Working for Wal-Mart Stores: Employment, Careers, and Jobs

Working for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: Employment, Careers, and Jobs

If you are interested in working for the Wal-Mart Stores, this article will help you learn what you need to know about careers, jobs, and employment at the Company.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc: Company Overview

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. now renamed Wal-Mart Inc., was incorporated on October 31, 1969. The company is engaged in the operation of retail, wholesale and other units in different formats all over the world.

Wal-Mart offers a variety of merchandise and services at everyday low prices (EDLP). They operate in three sectors such as Wal-Mart U.S., Sam’s club, and Wal-Mart International.

Wal-Mart mass merchant concept in the United States that operates under the Wal-Mart brands and digital retail are those that fall under the Wal-Mart U.S. sector.

The warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub.com are those that can be found under Sam’s Club sector.

While Wal-Mart’s operations outside the United States and different retail websites are companies that operate under the Wal-Mart International sector.

Wal-Mart operates approximately 11,600 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries, and e-commerce websites in 11 countries.

Why Work for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an independent work setting; a company that has an easy-going job with a nice pay. It is a productive and fun work place, a fast paced environment to work with many breaks to go on a full work day. It also has good working hours.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. also is an organized and enjoyable workplace, with a set of people that really help you through your long shift. The office is actually fun while the team there is real great.

Careers and Jobs at Wal-Mart Stores

Careers and jobs at Wal-Mart include the following:

CROSSMARK Wal-Mart Retail Merchandiser

Crossmark is leader in sales and marketing, and supports major consumer brands and retailers. They are proud of how they were chosen as a service provider for the Wal-Mart service program.

If you want to apply for a position as a Retail Merchandising Representative, you will be required to represent the company’s clients by practicing diverse in-store merchandising activities to meet the consumers’ needs.

You will carry out certain activities like selling in features and promotions to Wal-Mart store management, stocking shelves, working out-of-stocks, correcting product voids, building displays, and resetting product categories to be most updated.

Join the CROSSMARK team today if you want to work with some of the top brands and supporting products that you use every day.

Studio Sales Associate

If you join the team of Studio Sales Associates at Portrait Innovations, you can honestly testify of how fun it’s going to be.

Wal-Mart has reinvented the professional portrait studio experience with over 200 studios throughout the U.S.

Wal-Mart uses the latest in the digital photography technology, handy online ordering options and an extensive line of specialty products to make it easy and enjoyable for customers to share their cherished family memories, events and milestones.

The Company is hiring Studio Sales Associates to take photographs and assist customers with image selection and custom photo specialty product creation. You mustn’t be a professional photographer before you can declare interest for this job because the company will teach you everything you need to know.

The company will help you develop your outgoing personality and drive to succeed which you bring to the company. The company would like to talk with you if you declare interest for the Studio Sales Associate job.

AcademyMgr

This position requires that you coordinate, complete, and oversea job-related activities and assignments.

You also need to ensure that there is compliance with company policies and procedures, and support the company’s values, mission, and standards of ethics and integrity.

You’ll ensure there is execution of Academy operations, manage financial aspects of Academy operations, provide career development opportunities for associates, and support store talent and operation standards.

Minimum qualifications for this job include four years experience in Retail Operations; Talent Resources or related field; one year experience supervising members of management; 18 months retail multi-unit experience; and Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field.

Director of Strategy and Talent Transportation

This job requires that you cultivate an environment where associates esteem and adhere to company policies and standards of ethics and integrity.

The position also requires that you develop and drive strategies for culture transportation and the advancement of capabilities for the engineering and delivery teams of the company.

You are to also develop and implement strategies to attract and maintain a highly skilled and engaged workforce, develop and leverage internal and external partnerships and networks to maximize the achievement of business goals, and oversea and drive change management programs to support new ways of working.

Minimum qualifications for this job include two years supervisory experience; and Bachelor of Science and seven years’ technical program management experience or eleven years’ technical program management experience.

If you are interested in applying for this position, here is the link to follow. Click here to apply.

Freight Handler

This position requires that you complete work assignments and priorities; comply with company policies, procedures, and standards of integrity and ethics; ensure efficiency of freight processing; ensure freight quality and integrity; maintain a safe work environment; manage freight and perform assigned duties.

There are many other available positions at Wal-Mart which I cannot list all of them here, but these ones explained are enough to enlighten your knowledge.

Wal-Mart Training and Development Programs

Wal-Mart provides effective training and development to its employees by on “first come first served” basis. Training is designed for associates, and customers’ experience and analysis are major determinant of training needs in Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart identifies training needs to cover changing behavior of customers in an effective way. In contemporary environment, the effective training needs analysis assists for sustaining competitive advantage.

