General Management Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my year on placement - Aldi are a great company to work for. You get loads of responsibility from the start and really get the chance to prove yourself. The work is varied and involves completing 7 months in store and then 5 months in head office.

Working in store gives you the opportunity to become part of a team which is very enjoyable. In head office you complete projects on various business functions such as operations and logistics and the solution/ideas you think of can actually be implemented into the business - so you really do have an impact!

At Aldi you gain regular feedback from various managers such as store manager, area managers and directors. They all want you to succeed and so always provide development points and areas for improvement to ensure you are continually developing your skill set. Leadership is a key skill that they help you to develop.

The placement comprises of a 50hr week contract so you are always busy. Working in store is extremely mentally and physically challenging and you are always busy working stock, serving customers on the till or completing management tasks such as being the designated safe holder or ordering stock for the store.

Aldi allow you to take on vast amounts of responsibility from the start. This involves tasks such as opening/closing the store, ordering stock, running the shifts and rota planning. You also spend weeks with your area manager mentor and complete tasks on their behalf such as interviews, safe audits and store audits.

The placement has allowed me to develop a number of skills that have aided my personal development. Working in store allowed me to develop my team work, time management and leadership skills whilst working in head office increased my commercial awareness. I will be much more productive in the time I studying at university this year.

The atmosphere in head office is very corporate and you must remember this at all times. The work tends to be computer based and involves a lot of data analysis. All the people in head office are very friendly and are happy to help with any information you may need.

The placement was well organised in terms of updates with senior management. Store time was planned thoroughly alongside weeks with area managers throughout the year. In head office we were left to our own devices and were allowed to complete the projects set with minimal supervision. This was good as it allowed us to take responsibility for our work.

All members of management were invested in our training. Time was spent getting us up to speed with processes and then we were given responsibility to run the store ourselves which was fantastic to experience. Regular updates were planned into the schedule to allow discussion of future development.

Very appealing. Aldi are a great company to work for and invest a lot of time in training and developing their employees. There is the opportunity for progression within the business and the work is exciting. It is great to work with like-minded people and people who encourage you to achieve your best results.

Yes. In store this is slightly harder as everyone on the placement is working in different Aldi stores and are working different days of the week. However, once we got to head office the social side really improved. There are 5 of us on the placement and we all get along really well and enjoy socialising together.

I lived at home so there was not a cost of living.

I worked just 30 minutes from home so the nightlife was the same as usual.

A few. Aldi are in partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust and so there are lots of activities to get involved in to raise money for this charity. Myself and the other people on the placement scheme are completing a 10k water wipeout challenge outside of work to raise money for this charity.