Tesco Buying Program Assessment Centre

Hey! wish i had seen this before.... i have my phone interview tmoro for the buying programme!

Hi lanberry, hopefully you can help me. I've got a buying assessment centre coming up soon and I have no idea what to expect (apart from having to prepare a presentation critiquing Tesco's product ranges). Any info on what happens during the day and what to expect would be greatly appreciated.

Hey thebuyer.. when is your assessment centre?

Hi I was wondering what kind of questions came up on the telephone interview! and how long it lasted! im so nervous! eek! I applied for the Graduate trainee buyer scheme,

Hi chloshmo, mine is next week on the 12th.

Jellyveen the telephone interview is mostly about what you know about tesco, the scheme and their competitors. Mine lasted about half an hour. They ask stuff like "what do you think you'll be doing on the scheme?", "what are your strengths and how do they relate to the role?" "who are our competitors?" and "what do our competitors do better than tesco?". There's a couple more questions and the ones i've mentioned might not be the exact question they ask you (since my memory isn't that amazing), but they'll ask you things along those lines.

Hi, that really helps, thanks, I'm so nervous, as the interview process is so long. I am currently working in buying anyway, so im hoping that the processes are similar to what im doing now. Are you on the scheme now?

Hey thebuyer, I have my assessment day on the same day! So we will be in the same group! Im Chloe by the way. Where are you coming from? Im going down from Aberdeen so quite a far way!

Jellyveen- I was asked those exact questions as well, also about my degree i currently do, and a lot about work experience. Competency based questions also like- "Tell me a time where you have initiated change".

Hope that helps :)

hey Chloe, i'm Chris. I'll be coming from Grimsby so i'll have to stay over the night before. It really sucks they don't pay expenses since I can see it costing me at least £150 for train tickets and a hotel at such short notice. What are you doing for the range critique presentation? I've never been asked to do anything like that before so i'm slightly anxious about it. I think i'm gonna go take a look around Tesco's stationery section, compare what they offer to their competitors in terms of strengths and weaknesses followed by suggesting a few plans for the future based around market trends while considering any risks. It would have been nice to have a bit more guidance then simply "choose the most appropriate way to critique the range".

hey Chloe, i'm Chris. I'll be coming from Grimsby so i'll have to stay over the night before. It really sucks they don't pay expenses since I can see it costing me at least £150 for train tickets and a hotel at such short notice. What are you doing for the range critique presentation? I've never been asked to do anything like that before so i'm slightly anxious about it. I think i'm gonna go take a look around Tesco's stationery section, compare what they offer to their competitors in terms of strengths and weaknesses followed by suggesting a few plans for the future based around market trends while considering any risks. It would have been nice to have a bit more guidance then simply "choose the most appropriate way to critique the range".

Hi Chris, I have to stay two nights and unfortunatly get an 8 hour train. Not really looking forward to that! Yeah, does suck! Are you staying at the Travelodge in Cheshunt? Doesnt look as bad as i expected haha. Thats exactly what I think they want us to do, probably compare to competitors and state the strengths and weaknesses, i saw that we dont actually have to make a powerpoint though. I'll private msg you my facebook if u wnt to compare presentations!

I've not worked out where i'm gonna stay yet. Either with a friend in London or if that doesn't work out then it will be Cheshunt Travelodge. I was gonna go out and pay my local Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury's & Staples a visit today to do a bit of research but i've been stuck in bed with a sore throat, runny nose and headache for the last two days. Hopefully it all clears off before Tuesday. I think i'm gonna spend Sunday putting together this presentation (if my cold clears off) so yeah go ahead and send me your facebook if you want to compare.

Hey Chris, did you manage to get your presentation finished? I finished mine today, decided on baby-wear! Just trying to prep for the interview now, i think itl be mainly the questions we were asked in the telephone interview but a bit more depth! Hope youre feeling better!

Hey yeah, i'm just finishing it up at the moment. I've got all my slides (mostly) sorted and now i'm just finalising what i'm gonna be saying. I tried to find you on facebook but there were a million people with the same name as you and I couldn't find the right one, sorry!

I think i'm gonna be preparing for the interview tomorrow on the train and in the evening but apart from specific Tesco questions about the company/scheme and their competitors I don't really know what else I can prepare for. I've had so many competency based interviews lately I know all my generic competency answers off by heart!!

