Premium UK food store Waitrose is using a new online sifting tool which aims to progress the  highest calibre candidates through to its graduate Selection Centres.  

Waitrose’s graduate scheme has received over 2,500 applications already this year.  Graduate Dilemmas from talent management provider A&DC, an online Situational Judgement Test, assesses graduates’ judgement and decision-making skills around common work situations.  

Waitrose’s graduate recruitment team is aiming to narrow down the number of candidates getting to its centres to around 150.
 
Anglie Johns, manager, recruitment services at Waitrose, says: “We anticipated an uplift in applicant numbers this year, and therefore wanted to introduce a new, robust selection tool to our Graduate Assessment Process, to address the challenges of the recruitment market, and the growing numbers of applications.”
 
A&DC has also created a bespoke scoring key for Waitrose.
 
Natalie Livings, managing consultant at A&DC, says: “Successful Waitrose graduates are placed into store-based retail management roles and have the opportunity to reach department manager level within 12-24 months.  

“It is essential for Waitrose, however, to ensure it is firstly finding future employees who want to work for the company, rather than just ‘get a job’, and secondly, making sure they have the best possible fit for the available roles.”