A thorough process with several stages. To be successful requires a lot of research and a good understanding of the business. The first stage includes a lengthy application and a personality test. The verbal & reasoning test is done via Saville where they do have practice questions on their website BUT they are considerably easier than the actual questions. For example, the passages you read in the actual questions are much longer than the practice questions. My best advice is to use these and other sites to get an idea of what to expect and practice under time constraints! I remember only having 2-3 minutes to answer 5-6 hard questions so you are very pushed for time. Next is the Video Interview which comprises of 6-8 competency-based questions. These questions will pop up on the screen where you'll have roughly 10 seconds to read and prepare your answer and then you'll have either 30 or 60 seconds to record your answer. You cannot re-record so practice this prior to your video interview. Questions for me included: - Briefly introduce yourself, where you live, what you do, where you studied etc - Why do you want to be an area manager for Aldi - Tell me about a time you had to be a leader, what was the outcome - What do you think will be the biggest challenge you'll have to overcome as an area manager and how will you overcome this - Explain a situation where you set yourself high standards and how did you achieve this Next, you'll be invited to an assessment centre. I put A LOT of time into this, so I recommend doing the same. It's split into 2 parts, the individual presentation, and the group assessment. You are required to do a "store walk" at your local Aldi store and make observations of the store ready to present back to the group on your findings. However, the topic you present on will be given to you on the day so I would prepare for all possible topics. Researching the company, how it operates, its values (simplicity, consistency, responsibility), etc will massively help you with this. The presentation is only 3 minutes so again practice within this time frame because you WILL be cut off at 3 minutes by the assessor. The topics that came up on the day include: - product branding - Aldi's value of consistency - marketing & PR - specialbuys - people at Aldi You will also be asked a follow-up question on your topic, for example, my presentation was on product branding and the question asked afterwards was "do you think it's unfair that Aldi copy brands that have spent years and lots of money creating a product, especially those who are smaller?". The 2nd part of the assessment is the group task. You are given 10 minutes to read through a few documents, for me, this included a brief from a director to the store managers of using an external training provider to help with everyone's time management. You were then given 4-5 training provider information sheets and needed to pick the most appropriate one that fits in with the director's criteria e.g. value for money, time taken to complete training, good company fit etc. I personally felt there was a lot to read through in just 10 minutes so I would practice going through detailed documents and picking out key information. You then had 1 minute each to present the provider you've chosen and why. You then had 20 minutes with the group to discuss which one you would collectively choose and prepare a 2 minute presentation back as to why. I worked collaboratively with my group, I didn't feel there was any intentional talking over one another or hostility. I know you want to be heard so make sure you get your points across but use it as an opportunity to work together cohesively and demonstrate how you would be a good leader. This an opportunity to show your confidence, and voice your opinion, so don't sit back but get involved and enjoy the discussion together. (P.s. well done if you've got this far, I found this stage the hardest part of the entire process!) The final stage (really well done if you're here!) will be a final interview with the MD. This is a great opportunity to meet someone so high up in the business and for them to get to know you. The best advice I can give for this stage is to be yourself, be confident in your answers (they're looking for people who know what they want) and show them how hard-working and ambitious you are. Questions included, tell me about yourself, why do you want to work for Aldi, have you applied anywhere else, what motivates you etc. He delved into my previous experience including why I went into my previous role, why I left, why didn't I apply for the grad scheme at Aldi straight away. Other interesting questions included, what's the most complex thing you've ever had to understand, what's the toughest decision you've ever had to make. As I said, be yourself and show them what you can bring to the company that's different from the other graduates! Best of luck!