Asda Jobs
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Asda jobs are currently advertising that they have 7000 new jobs coming soon. One of those could be yours! Asda have been going strong since they started out in 1965. They now employ over 170,000 staff members across the UK and Northern Ireland.
There are positions available in all of the stores, at head office and within distribution.
Jobs within the Asda stores
The Asda stores are a very friendly and happy place to work. There’s a great sense of team spirit.
Asda are a very flexible employer and you should be able to find a position with working hours to suit you. Asda also take on extra staff at Christmas, so it’s a great chance to take on some seasonal work. Many seasonal workers end up working full time for Asda they enjoy it so much. Seasonal work is a great way to get a taster of working for Asda without having to make the commitment required from taking on a full-time permanent position.
Asda jobs have an interesting take on seasonal and temporary work with their three flexible options. The Christmas workers they call Temporary Colleagues, which is different from their Seasonal Colleagues, it sounds a bit confusing but it’s quite a clever idea. If you register as a Seasonal Colleague, you can work at Asda for 8 weeks each year, helping out in busy times without having to reapply for the job. You’ll also get all the benefits of being an Asda employee such as the 10% staff discount card. You can also choose to work Weekend Flex. This means working at least 8 hours a week on a flexible basis. This option is popular with university students fitting work around their studies.
So lets look at the different roles available within the Asda store…
Checkout Colleague – If you have a sunny disposition and love interacting with people then you’ll love being a Checkout Colleague at Asda. It’s your job to make every customer feel special, not to rush them and to deal with any issues quickly and efficiently and with a smile! Doing something little, like spotting a yoghurt with a burst top and getting it replaced can really make someone’s day, and it’s this attention to detail that makes Asda stand out from the crowd.
Shop Floor Colleague – Here more than anywhere the Asda jobs motto ‘Happy to Help’ comes into play. Your job is to be available to customers to help them, this may be dealing with complaints and issues or helping a customer find a particular item. You’ll also be helping to keep the shelves stocked at all times, and dealing with any issues in the store such as breakages etc. You’ll need a very friendly manner and a great memory for this job, so you can take any customer to any item in the store.
Baker – Asda bakers work round the clock to provide fresh bread and baked goods to the customers. As a baker you’ll be given full training in how to bake all the delicious Asda bakery products as well as how to bake safely and hygienically.
Pharmacist – Asda offer a great system of pharmacy training. You’ll first undertake a 12 week initial training course, then within six months, you’ll go on to do a Medicine Counter Assistant course accredited by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and finally you’ll move on to the Dispensing Assistant training.
Working in the pharmacy involves more than just dispensing medicines. You’ll often be called upon to give advice and recommend products, so you also need good communication skills and a sympathetic ear.
Security – Working in security involves keeping on top of regulation checks for fire safety etc. Patrolling the store and car parks checking for damage, vandalism or signs of cash machines having being tampered with for example. You may be responsible for carrying out spot checks on colleagues and vehicles in the warehouse.
Home Delivery Driver – If you enjoy driving and getting out and about then you might suit being an Asda Home Delivery Driver, delivering Asda Home Shopping orders. As well as driving responsibly, and keeping the customers informed of any delays, you’ll be expected to be friendly, helpful and courteous at all times. For many people you may be the only personal contact they have with Asda if they do all their shopping online. So it’s vital to make a good impression.
Post Office colleague – Some Asda stores have a branch of the Post Office within them. You’ll be trained to give advice and recommend Post Office products and services. You’ll be handling mail and ensuring it goes out with every collection.
Section Leader – Section leaders head up a team within Asda, looking after the team members, overseeing their training and development. The job includes keeping up the department standards at all times, and ensuring the team are happy and focussed, dealing quickly with any issues that arise. You’ll be in charge of ensuring your department is fully staffed by planning holiday leave and overtime rotas.
Jobs within the Asda depots
Such a huge operation requires a lot of drivers, warehouse and administration staff based at the many Asda depots.
