Waitrose to recruit more graduates - graduate jobs

Graduates looking for jobs in the retail sector are being targeted by a Waitrose recruitment drive this summer.

The retailer is looking to take on eight graduates who will be placed in store-based retail management roles and have the opportunity to become a department manager within 12 to 24 months.

Competition for places is expected to be tough, with Waitrose receiving some 2,500 applications for just 12 spots during its last recruitment campaign, and it has developed a new online system to help it identify the highest quality candidates.

Applicants fill out an online form and personality questionnaire before sitting an online test which helps the retailer to filter out less suitable candidates.

The Graduate DILEMMAS test assesses a graduate's judgment and decision-making abilities based on typical workplace situations.

The test will help whittle down the thousands of applicants to some 150 who then attend an assessment at one of Waitrose's selection centres before going forward to interview.