Placement Student Review

"There's tough, and then there's Aldi Tough". A great reflection from the placement and graduate brochures I picked up. However, the enjoyment, and amount learned throughout the year, makes the tougher days well worth while. Massively. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Aldi. It really is a retailer like no other. Having had experience at another retailer that. I hope to come back and start my career with Aldi having finished my degree in a years time.

Extremely valued. It is a very tight knit group, and the way the business communication works relies on a very 'family orientated feel. My mentor has had a big impact on this, but at the same time, every person in the company I came across was welcoming and happy to help in any way possible. You never felt like you couldn't ask a question which has enabled me to grow more as an individual as well as gain a better knowledge and understanding of the company.

I was given a lot of support by my Aldi mentor. From day one he was approachable, and there to offer guidance throughout. The hardest part of this was the standards set from the start - and maintaining this throughout which was a challenge but has helped me improve. This standard was in all areas from general work, to even the way I present myself.

Very. We were warned. There's tough, and then there's Aldi Tough. I think its a great line, but the year was far more enjoyable than tough. The people you meet, the exposure you get for someone of a young age and the responsibility that you get during the year is second to none. Being able to juggle this with life outside of work was tough - but manageable. It's about making the most of your days off.

Vast amounts. From organising events, to doing projects and presentations. This list is endless. You are trusted with everything to do with the business, from running a store as a cover to learning how to do the AM role and cover up to 4 stores. It was a fast, but fascinating learning experience, and the levels of responsibilities given will enable to me go back to university with a greater understanding of the real business world and has given me an insight into a career path that I would like to pursue

One of the main things ill take from the year is the ALDI work ethic. It is great to be part of a team that all share the same values of hard work. It passes on to you, and you just want to do more. Learning this, and gathering that experience will allow me to go back to University with a far superior work ethic and enable me to improve the time I used to study more efficiently and effectively which in turn will allow me to make the most of my free time away from my studies to enjoy things away from a job and studying.

Fantastic. In store it can be a lot less active due to the amount of staff members in the office at one time. But during the time at Head office the atmosphere was great. Everyone always was busy and getting the work done - but the environment was friendly welcoming and a pleasure to be a part of. Everyone cared about other peoples views, life outside of work and so on. You could literally go and ask anyone a question with regards to work and get the answer you needed.

From day one we were given a plan of the year. Yes all be it plans changed, but never without warning and never without a reason. At the end of the day its a very fast paced company and you have to be able to adapt to multiple situations in reality. There were regular updates and feedback with both direct leader, and personnel leader ensuring that you always new where you stood in terms of performance.

They invested a lot of time into my training. Each area of the business that I went to I was given a thorough introduction and training into all areas I needed to know. Anything extra that I asked, or was interested about - my mentors were happy to take the time to show me what I had asked about. This made me feel like a real part of the team and that they would like me to come back in the future.

At this moment in time I am just waiting to hear about whether they would like me to come back. I would love to, and the prospects, but the opportunities are endless. Many a placement student has gone through the company in the past, to Area manager, directors and secondments, and sometimes even further. It is a company I could see myself being a part of for many years to come, and enjoying.

There were 7 of us on the placement year. However the first 6 months we are all based in our own stores and are spread out across the region. This makes it tough to organise similar days off. We were able to more often and H/O working 50 hours a week it sometimes was a squeeze, but the effort could be made.

The cost of living did not affect me as I lived at home. The travelling was a long way for H/O and socialising was not a problem living in an area I had for most of my life. However with a lot of friends being at Uni still some times through the year were very quiet and there were not a lot of opportunities for me outside of work to make the most of time off.

Rubbish. There is not a lot to do back at home. Liverpool and Manchester are within travelling distance, but on a placement year this is not the idea anyway, so I feel like this is an irrelevant question. If I was living in halls it may be more relevant but for me, its not been a factor of my year in industry.

Just the usual things I do whilst at home. I am local to the area, and so was able to continue with football, golf, etc... that I already played in when living at home. once again I believe this question should be done for people who are living away from home.