Hey chloshmo, how did your assessment centre go? x

hey guys! sorry for taking so long to get back to you. i did not attend the AC because i got an offer from the company i really like, just a couple of days before tesco AC. :D however, since i did prepare for it, i think a swot analysis on tesco's product range would be good. also, be specific! that is based on what i researched. please share your opinions on this and your overall experience at the AC. it would be really helpful for other future candidates. cheers! sorry, i can't be of much help :)

I have an assessment centre date for the 24th may...I have applied for the Tesco graduate buyer programme. Can anybody offer any hints and tips or genral help!? thanks :)

Hi Miduso1, well done on getting to the AC...how long did you have to wait to find out from your telephone interview? I'm still waiting to here back! x

Hi Laura, I was given feedback straight after my telephone interview, and then sent a link to Psychometric testing in the same week. You have to pass this to secure your invitation to an AC. have you completed the Psychomet yet? x

Hi Laura, it took just 1 day for them to get back to me regarding feedback on my telephone interview, when was yours? They booked me in for the assessment center but im yet to complete the psychometric tests. Chloshmo have you been to the assessment centre yet? any advice? x

Hi Chloe & Miduso1, had my phone interview last Weds and still waiting for feedback, most people seem to find out quite quickly so i'm a bit worried :S x

I wouldn't be too concerned. It took them over a week to get back to me after my phone interview. I'm still waiting to hear how I did at the assessment day and that was last Tuesday.

Ok thanks. How was your assessment day?

I've just got off the phone with one of Tesco's HR people and it was a bit strange. They seemed to imply that they wanted to offer me a job but I didn't quite show the correct competencies for buying (i.e. my 'customer focus' and 'managing change' competencies didn't reach the required standard for the commercial/buying scheme). Apparently they felt I was suited more to project management than buying so they're gonna see if there's any places on their store support graduate scheme for me and get in touch again next week.

So yeah i'd recommend approaching all the tasks (especially the task where you have to pick the 5 best selling items and 5 worst selling items and justify your choices) from the customers point of view rather than your own.

Knowing my luck they'll probably fob me off and tell me they've got no jobs left so i'll have to trot off back to the jobcentre.

Congratulations chloshmo! thats great news they offered you a position in buying :) And it sounds promising for you chris, it appears they liked you so will keep our fingers crossed they can find something! dont suppose both of you could give a bit of advice on the questions they asked you? how did you find the tasks?

The interview was pretty short, only about 30 minutes. They started out asking why you were applying to Tesco and there was an awkward question where they asked you to describe your personal values. They didn't ask anything about their competitors but I remember them asking me what attributes I thought were required for a buying career. It was mostly competency based but I can't remember exactly what the questions where that they asked.

The day started with a presentation about the scheme and Tesco. Half the group then went off to give the presentation they asked us to prepare while my half got to speak to one of their senior buyers and ask him questions. He was pretty cool as he wasn't assessing us at all and encouraged us to ask him anything we wanted. Most of his answers were laden with expletives as well which nice and relaxing. After that I got 10 minutes to give my presentation after which they asked a bunch of questions about strengths/weaknesses of Tesco but most questions they asked I had already covered in the presentation so I just repeated what I had said earlier. The feedback I got on the presentation was really positive and I thought it went pretty well.

After that was the first group exercise in which you were given a list of 10 people with short descriptions of them and you had to choose the 5 you wished to save from a collapsed mine. You got 5 minutes or so to choose your own and then another 15-20 minutes to reach a decision as a group on who to save. After the time was up they asked us to choose which of the 8 of us we felt contributed the most to the exercise which was sort of awkward.

After that was a task where you had to pick the 5 best and 5 worst sellers out of 10 items. You could choose from 3 product ranges (food - which was cereals, hardlines - which was wrapping paper/gift bags, clothing - which I think was childrens clothing). You got 5 minutes to make your choices so you're quite rushed for time and after that an assessor comes into the room and you get 10 minutes to justify your decisions. The guy I had for this task was really nice and was quite chatty and asked lots of questions so I never felt like I had nothing to say (which was a worry I had when they first explained the task to us!).

Lunch followed and the sweary buyer we talked to earlier showed us around the floor in head office where all the buyers work which was really interesting (but disappointing I won't be working there >:( )

After lunch half the group went off for their interview while my half got 45 minutes to prepare a presentation about where to build a new restaurant. You basically just have to read all the notes and brief you are given and quickly come up with a decision. It was kind of annoying because this task was then interrupted by the interview and the presentation part took place after the interview. This meant I was kind of distracted going into the interview and didn't remember to say some of the things I would have liked to. After the interview you present your findings for the restaurant task and talk through it with the assessor who is role playing as a director of the restaurant chain.

