Working for Aldi
Discussion
Hi,
Am going to be graduating soon and have been looking at the Aldi Graduate Area Manager Training Program. The scheme means I can progress quickly into the eschelons of upper management and even as a trainee the benefits are very attractive; 38k and a fully expensed Audi A4.
Anyone have any experience of working for them, or indeed this scheme?
Ben
Am going to be graduating soon and have been looking at the Aldi Graduate Area Manager Training Program. The scheme means I can progress quickly into the eschelons of upper management and even as a trainee the benefits are very attractive; 38k and a fully expensed Audi A4.
Anyone have any experience of working for them, or indeed this scheme?
Ben
zoidberg said:
38k as a trainee graduate?
Apparently so! Rising to 54k after 2 years training.
I guessed the work would be very hard, but to be honest as a stepping stone to the higher management roles it sounds excellent. Even if it is just as a stepping stone in order to gain experience in order to work for a more "prestigious" company.
DieselJohn said:
Why work for Aldi and get an Audi when you can work for Argos and get a Marcos?
Taxi!
or even ... work for ASDA, and get a Mazda...
ok seriously, it sounds too good to be true.
have you asked them how many (%-wise) make it to higher management, and how long does it take?
i can't believe they are paying investment-banking level starting salaries for the hell of it.
even in banking, after your 2 years up, they can move you into a less-than-glamourous role or show you the door - and i'd imagine in Aldi this could mean arranging baked bean cans.
>> Edited by fido on Wednesday 26th April 16:53
This is the same company that offered twice the hourly rate of other supermarkets to its check out staff but then only paid them the rate when they were on the tills. The rest of the time was spent not being paid waiting for tills to open..... 38k for a new graduate? Looking at some of the graduates I teach every day I wouldn't pay the buggers in washers!!!!
loafer said:
I looked into this but i got the impression that you be travelling loads and they will relocate you without warning anywhere in the UK.
I looked in to this a few years ago...they pay well but they work you very hard indeed and you must show 'dedication' to the company...I figured if I was going to have to work that hard I may as well look about for one that pays even better...
having said that, I was still tempted to go for it as it's bound to be interesting work, and you get to relocate frequently which is right up my street..
chair, you Aldi have always paid high, even their Store Assistants are on £7.40 - £8.70 per hour plus Lodon Weighting where appropriate.
With regards to their graduate management scheme I understand you do 6 months in store as a local store manager and then at least 1.5 years as an area manager. Probably not much different to any sales Zone manager type role. Serious hours, serious driving, lots of responsibility, lots of stress, lots of opporunity to get it wrong, but get it right and see your salary and employability go upwards.
Salary for obvious reasons, but if you can have a proven track record of success in that kind of environment you could probably sell snow to eskimos and so be attractive to future employers.
I suspect that your "Zone" will be large however and that also you would be corporate property and therefore should expect to relocate. Not ideal if you've got a partner/wife etc but for a free and single, hard working ambitious person...
I looked at it when I was a student and didn't fancy the unpredictability due to my girlfriend, although I do still look at that package and think, hmmmm......!
Phil
With regards to their graduate management scheme I understand you do 6 months in store as a local store manager and then at least 1.5 years as an area manager. Probably not much different to any sales Zone manager type role. Serious hours, serious driving, lots of responsibility, lots of stress, lots of opporunity to get it wrong, but get it right and see your salary and employability go upwards.
Salary for obvious reasons, but if you can have a proven track record of success in that kind of environment you could probably sell snow to eskimos and so be attractive to future employers.
I suspect that your "Zone" will be large however and that also you would be corporate property and therefore should expect to relocate. Not ideal if you've got a partner/wife etc but for a free and single, hard working ambitious person...
I looked at it when I was a student and didn't fancy the unpredictability due to my girlfriend, although I do still look at that package and think, hmmmm......!
Phil
Don't listen to these doom mongers. Look at it as a challenge and go for it. If you have the attitude that you want to learn about customer service, product placement, people management, problem solving, P&L, etc... this could be a great opportunity. In, say, five years you could have the skills and experience to start and run your own business. And in fifteen years you could sell the company and retire in Monaco. Following which, you'll say to yourself - I wonder what happened to those miserable gits who tried to talk me out of taking a job which required an honest days work for a good reward!
OK, so time to join the doom-mongers I'm afraid!
I've met a number of people who have done it, hated it and got out (often into lower paid jobs), and not one who has done it, loved it and gone on to bigger and better things with Aldi. OK so it's probably not a statistically robust sample, but it's the best I've got!
They work you incredibly hard, with loads of responsibility from day one, but masses of stress and sky-high targets to hit. The comment about moving you all around the country at a moments notice is also one that I've heard several times.
Basically, if you can hack it for a couple of years it may be the start of an amazing career, and good luck to you. However, if you want any trace of the "life" bit in the good old "work-life balance" then think very carefully....
I've met a number of people who have done it, hated it and got out (often into lower paid jobs), and not one who has done it, loved it and gone on to bigger and better things with Aldi. OK so it's probably not a statistically robust sample, but it's the best I've got!
They work you incredibly hard, with loads of responsibility from day one, but masses of stress and sky-high targets to hit. The comment about moving you all around the country at a moments notice is also one that I've heard several times.
Basically, if you can hack it for a couple of years it may be the start of an amazing career, and good luck to you. However, if you want any trace of the "life" bit in the good old "work-life balance" then think very carefully....
DieselJohn said:
Why work for Aldi and get an Audi when you can work for Argos and get a Marcos?
Taxi!
or even ... work for ASDA, and get a Mazda...
Damn, I knew there must be a better one than Argos/Marcos.
Can you include working for Focus and getting a Focus.
It was worth a try.
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