Placement Year Review at Lidl

The Role

Role Description

The placement mainly focussed on learning and working in Store Operations. During the scheme you worked up from Store Assistant to District Manager responsibilities. However there was the opportunity to work in Warehousing and Distribution, Property and Construction.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I had an amazing 48 weeks! They were certainly challenging, but the knowledge and skills I acquired were priceless.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Some people were very helpful, interested and keen to help you develop. Some were not quite as enthusiastic to have you. Nonetheless those were good outweighed those who were not.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

A training plan was used and there were regular appraisals and a weekly report to complete. If there was a problem there was always someone to ask for help.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

On a normal day i would work 11 hours and take an hours lunch break. Although this sounds quite long the time would fly by because of the activities being completed and great team morale.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

By the end of the placement I was shadowing a District Manager and sharing their responsibilities. These involved recruitment and training, cash audits, store refits, disciplinaries, assessing store operations for upto four stores.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I acquired genuine leadership/management skill, team work, communication, time management, problem solving and commercial accumen from being on Lidl's Placement.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Due to the type of placement i never worked in an office, i was always in a store. However the atmosphere was excellent. The people i encountered in Head Office was very helpful and supportive throughout the placement

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Very well set up, the real unique area of this placement was every 12 weeks you could choose to learn a different area of retail management. For example you could learn the role of stores, then work as a supervisor in the distribution centres and end by working on the site acquisitions team.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The company spent alot of money on training you. There regular training days and appraisals. Also Lidl paid for me to take an Alcohol Licensing Exam.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

• Flexi Time
• National Travel
• Working from home

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

There were several other placement students and training days allowed us to meet up and talk about the placement and see what each other was doing.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 0/10

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

If you want some genuines experience in Retail and Management this placement will give you it. It is no way a walk in the park but completing it will mean you have learnt how to work with people and manage them and how to drive an international organisation forward.

Review 10/24 for Lidl

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