John Lewis Buying Graduate Scheme

Sound systems. Sofas. Salt mills. Walk into any John Lewis department store and you’ll find an incredible breadth of stylish product lines, every single one of which is chosen by our innovative Buying team.

For a graduate, this is a fast-paced and exciting environment to be in – and one that offers a structured yet flexible path to success:

In your first year you’ll be supported by training and development coaching to help you learn the basics, as well as spending time on the shop floor and being given additional projects to broaden your experience
In your second year you should become an Assistant Buyer, a role involving line manager responsibility and supporting the Buyer to deliver a distinctive and profitable assortment
From this point there are a number of options available to you. You could work within one of our Buying support functions to broaden your experience and understanding, or you may move to a more senior Buying role. Whatever you choose, we’ll support you to achieve your career goals
You should become a fully-fledged Buyer within three to five years

What we’re looking for:

The popularity and productivity of our merchandise is down to the keen eyes, creativity and commercial nous of our Buying team. If you believe you share these qualities, and have plenty of enthusiasm, intuition and the ability to inspire those around you, our in depth training will take care of the rest.

We’re looking for applicants who have the potential to successfully lead and deliver results through a team. A solid understanding of John Lewis and its customers’, as well as a wider awareness of the Retail industry, is highly desirable. We look for candidates with the ability to plan and price a range of merchandise, can communicate well and are able to plan and prioritise their work.

Things to bear in mind

We have three main buying categories: Home; Fashion and Electrical and Home Technology. Within these are multiple buyerships and you’ll be based within one of these areas with the chance to move between them.
This role is based in our Head Office in Victoria, London.

Application Criteria

The minimum criteria is as follows:

Gained a degree equivalent to a BA, BSc or higher at a 2:1 or above by September 2011. This can be in any subject
GCSE Maths and English grade B or above or equivalent

We are sorry, if you do not meet the above minimum criteria, we will not be able to consider your application.

The Application process

There are four stages of our application process and you are required to pass each stage before being invited to the next. For all stages there are strict timelines on completion. See the invite email/s for details.

The first two stages are an online personality questionnaire and a talent screener test, which is a multiple choice exercise. The personality questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete and is part of the application form itself. The talent screener test takes about 30 minutes to complete. We recommend that you find a quiet place where you can concentrate in order to complete this stage.

At the third stage you are required to answer some questions. You will have a deadline of two weeks within which to complete these questions. Your answers are then marked and, if you reach or exceed the pass mark, you will be invited to a two day assessment centre.

The assessment centres are the final part of the recruitment process. The assessment centres are two days long and will be held at the end of January, in February or early March 2011. If you reach this stage, more information will be sent to you on what to expect.

If you are successful at the assessment centre, you will be offered a place on the graduate scheme.

We are always looking at our recruitment process and the Graduate Recruitment Manager may choose at anytime to review the recruitment process.

Hints and tips

The first tests are automatically marked; the third stage questions however are read and marked by us. Therefore, if you get to this stage, we would recommend that you consider the questions carefully and really think about your answers, using the best examples to highlight your points. Every applicant who applies to us has experienced University, so applicants might think about finding examples outside their University or academic experience if possible to highlight the points they wish to make in their answers.
Check your application form for spelling and grammar mistakes. We deduct points from applications that are not well presented.
Compile all your basic details, qualifications and work experience on a Word document ready. Not only can you then copy and paste your details over to the application form, making the initial application process quicker, this will also be useful for any other schemes you choose to apply for.
We will always make reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates. So please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the process.