The final task is another group exercise where you are given 3 cards with kids toys on and have 5 minutes to select one of them to present to the group based on a brief you are given. After 5 minutes the group gets another 3 minutes each to pitch their chosen toy and then there's 15 minutes at the end to reach a decision as a group on which toy to launch in stores. For this exercise they said I didn't perform as well and 'ran out of steam'. Make sure you pitch your chosen toy well especially as to how it would be great for customers as this is pretty important apparently. I wasn't 'passionate enough' with my pitch and was told I didn't elaborate well enough. I'm kind of annoyed they said I ran out of steam as I thought I contributed pretty well to this exercise but oh well.

So yeah basically that's it, read all that and you'll be way more prepared about what to expect than I was. They gave us all a box of Thornton's chocolate at the end which was nice of them (but i'd rather they paid my expenses instead as train tickets and hotel rooms are a little more expensive than boxes of chocolate!!)

the buyer did you apply specifically for food buying? i applied for clothing buying, and have my assessment day on May 10th, do you think the structure would be the same?

i applied for this - http://www.tesco-graduates.com/home/programmes/office/buying-and-merchandising

from what they said on the day all the buying/merchandising etc comes under the same hr/personnel umbrella so i'd assume you'll end up with a similarly structured day

that's strange, how do they expect to asses you based on food products, when your applying for clothing? im actually very scared by the sound of the structure, it seems very very full on and intense, i passed the Arcadia and the Republic assessment days which didn't last for more than around 2 hrs each, I'm guessing the Tesco one is more like an all day thing?

.

Hey guys,

How did you find the shl tests? I've got a link to do them in the next few days, have managed the practice ones ok (much better on the verbal though) but worried about the actual tests. I've applied for buying.

Any experiences to hear about would be great.

Hi, to anyone who has been offered a place on the grad program....

I am due to start in July and looking for place to rent! Anyone interested in house sharing please let me know, or has any advice on good areas to live??!

Hi Louise! whats ur start date in July? i start in July too!!

have been looking around Chestunt! u?

hey! yeh we must be on the same start date mine is 4th July, I will be on womenswear knitwear merchandiser...u?

Cheshunt...do you drive? There are no direct trains from cheshunt to welwyn garden so it would take a long time and a lot of money! I was looking around st. albans and hatfield as its a nice city and 5 mins from WGC office and st.albans has direct train to london in 20mins HOWEVER there are no rooms available yet so its proving hard! Other alternative is finsbury park, lots of rooms available but the train would cost around £220 a month on top of rent, so you probably looking around £700 a month with bills,rent,train etc.

Hi everyone,

I've done an phone interview and am waiting to hear back from them. I was wondering how long you all had to wait? Also, what is the online test like? I'm really nervous.

Thanks Berryx

Hi i've got a telephone interview coming up andwas just wondering if you could cast some light on the questions you were asked?

I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks

Hi jellyveen. just wondering what was the arcadia assessment day like n how it comes to tesco? Could really do with some help!

Hi all,

I've got a clothing buying telephone interview for tesco coming up on Wednesday. Has anyone applied this year? What questions were asked?

Thanks everyone x

Hope this helps guys and gals ^_^

Hi all

All the information on here is really useful! Thanks!

I have an assessment centre for Clothes buying this Tuesday. I was wondering if anyone has and what they are putting in their presentation?

Thanks

Hi Spuddo9, I have the assessment centre day on the 1st May, how did yours go? I havent recieved the email yet of what I need to prepare so would really appreciate a heads up so I can try fit it in with Uni work!

Thank you!

Hi there..... I have been called up to take part in an assessment for a trainee buying position with Primark.... has anyone any previous experience of this kind of thing - its from 9am-2pm and includes group work and presentation aswell as private interview.... any ideas? looking for some advice as I get very nervous in interviews and would love to get into buying and have been waiting for this opportunity for ages now!!! thanks! S

Hi, I also have an assessment centre on the 1st May providing I pass the online tests! Emily1511 how did you find them? Spuddo9 how did it go? Can you tell us roughly what the day involves? Thanks!!