You’ll need to be reasonably fit to work in the warehouse, you’ll be lifting and carrying stock to constantly keep the supply chain going. Picking and packing products, making sure they get sent to the correct store at the correct time. There are also many administrative roles within the depots, from organising the delivery schedules for drivers to working in training or finance. Asda also employ a lot of drivers to keep the goods flowing and ultimately the shelves stocked.
Careers with George
George is Asda’s own global fashion brand launched in 1990. The aim of which is to provide great quality stylish products at great prices.
There are loads of opportunities to get involved with the George brand. If you have an interest in fashion there is bound to be a position to suit you.
There are several design positions. The garment designers are involved in taking careful note of current trends in style, colour and fabrics to create on trend items for the George range each season. The graphic designers are involved in creating great new garment images, for instance the eye-catching unique designs on the George t-shirts. Asda also employ store designers, with an eye for the best way to display the George products to make the shopping experience exciting and fun for the customers. Looking at the customer’s routes through the George department and other aspects such as lighting.
Buyers work with the designers to pick the new styles each season. They work to get the very best deals with the manufacturers so the savings can be passed on to the Asda customers. Buyers are also in charge of ensuring deadlines are met. Fashion is a fast paced business so working hard and quickly is essential in a job with George.
If you have good analytical, commercial and numeracy skills, then a position as a Merchandiser may be of interest to you. Working closely with the buyers you will be responsible for finding ways to reduce costs without reducing the quality of the prducts, ensuring that purchases are spread across suppliers to reduce risk, and you will help take care of the budgets. Branch Merchandisers work with the stores keeping track of stock levels and demand changes. Investigating under performance in particular stores and making sure stock gets to where it needs to be efficiently.
Then there are the Technologists; this work involves either focussing on the fit and makeup of George garments, or the fabric and quality. To work in these positions you will likely have a background in fabric supply and production. There are graduate opportunities here too though.
Within the store there are people employed solely to work within the George department. Shop floor colleagues work with the customers, helping them and serving them at the tills. If you love working with people and have a friendly helpful attitude you will fit into this role well.
Each store also has a George manager who oversees the running of the George department. Managing the team of staff and working with them on their development, plus overseeing stock changes and helping to provide great customer service. Working as George manager is a demanding responsible position.
Asda have a large marketing department for George. Work can include choosing models for advertisements and creating articles for magazines. The work of the marketing staff also involves creating ideas for in store displays.
Asda also have their own dedicated George logistics operation to ensure that the George items get to and from where they need to be when they are needed, quickly and in a cost effective manner.
Training and career development
Training is a very important part of working at Asda. Every employee attends an induction and then goes on to do a 12-week on-the-job training programme. You’ll be allocated a training buddy who will see that you learn every aspect of your job and assess that you’ve fully understood everything that is required of you. You’ll be helped all the way and you’ll have frequent meetings with a manager to discuss how things are going for you.
Asda have their own Skills Academy. This is a training scheme only available to Asda employees offering retail apprenticeships and Diplomas in Retail Management. These are nationally recognised qualifications awarded by City and Guilds.
Rewards, Perks and Benefits
Everyone likes to know what extras they will get with a job and Asda have plenty. Staff members get a Colleague Discount Card This entitles you to 10% most Asda items, and even extends to Walmart stores all over the world.
There is an Asda pension scheme and also a share save plan offering discounted shares to Asda employees.
As an employer Asda also seeks out deals and discounts for their employees, so you could benefit from reduced theme park entrance or money off your next holiday.
Asda realise that working nights is not the easiest of jobs, so Night Managers are rewarded for their dedication with an extra allowance of between £3000 and £5000 depending on the type of job they do.
There is a scheme in place to recognise and reward great service, and long service is also recognised.
The Asda job application process
If you’re looking for a position on the shop floor you can search and apply for vacancies online at .
If Asda are happy with your application you’ll be invited to attend ASDA Magic. This is a group event, which includes various challenges, getting to try your hand at your chosen role within the store, a tour behind the scenes and a one-on-one interview. The event takes around two hours in total.
Soon after attending this event you’ll be informed whether or not you have been successful. If you have then you’ll be instructed on your employment commencement date and the next stop will be your induction day. You’ll then start out on your job training before finally becoming a fully-fledged Asda employee.