relating to the same company as the group exercise. now, however, its all about green initiatives and you basically have a number of proposals for recycling options and you have to use what they give you to make some decisions. this year was the first year they ran this particular presentation, and all of us found it pretty tough - the data they give you is kind of all over the place and a lot of it isnt very helpful or doesnt really mean much. anyway you then have 15 minutes to give a presentation summarising the current situation, the options and what you've chosen (always make sure to justify any opinion you give). then you have 15 minutes of questions from the 2 people you give the presentation to. they might give you a bit of a grilling, but just remember thats their job! just try to stay confident and avoid repeating yourself too much if possible. all in all, it was a pretty stressful day (id been to 2 ACs prior, and both were a bit more relaxed than this one) but i think thats just because i didnt really prepare that much and kind of had other things going on in my life that were sort of taking over and i found it very hard to get into that mindset you need to be in all day for an assessment centre. the staff were all really nice and friendly and available if you had any questions or just wanted to chat. if you have any more questions please feel free to ask, my memory of that day isnt so clear anymore but ill try answer anything specific you want to know! if not, best of luck to you, because its really a fantastic opportunity. talking to recent grads on the scheme really makes it sound like a great company to work for with so much opportunity that it really sounds like a perfect job.

Aw thank you so much, that really is a fantastic help!

I feel a bit more prepared now, thank you for your best wishes!

Many thanks xx

i'd also advise you to take the hotel they offer if getting there is any kind of hassle - it's literally 1 minutes walk from the venue so removes ALL the stress of getting up super early and going on a long journey. they give you a double bed room too, pretty nice.

Hi Banardian,

I have applied for the HR scheme and have an interview in the middle of Feb, just wondering if you would be able to shed some light on the proceedings?

What is the format of the interview and whats sorts of questions they ask you?

hope the preparation for the AC is going well.

Thanks

Hi Justin,

Well the interview is split into 2 parts, the first part is about you and the easy part: why sho you want the job, what can you bring to the company, and they go through your work history. The serving part is more difficult in that it is about your skills. They basically ask you about the questions that you filled in on your application form: choice us a situation when..." They ask more about the situations and how you demonstrated your skils etc. do some research on the company before hand, and make sure you drrss smart and arrive early!

I think I've pretty much covered it all, maybe think of some Qs you want to ask about the company before too :-)

Xx

hey all i was just wondering if anyone could get back to me asap?? i have had my interview and was wondering how soon i will know the outcome??