Hey,

Sooo, I didn't get the job! really gutted. And i have to say I did do really well- considering i have no relevant experience or qualifications! so it is a long day and they ply you with sugar ha.

you start with a presentation on tesco and some introductions- try and remember the names of your assessors and their departments! then we were split into two groups of four. and luckily i was part of the first lot, because if you are in the second lot you do alot of waiting around for the first group to finish! which i would have found annoying! but you all stay in the same room.

you go off to individual rooms to do your presentation- you are sent your specification/brief a few days before the AC, which doesnt give you much time but think they do that on purpose. key points for your presentation- make sure you have appropriate materials- print out/boards, and make sure you go to stores and look at competition- make sure you know who the F&F competitors are and what they are doing better/worse than tesco in the department you are looking at- take lots of pictures! my feedback for my presentation was great- you need to be clear and concise and really focus on the customer- what they would think/want rather than your own personal opinions.

then was a group task. you have to say which items you would save from a sinking yacht to go on your lifeboat with 5 others. i was told i didnt have enough drive in this- it was difficult as everyone was just talking over each other trying to get heard and i didnt want to be rude! and you have to say who contributed the most at the end- awkward! ha. but i think they dont care if you are loud and rude they think it shows drive- so go for it!

next was an individual task- you are given 10 items and you need to chose the 5 best sellers and the 5 worse sellers- you are given like 5mins in the room to decide. so they key thing here is to have really good reasoning- focussing on the customer- i did really well on this and got 4/5 of my best sellers but what let me down was my reasonings was good in that i thought of everything but i wasnt talking about the customer i was talking from my view point.

then it was lunch- not bad food!

then it was the interviews- i think this really depends on who you get, but i was told i went off on a tangent too much and didnt know enough about the role- so the tangent thing is my own personal problem and i do it all the time! i can see how theyd think that means im not focused, but the other thing would be to learn the job role sheet they send you for the telephone interview inside out- i tried but htat on top of the presentation, there wasnt even room in my brain! ha.

then it was another individual task- you are given the task of space alloction for a seasonal range for a supermarket. you need to present a few different things which i cant quite remember- i think it was where you would place the stock- and you are given info about the departments and their managers, which 6 gift items you'd choose- and you are given previous sales info about them, and how you would advertise/promote. so the key thing is to absorb all that info to make informed decisions- so dnt jst say il do it here and not why- highlight benefits of it and disadvantages of others- and you are given a customer analysis- typical customers that shop there etc- try and incoporate that. at the end they ask you questions about hwy you did certain things, just have reasoned actions and should be fine. i did really well in this too lol.

and then is one more group task where you are given a vase to push for your department- but so does everyone else! you need to sell yours you have 2mins to do this- say why is good- profit margin etc, and then you all battle it out discussing why yours is the best- there is actually an ideal one but its all about who can sell it the best- refer back to what the customers want. i was really annoyed at my performance in the first group task so i was a bit ruder in this one and that went down well with the assessors apparently!

so basically you are rated on a traffic light system and if you get more than ONE amber you have failed (and obviously any reds). which is ridiculous really. so thats why i didnt get it, shame because i did do really well, and left feeling good about myself. if we didnt have any ambers then we would be professionals surely? and not grads. but anyway never mind! always next year!

good luck girls (im assuming from the turnout at mine ha) and hopefully i will see you there next year ;)

ps- i advised on the areas that let me down, so think about what your weaknesses are- they may be different to mine- see their competencies online as this is what they judge you on.

PS- they made the benefits sound really good in the presentation but apparently its not all true as my friend works there- for example they dont review your pay every year

Hi Spudd09,

Thank you so much for that it was really helpful! It sounds like you did really well in most things and it also sounds like it was a pretty tough day!

I hope you aren't too disappointed, there are quite a few buyers admin assistant roles advertised online, and next time you go to an assessment centre for a buyers role you will know what to expect and how you can improve!

Thanks again

Hi! I definatly underestimated the online tests. I really recommened you do your revision on percentages and fractions. I have done maths since GSCE so I had to recap on alot of work! I didn't finish either online test, which the mind set that i'd rather finish 15/30 and get all 15 right then 30 badly answered questions! and that seemed to be fine! Just take your time and dont panic answer unless you really don't know then you can move on. Calculator is a must!

If you type into google- online numerical test you might be able to find other tests for universities which will help ( thats what i did!)

Hope you do well and hopefully I'll see you on the 1st!

thank you thank you! I know what I need to bring now thank god! but i am also more nervous than finishing my actual degree. It does seem a bit unfair that if you get more than 1 amber your out.. surely like you said we are all there to learn and improve our skills through tescos.. oh well!

Hi Emily

I will definetly be there on the 1st now. I didn't think I had passed the online tests but somehow I had!

Whereabouts are you coming from? :)

Hi, just as a note- i dont think they have a pass mark- as in you have to get x% to pass, i think as long as you dont do awful, they just want to see what level you are at- because you dont have to resit it like you do at some companies.

Thanks Spudd09! Just re reading what you wrote about the assessment day- I think I am going to be exhausted by the end of it!