Job Description Blog

Think of the last job you had. How much did the job description influence your decision to apply for the position?

The last job I had was as a night stocker at Safeway this last summer. It acted as a way to provide some income between school quarters, and my brother was also working there at the time as well. As far as the job description was concerned, it seemed fairly vague to me at the time and forced me to do some research on the position to become satisfied that I knew what the job would entail. The fact that it lacked much detail would have likely pushed me away from applying normally, but the fact that my brother was already at the store made me overlook the less than stellar job description that was provided.

How closely did your experience on the job match the job description? In what ways was it similar and in what ways was it different?

My experience as a night stocker was, overall, mostly in alignment with the job description. While the posting may not have been very thorough, the reality of a store stocking job is usually pretty straightforward and does not require an 8-page rundown. Stocking shelves and trying to maintain some level of orderliness was consistent between the job description and the actual job. The biggest difference involved how much time you spend dealing with freight before you even begin trying to to put anything on the shelves. Additionally, it was very common for people on the night crew to be taken from their spot and placed in another position when there was someone missing. The unfortunate result of this was that the already understaffed night shift crew became even more understaffed as it was often getting people taken off of it. Suffice it to say that it was not mentioned in the original job description that you would be shuffled off to other areas whenever someone called in unexpectedly.

Here is a link to a job description for the position mentioned above. It may not be the exact same, in particular this post mentions being a cashier occasionally, but it should be similar: https://www.snagajob.com/jobs/834275952?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic