Tesco is a household name and well-known brand in the UK. From the equivalent of your local corner shop to a large superstore, you will likely find a Tesco Metro, Tesco Express or Tesco Extra in most towns across Britain. As a busy store, providing an essential service, Tesco regularly has job opportunities that you can apply for through Blue Arrow.
Working at Tesco
Now over a hundred years old, Tesco began life as a market stall in the East End of London in 1919, with the first actual shop opening in Edgeware, ten years later. Tesco grocery stores went on to spread across London through the 1930s and introduced their first self-service stores in the 1940s. The expansion of stores continued across the country throughout the 20th century. Clothing and household products were added in the late 60s and the first Tesco petrol stations were seen in the 70s. Now with well over 3,000 stores in the UK and over 360,000 employees, Tesco is one of the biggest retailers in Britain.
Tesco believes in the customer and community being at the centre of what they do, and they value the importance of their staff in providing the best possible service in order to achieve this. Tesco staff are encouraged to trust and respect each other, working together as a team, sharing their own knowledge and expertise to help colleagues accomplish their tasks successfully.
If you like working in a busy retail environment and providing a great service to customers, then a job at Tesco is something to consider. Tesco as an employer treats all their staff fairly and recognises the good work that they do. They understand the importance of people enjoying their work so that they do their jobs to the best of their abilities, work well with their teams and offer the best possible service to customers.
What type of opportunities are there at Tesco?
As a key client of Blue Arrow, candidates are regularly placed in temporary positions at Tesco. There are some jobs available year-round, but at peak times, particularly Christmas, there are many more positions available in warehouses, as well as for Marshalls, Stock Replenishers and F&F Retail Merchandisers.
- Warehouse Operatives - these positions are in the distribution centres and involve picking orders from the various food chambers in the warehouse ready for delivery.
- Marshalls - this job is an outdoor job, based in the car parks at busy times of the year. Marshalls are responsible for ensuring people are parking properly and returning trolleys to the correct place.
- Stock Replenishers - these roles are based in the stores, re-stocking shelves with merchandise and providing customer service as needed.
- F&F Merchandisers - these positions specifically work with the Tesco specialist clothing brand, Florence and Fred (F&F). This is a visual merchandising role and involves unpacking and sorting the clothing products, hanging and displaying it according to the visual merchandising guidelines in the F&F area of the store.
Is Tesco a good fit for you?
Working hours at Tesco will depend on the job that you do. As a Warehouse Operative you may find the hours can be quite flexible. There are often a mix of shifts available, some involving weekend work, which may be on rotating or fixed basis. The Marshall job role is usually only a short-term position and as such it will be fixed hours, either daytime, or evenings. It is a similar case for shelf replenishing and merchandising roles. Some shifts can be daytime, but these roles are often evening hours, so might suit students or parents and carers who are at home with young children during the day.
Read our Shift workers guide to pulling off a cracking Christmas for some tips on working shifts in the busy period leading up to the festive season.
All new Tesco employees are fully prepared prior to beginning their new job so that they can be confident and comfortable with what they are doing. They will go through a comprehensive induction process, involving both online and instore training, as well as a full orientation within the store or warehouse.
As Tesco stores are located across the UK it is likely there may be job opportunities at a store near you. Warehouse Operative positions will be at one of their distribution centres in Wales, Scotland or the north of England. Contact your local Blue Arrow branch to find out about Tesco jobs near you, or click on the link below to see all current Tesco job opportunities.
Are you a good fit for Tesco?
There are some great temporary job opportunities at Tesco, especially at peak times of the year, so what makes you a good candidate?
As a Tesco employee you are an ambassador for the company. To succeed you should be reliable, conscientious and provide a friendly service to the customers. You need to be a good team player, but also able to think and work independently. Fluent written and spoken English is needed. Having previous warehouse or retail experience is a bonus and will enable you to pick up the requirements of the job more quickly, but it is not essential. All positions will have an initial training period and in warehouse roles you will work with a buddy until you are confident with what you are doing.
Working at Tesco is an opportunity to gain valuable experience in a busy retail environment. If you enjoy trying something new and are quick to learn, then this could be the perfect opportunity. A temporary job with Tesco has the possibility to lead to a permanent role with the company and the skills and experience you gain will be useful in any future job roles and make a good addition to your CV.
