The Top 10 Most Important Duties of a Warehouse Associate
January 26, 2021 | Career Blog
Warehouse associates play vital roles in ensuring that all processes and systems are being carried out efficiently in the workplace. Warehouses store raw materials or manufactured products before they are shipped off to be sold, and it’s up to the associates to maintain, organize, and move those items.
The duties of a warehouse associate depend on the size of the warehouse, and sometimes extra duties may be assigned to you. This is a great entry-level position to get your foot into the door of the warehouse industry, and only requires a high school diploma, organizational skills, and enough physical stamina to do a little bit of lifting. Keep reading for the top 10 most important duties of a warehouse associate and a few more interesting facts about landing and working this job.
The Basics: Warehouse Associate Duties
A warehouse associate’s job description is pretty straightforward. If you are hired for this type of position, you will be responsible for an array of duties such as receiving and processing incoming materials and the organization of the items kept in stock. The most important duties that you will carry out on a daily basis include:
1. Welcoming delivery trucks and receiving shipments.
2. Ensuring all fragile merchandise is properly labeled and handled with care.
3. Tracking and documenting the arrival of the shipment and departure times.
4. Tagging and labeling merchandise for organizational and tracking purposes.
5. Stockpiling merchandise according to size, shape, and type.
6. Following specified industry procedures and standards to pack up merchandise for safe shipping.
7. Recording and organizing any damaged goods.
8. Preparing all orders to be placed for shipment.
9. Operating all equipment used for handling and organizing materials (for example: pallets and forklifts).
10. Entering inventory data and logistics into the company’s software programs.
Preparing for a Warehouse Associate Interview
As mentioned above, this is an entry-level position, so don’t feel self-conscious if you don’t have any prior experience. Some employers may look for that, but many companies will provide on-the-job training. What’s most important is that you’re motivated and are confident that your skills align with the position. Employers generally prefer that you have a high school diploma or something equivalent. The skills they look for are:
- Communication: working well with others and keeping those around you informed about important information pertaining to the job.
- Organization: prioritization of keeping everything clean and orderly and labeling things correctly
- Time Management: working with urgency and not wasting time, being able to multi-task, respecting others’ time, and understanding how breaks work.
- Reliability: consistently showing up to work on time when scheduled, and not calling out of work without a reasonable explanation.
- Physically agile: the ability to lift heavy objects without worry or complaint.
Associates are often asked to lift objects and move them around, so you may also be asked to climb ladders and scaffolding.
For your interview, keep all of these things in mind as you prepare to put your best foot forward. Consider how you have used these skills in the past and how you can discuss that in your conversation with the interviewer. Bring a copy of your resume with you, and make sure that you have included anything on there that displays that you would be a good fit for the job.
A great way to prepare for your conversation with the interviewer is to assemble a list of questions they may ask and write down what your answers would be. Even if they don’t ask those exact questions, doing this will still give you enough to bring to the table in regards to the position. Some questions often asked in interviews for this type of job are:
- Why do you want this job?
- What experience do you have that has prepared you for a position like this?
- Are you currently working, and why are you leaving that job?
- Describe a difficult situation you had to deal with while working in the past.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Can you describe an example of when you have had to multi-task?
- Do you have any physical restrictions?
- When can you start?
We Know Where the Warehouse Associate Jobs Are!
Need help finding a warehouse associate position? We work with many warehouse clients that are looking for people like you to apply! Even better, we can help you work on your resume and prepare for your interview so you are ready and confident when we work toward placing you in the company.
A warehouse associate is one of the many types of warehouse positions hiring right now. Reach out to us today for more information on how we can help you land a warehouse associate position.