Retail Placement Programme Student Review

During my time at Lidl I was given a lot of responsibility in all the areas I was involved. In the stores, I was trusted with the opening and closing of the store with all that involves, key handling, staff management and ensuring due diligence reports were complete in a timely manner. In all the areas I participated, I was always given my own tasks and jobs to complete without supervision.

Absolutely. Lidl is all about people, efficiency and making sure that all resources available are utilised in the most cost-effective manner is a management responsibility and so I learned to carry with such responsibilities and be able to convey this message to the staff. During my time in Warehouse Operations, I improved my planning skills, time management and gained the ability to think as a 'retailer' in areas I never had exposure before

I think I have covered this in previous questions. However, I have to say that responsibility is not something that is 'given'. Responsibility is something that needs to be earned and requested. As a future placement student, make sure that you show commitment to the opportunity given to you, and do not treat it as a Monday to Friday job. During my year with Lidl, I always showed that I wanted more responsibilities, learning something different every day and practising it until I mastered it. I think this helped massively to my development as managers of the other areas I worked in were keen to conduct more practical tasks.

From Day 1, you are given training in all aspects related to the company. The retail side of the placement comes accompanied by several workshops where extensive and up to date training is provided. Additionally, there is additional time to put into practice what you learned in those workshops, In all the areas you are going to be in, you will always have a mentor in charge to make sure that your training goes as it should be, smooth.

If you are a challenger, passionate and try to bring out your competitive self, this is a good place for you. During my time in the stores, I found myself surrounded by real grafters, people that cared for their jobs and that push themselves to do better. This helped me massively to engage with the stores in the first place and progress my training into the next stage.

After my placement year, I join as a part-timer in a store close store to my university accommodation. As you can see, I did enjoy my placement year that much that I did consider it as an opportunity to carry on during my last year of university.

Yes

Just be yourself at the interview stages, and make sure that you come across as someone that can drive his own development. During your placement, you will have to be as much independent as possible and show other managers that you are going to work with that you can trust with critical daily jobs.