Training Methods used by Wal-Mart

There are both on-the-job and off-the-job training methods in Wal-Mart’s organizational system. Wal-Mart uses rotating of jobs as on-the-job training by rotation of management trainees through 3 or more departments of the store such as HR, credit, customer service, etc. during the first two years of the job.

Wal-Mart on-the-job training also optimizes mentoring from existing leaders through which organizational leaders such as regional vice presidents, district managers, store managers, etc. share their skills, knowledge and experience with new workers.

Wal-Mart uses online or web-based training, schooling or institutes and classroom training etc., as an off-the-job training method, to improve knowledge, skills, and a capability of individuals that assist to increase organizational efficiency.

Use of Internal and External Resources

To assist with training as internal sources, all available resources of the organization such as money, men, machines and material are used efficiently by Wal-Mart to reach on effective outcomes of training.

Wal-Mart optimizes existing leaders and their innovativeness for the purpose of training to new or existing employees.

As external resources, Wal-Mart uses guest lectures and recognition consultant to develop interpersonal communication and skills of organization employees to complete effectively in globalized era.

Training Programs for Orientation, Diversity & Harassment

As a training program for orientation, business simulation is used by Wal-Mart as beginning of orientation program in which new employees play role of customer for the purpose of identifying customers’ expectations.

Additionally, Wal-Mart also uses the Audio Store Discovery Tour to share past experiences of organization with associates. They use the CBL (Computer-based Learning) and Total Talent Management (TTM) as diversity training program to bring together the organization while operating the business in more than 2000 locations of the world.

Wal-Mart also provides Equal Employment Opportunity Training to its associates in addition. To prevent unlawful activities in the business, certain protections such as sexual harassment act, The Americans with Disability act, etc., are shared with associates.

Measurement of Training Effectiveness

The effectiveness of training program is measured by the organization; in this they measure various aspects of individuals who are trained.

The organization identifies the improvement in job-related skills, knowledge, etc., of individuals after the successful completion of training programs.

The organization compares employees’ previous performance with a current productivity of individuals for the evaluation of training effectiveness.

All together, it is also estimated through the improvement in interpersonal communication, analysis of improvement in customer services, the way of optimizing resources, proficiency and productivity, etc.

Unique Training Program

The Business Leadership Series (BLS) was used by Wal-Mart as a unique training program. Being used to increase leadership competencies and business knowledge of organizational officers, Business Leadership Series (BLS) is a flagship executive development program.

The Ways of Talent Development

Wal-Mart uses mentoring from existing leaders (for the purpose of talent development) to new employees that increase quality of job-related skills, knowledge, etc.

Wal-Mart uses Assistant Management Training (AMT) as the way of talent development for organizational managers that leads to provide an opportunity for career development (Store Training & Development, 2011).

This increases in quality of leadership and operational training that enhances individual talent and store proficiency, and assists to continuous learning.

Additionally, Stores of Learning are also the way of talent development that Wal-Mart uses to increase leadership qualities of managers.

Value Placement by Wal-Mart on Training & Development

On training & development, value of organizational culture in terms of customer respect and their importance in organizational success is developed by the organization.

Wal-Mart uses Business Simulation and The Audio Store Discovery Tour, etc., to enhance individual efficiency for delivering value to customers. For instance, the values for the customers’ services and honesty are placed by providing appropriate training and to relate it with the incentives.

Role of Training & Development

Training & development plays a crucial role to enhance the productivity of employees in an effective way that leads to the career development of individuals.

This assists to retain talents due to increase in their organizational practices and satisfaction level. At a similar time, it also helps to add to organizational efficiency that leads to increases in market expansion and customer base. The effectual training system and organizational trade name value assist to attract talents well.

Wal-Mart Student Internship Program and Recruitment Process

Wal-Mart has a good internship program that prepares students for success. If you want to improve your chances of landing a full-time job at Wal-Mart after graduation, then you should land an internship at the company first.

Internships are offered in every aspect of business by Wal-Mart, and they afford interns the opportunity to work on projects that provide valuable hands-on experience and learn from experienced professionals.

Wal-Mart’s Corporate Internship Program

Students on this internship program are provided with an opportunity to gain the practical skills they will need to be successful once they move from the academic classroom to the real world.

Interns will be given a clear view of what it’s like working in a retail environment in a very faced-paced retail organization. Wal-Mart’s internship takes education and success very seriously; and they even assist students with resume writing.

Wal-Mart, which doesn’t stop at retail, offers resume samples for journalists and nurses on its website.

Undergraduate intern opportunities

In time past, interns have been involved in researching consumer behavior, redesigning the website, and working with development teams to create new products and programs.

Undergraduate intern opportunities differ each year but include Sam’s Club (corporate), Supply Chain and Transportation, Merchandising, Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, Product Development and Replenishment.

Qualifications

Qualifications include minimum 3.0 GPA required, completion of degree but still need to do an internship prior to receiving a diploma, and applicants must currently be in their junior or senior year of college.

