Asda Magic

Asda does its job interviews in two-hour group sessions, which they call ‘Asda Magic’. I’ve just got back from one. To kick off, we introduced ourselves, answering questions such as ‘which two items would you take with you to a desert island’, and ‘who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with’. This confirmed that most people like MP3 players and dislike Simon Cowell.

I guess they were trying to find out more about our personalities; the company seems very concerned that their employees are positive and enthusiastic people. While doing group exercises, we were watched by seven senior staff, who observed our behaviour and mannerisms, taking notes. They tested our keenness to the absolute maximum with long, poorly acted safety videos, which explained that it’s not wise to use broken equipment or walk in front of moving vehicles. There was an extended metaphor about how your back is like a doughnut, and lifting in the wrong way can make the jam come out.

Then another odd test: we were put in teams of two, and had to act out a scene in which one person played a customer wanting to buy something. The other person happened to have the right product in their hand, and had to explain its benefits by reading them off the box. I played the customer, and think I convinced the audience that I genuinely wanted some screen wipes.

It seems we got off fairly lightly. After a final session in which we had to walk around the shop looking at stuff, the two staff with us reminisced about their own ‘Asda Magic’ sessions. “I had to design a doughnut”, one said. The other replied: “We had to re-arrange some cards to make up a song about Asda, then sing it to everyone.”