Tesco Jobs

Tesco, the UK's number one retailer, is constantly diversifying to take in different types and ranges of products, from food to clothes, financial services to Internet services.

This means that the company is also a major employer, offering an extremely wide range of job opportunities for the right people.

In this article, we are look at openings that are directly available at Tesco's own physical stores.

Tesco Graduate Jobs opportunities are covered in a separate article.

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Who is the Employer?

Worldwide, Tesco comes third only to Wal-Mart and Carrefour as largest retailer, with a reach covering 14 countries. In the UK, Tesco is the largest retailer of groceries. Originally a grocery retailer, the company now retails books, electronics, clothing, furniture, financial services, petrol, Internet and mobile services, and software amongst other products. Tesco has several kinds of store:

• Tesco Superstores are large supermarkets with a wide range of products, including DVDs and books. They also have cafes, home shopping and fuel stations.
• Tesco Extra stores are out-of-town hypermarkets that sell almost the entire range of Tesco products. These have the widest range of products, including bedding and cookware, electrical products, clothing, garden furniture, etc.
• Tesco Metro stores are mid-sized supermarkets in inner city areas, city centres or town high streets.
• Tesco Express stores are neighbourhood shops in city centres, shopping precincts, small towns and Esso petrol station forecourts.
• Tesco Homeplus is the company's only non-food venture, being dedicated to home and garden products. The largest stores have a catalogue shop.

Sample Jobs

Here's a selection of jobs available in Tesco's stores.

Customer Assistants work on checkouts. Good communication skills are needed and a dedication to customer service. Working contracts are often flexible, meaning you have a number of core hours worked every week, plus additional flexibly timed hours.

Delivery Assistants need to be 18 years or over, and deliver products to customers' homes with a 3.5 ton vehicle. Map reading and navigation skills are essential. You also work in-store when available. You need to be a considerate driver and able to handle customer queries.

Distribution team members are involved in assembling store orders for delivery, moving cages of products, operating mechanical handling equipment and moving boxes manually. Work is in a small team of up to 15 people.

Merchandisers and Buyers are involved in ascertaining customer demand and ensuring that quality products are in the right place at the right time, using experience of trading internationally and on the high street. Buyers use market knowledge to source products, using experience of online trading or worldwide direct sourcing. Both roles require commercial understanding of how such a large corporation influences the market, as well as the logistics involved.

Night workers are involved in many different areas within the stores, including stock rotation, supporting warehouse and delivery staff, tidying the aisles and assisting other staff as needed. This role needs motivation and initiative.

Team Leaders help customers by filling shelves and ensuring other team members are coordinated. This involves coordinating rotas and attendance, while supporting the section or department manager.

Other roles in stores include: baker, cleaner, fishmonger, electrical staff, operations manager, pharmacy, price integrity, restaurant, security, stock control and technical support.

Type of Candidates Welcome Tesco has a strong corporate culture and is very clear on the kind of people who will be joining the workforce. These candidates are:

• Highly motivated about working in retail.
• Customer focused and dedicated to providing superior service.
• Able to respond quickly to customer feedback.
• Committed to gaining good results through hard work.
• Hard working and willing to get hands-on.
• People-oriented and motivated about treating people fairly.
• Team worker who can work on own initiative when needed.
• Adaptable and flexible, being willing to meet demands of a 24/7 environment.
• Able to respond to positive feedback and have an interest in training and ongoing development.

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Benefits Offered to Staff

Tesco is interested in looking after its hard-working staff to reward loyalty. This means a number of financial benefits are offered to staff.

Shares in Success are free Tesco shares offered to everyone who's worked with the company for a year. A proportion of profit is shared amongst staff, relative to salary levels. The shares are held in trust for 5 years, after which they're available to you, tax-free.

Save As You Earn is a chance for staff who've been with the company for a year to save up to £50 every four weeks for 3 to 5 years, in order to receive a tax-free bonus at the end. At this point, staff can buy shares at up to 20% less than market price, or take the cash.

Buy As You Earn is the chance for staff who've been working with the company for three months to buy shares at market price every four weeks, saving tax and National Insurance on the salary used.

The Privilege Card means staff can make purchases at 10% less than marked price. All staff benefit from the Tesco Pension and can buy discounted health insurance. You can read more online about Tesco's rewards and benefits.

Training Opportunities

Tesco runs a range of training schemes to induct new staff and to help develop skills in existing staff.

• Options Programme: This is a Trainee Management scheme for ambitious candidates, aimed at those who wish to have a long lasting career with the company. 'Immediate challenges, rapid progression and a lasting career' are offered, with the aim of developing a combination of leadership, general and operating skills.
• Every Little Helps: This is the programme offering training to current staff, so that they can do their job better and develop their careers.
• Apprenticeships in Retail: This is open to existing staff to gain a nationally recognised qualification. The outcome of this 12 months programme is a City & Guilds awarded qualification. Participants are trained in key skills, an NVQ in Retail Level 2 delivered on the shop floor, and a Technical certificate, which is a multiple-choice test on the theoretical understanding of the business.
• TWIST: This stands for Tesco Week in Store Together - all managers must spend five days a year, once a year, every year, working on the store floor. This involves working as a customer assistant and helping with deliveries, working in the warehouse, filling shelves, etc.

The success of Tesco's training schemes is evidenced by the fact that some 10,000 staff a year change jobs within the company and that 80% of management roles are filled from within the company. The company prides itself on offer a training scheme for every major career stage that's flexible to individual needs. You can find more details at Tesco Careers.

How to Find Jobs

You can search for a job on the Tesco Careers' website, by job reference number, keyword, category and geographical location. You can apply immediately, online - this involves registering on the website, completing a personal profile and then applying.