Wal-Mart’s Leadership Internship Program

This is an advanced and a full-time internship program designed for students currently enrolled full-time in an advanced degree program.

Leadership interns, during their time with Wal-Mart, are required to take on a leadership role in one of the major divisions of the organization. They are also expected to complete a high-level project that is based on the specific department’s current needs.

Interns present their project to senior leaders and a panel of executives for review after completion of program.

Leadership intern opportunities vary each year but include Finance, Real estate, Marketing, Sustainability, Energy, Transportation, Merchandising, Supply chain management, Operations, and Information systems.

Minimum qualifications for the leadership internship program

Minimum qualifications for the leadership internship program demands that Applicants must be currently enrolled in an MBA, Masters or Doctoral program, and must have a minimum of 3-5 years significant work experience.

Internships at Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club Internships include Marketing, Finance, E-commerce, and Operations and Logistics.

The Emerging Leaders Internship Program

Taking leadership a step further, Wal-Mart also sponsors an Emerging Leaders Internship Program whose purpose is to create positive change in Washington, DC, and in their local communities.

This Internship Program is a paid opportunity that lasts for one semester. The participants of the program work on Capitol Hill, in federal agencies, and for non-profit organizations.

Graduates of the program, upon completion, bring back to their community what they learned about politics and the public policy-making process after learning what it takes to pass legislation, how to create public policy, and how to create alliances.

Qualifications for Emerging Leadership program

Before you can participate in this Internship Program, you must show a concern in governance, the policy-making process, and public service.

You must be a citizen of US or permitted to work in the US before you can participate; you must currently be enrolled in college full-time.

You must demonstrate an interest in public service, governance, and the policy-making process.

Criteria to be an Emerging Leader

Emerging leaders must have a solid scholastic achievement; emerging leaders must have strong skills; emerging leaders must have completed some community service projects; and emerging leaders must have evidence of leadership skills.

Pharmacy Internships

Wal-Mart internships can be a great place to start an internship if you are preparing to become a pharmacist.

Interns learn about leadership and management upon joining Wal-Mart to help prepare for their future to become a pharmacist.

Pharmacy internships are based on each student’s level of education, and internships are available for first, second, third, and fourth-year students. All pharmacy interns can apply online.

You can also visit Wal-Mart (http://www.facebook.com/walmartcareers) and Sam’s Club (http://www.facebook.com/samsclub) on Facebook.

Wal-Mart Corporate Culture and Values

Sam Walton developed principles that Wal-Mart was founded on. Hard-working and friendly associates carry out these principles to create an exceptional corporate culture that is essential to the competitive edge of Wal-Mart.

There are four basic beliefs that guide Wal-Mart; these include service to the customer, respect for the individual, strive for excellence, and act with integrity.

Four Basic Beliefs

Service to the Customer

Wal-Mart associates are urged to serve customers by making those customers their primary priority. When they see the customer as the boss, they’ll be able to serve them well. Shopping at Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB is made a friendly, pleasant experience.

When associates greet each person they meet, they are practicing the “Ten-Foot Attitude”. Customers are fully confident of Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB’s merchandise and quality because of the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” refund and exchange policy.

Customers are to support Wal-Mart’s associates to make shopping easy-going. Wal-Mart gives to the local community in ways that connect to their customers.

Respect for the individual

Wal-Mart respects the opinion of every associate, values and recognizes the contributions of each associate.

New associates who cannot realize their potential are helped through training, praise and constructive feedback by managers who are considered “servant leaders” in the company.

Wal-Mart communicates well and listens to all associates, even shares information and ideas. Associates can raise questions and concerns in an open atmosphere as the company’s “open door” management philosophy.

Strive for Excellence

Wal-Mart has the culture of innovating by trying new ways of doing things and improving every day. The company models a positive example as they pursue high expectations. They also work as a team by helping each other and asking for help.

Associates of Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB show an exceptional commitment to customer satisfaction. Store associates gather for the Wal-Mart or SAM’S CLUB cheer and review sales from the previous day, as well as discuss their daily goals at the start of each day.

A continual sense of urgency, with questions asked in the morning answered before the end of the day, is part of the “The Sundown Rule”.

Act with Integrity

Wal-Mart believes that all its associates should be honest by telling the truth and keeping their word.

Wal-Mart is fair and open when dealing with associates, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Wal-Mart and its associates are objective by making decisions based solely on Wal-Mart’s interests, while operating in compliance with all laws and the company’s policies

Job Application – How to Start a Career with Company (the Hiring Process)

If you are interested in working at Wal-Mart, depending on the category of job you are applying for, you may be required to fill out a job application, either online or in-person, and take a career assessment test to determine your suitability for employment at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart Job Application and Pre-Employment Assessment Test

You can apply for jobs at a Hiring Kiosk in a Wal-Mart store or apply online at Wal-Mart’s Hiring Center. Applications for Wal-Mart jobs are accepted in both English and Spanish.

