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Anyone worked at coles? General retail
mooshoepork
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have been trying to get a job at a local coles supermarket for over a year (their online system sucks) and I finally got an interview. I didn't have to go to a group one, which is what usually happens, probably because they were desperate for people. Anywho, I get an email and a phone call for a one-on-one interview. I gather everything they want (written reference, passport, resume, school report and school I.D) and go to the interview.
The interview itself only lasted about two minutes, and the manager whom was interviewing me seemed very pleased and happy. I haven't had any experience, but he said he goes off the availability (mine was great). Upon telling him about myself and him double checking my phone numbers and times and such, he said it was all good, and he will call me on monday. He then spoke of an induction process. My question is, what does this mean? I felt really confident that I got the job but now I am unsure. I only have to wait one more day I guess, but does this mean I am pretty good? I am not sure how many people here would have worked at coles, but still.
One last thing. My brother says the union reps will try and force me into signing a union contract if I get the job, and at all costs to avoid this. Should I do this? This is my first real job, and I am 17.
The interview itself only lasted about two minutes, and the manager whom was interviewing me seemed very pleased and happy. I haven't had any experience, but he said he goes off the availability (mine was great). Upon telling him about myself and him double checking my phone numbers and times and such, he said it was all good, and he will call me on monday. He then spoke of an induction process. My question is, what does this mean? I felt really confident that I got the job but now I am unsure. I only have to wait one more day I guess, but does this mean I am pretty good? I am not sure how many people here would have worked at coles, but still.
One last thing. My brother says the union reps will try and force me into signing a union contract if I get the job, and at all costs to avoid this. Should I do this? This is my first real job, and I am 17.
mooshoepork on
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Don't know about union stuff. Probably all depends if this is a full-time job, if you expect to be there long, all that.
Your brother is an idiot: join the union, the SDA are good people and will make sure you're not left out in the cold when management screw you over. Management will try and screw you over, because they are massively incompetent and some are outright arseholes. The store managers are under tremendous pressure to meet fairly tight budgets, so they tend to do silly things. The line managers are usually in the same boat as you and don't care so much, so be on good terms with your line manager and they will be good to you.
Union membership only costs a few bucks quarterly, and if you're studying you can enter a draw each semester for $120 towards your textbooks. They only have a limited number of these, but I got it twice, and it was freaking awesome. You'll also get a bunch of discount coupons every year, but I didn't use them much. They may come in handy for you though. And, of course, you're less likely to wind up on an AWA working for $3 less an hour than the dude next to you because you didn't know how much to ask for. I was getting just over $19 an hour on casual before I left, and this was just before WorkFarces came in, for reference. They shouldn't be able to schedule you for less than four hours at a stretch, either.
You'll have to fork out for uniforms, but you can claim them and the cost of washing them back on tax, so keep the reciept when they eventually turn up, which could take a while (they put in a bulk order only when enough staff request new gear to make it worthwhile).
Lastly, coles just got bought out by WesFarmers, so the management style may shift a little. My mother works at a kmart (also owned by them) and says it at least hasn't got worse, but its early days. Anyway, supermarket jobs are piss-easy and generally happy to work with your school schedule, so just relax and go with it. You'll be fine.
It is casual work by the way. My brother isn't an idiot. He just had a bad experience with the SDA. They wouldn't let him quit, and lied to him about the rates. In the end he had to send a letter off, which took a long time, and they generally just fucked him around. The manager seemed nice, but I suppose he is meant to :P at the start...