When you apply for a job at Wal-Mart, you will need to first respond to Wal-Mart’s employment statements, including agreeing to a background check, a drug screening, and acknowledging that misrepresentation or omission of any information will result in your disqualification from consideration for employment or if employed, your removal from office.

To create an applicant account, you have two options: either you create a new account or log in to an existing account, if you have one.

Be prepared with your social security number, if you are creating a new account.

Complete the Wal-Mart Job Application

You can be asked whether or not you can prove your eligibility to work in the United States or a citizen of U.S.

You can withhold the information of choosing to volunteer your gender or ethnic group, or, you can choose to provide the information.

You need to choose if you want to work for Wal-Mart distribution and transportation, a Wal-Mart retail store, or Sam’s Club. You will have to select the city you’d like to work in, and choose a store or facility you’re interested in.

Contact information such as name, address, phone number and email address need to be provided. Your scheduling availability is to be filled out, and then you need to provide two references.

Complete your employment history which includes employers, dates worked, (- up to ten years ago), then provide your qualifications, such as if you have any special skills or if you are bilingual.

Wal-Mart Employment Questionnaire

You will fill out a questionnaire in which you are asked to provide your age, and if you have ever been convicted of theft, fraud, a felony, or a violent crime.

Questions about whether you’re available to work evenings and weekends, work the night shift, work full-time, part-time, or on a temporary basis, need to be answered.

You will have to answer the question of the highest level of education you have completed. You would accept for the job the lowest amount of money if you’re a student.

You can be asked about your past employment experience, if they can contact your past employers, when you can start working, along with answering questions that will determine if you are eligible to receive federal tax credits.

Wal-Mart Pre-Employment Assessment Test

Sixty-five questions are there in the retail Wal-Mart assessment test. They are:

Section One

You have six multiple choice questions to answer about customer and employee relations. This is to ascertain whether you are capable of taking a path that can help take care of conflicts that you might experience working in a Wal-Mart store.

Good example of this includes questions that say, “How would you deal with customer complaints, angry customers, and conflict with coworkers.

Each of the questions asks an imaginary situation. How to deal with that kind of question is to choose the option which is most similar to how you would deal with the situation.

Section two

You will answer questions about work-related situations, and to grade the efficiency of various responses to problems.

For instance, you’ll be asked if you think it is somewhat ineffective, very ineffective, or neither effective nor ineffective to ask your supervisor to schedule you to work with someone else in a situation that warrants working with an employee you don’t like.

In addition, you will be asked questions about how much you agree or disagree with self-analysis questions about your work ethic, personal decisions, your behaviors, and moral issues.

You need to rate how much you agree or disagree with questions such as “I feel I am an expert in what I do at work” or “I complete my tasks at work successfully”.

Section Three

In this section you need to answer questions about how much you agree or disagree with self-analysis questions about your personal decisions, work ethic, your behaviors, and moral issues. You will need to answer the question by selecting somewhat disagree, strong disagree, somewhat agree, strongly agree, or neither.

Section Four

In this section, you will have to answer questions about your experience in previous jobs such as your quality standards, your attention to detail, if you would sacrifice quality, etc.

Benefits and Compensation for Working with Wal-Mart

As a mission that serves as the foundation for every decision made, Wal-Mart helps its associates to save money so they can live better.

You will play, as a Wal-Mart associate, an important role in shaping the future of retail, tech, merchandising, finance and hundreds of other industries—all while affecting the lives of millions of customers all over the world.

Because of the numerous benefits that Wal-Mart offers to its associates, your work makes an impact every day.

Here is a list of benefits that Wal-Mart offers to its associates and their families:

Multiple health plan options
Financial benefits such as 401(k), stock purchase plans and more
Associate discounts in-store and online
Education assistance for Associate and dependents
Dental & vision plans for workers & dependents

Work/Life Balance at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart rates its work/life balance a B, and 2250 employees put it in the Top 25% of similar size companies in the US.

Fifty-One percent of Wal-Mart employees are satisfied with their work life balance while fifty-one percent feel they are burnt out.

Wal-Mart has a well proportioned work life balance necessary to keep employees happy and productive.

Eight percent of employees at Wal-Mart have a very long day – longer than twelve hours, while about seventy-two percent of them work eight hours or less. The Majority of Wal-Mart employees are satisfied with their work life balance and feel burnt out.

Generally, employees in the Legal department and employees in the Executive department think there is room for improvement whereas employees in the HR department and employees in the Customer Support department believe they have good work/life balance.

Conclusion

Wal-Mart is a great company with wonderful and nice people to work with. You may consider finding a career there because of the flexibility of the job.

In this post, you will find the information to learn about jobs, employment, and career at Wal-Mart.

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