LIDL THIRD STAGE INTERVIEW - HELP

Hi Robert. I've been looking for the phone number for Lidl for a very long time (not the general number, the HR number). Can you help me at all? Thank you so much if you can.
E.

Sorry, I don't have their HR number, just my local Lidl distribution centre. My first contact with Lidl was by email to their HR department wwhich can be found on their website under careers

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-EA9A02DF-11142F48/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/4193_7048.htm
their email is on this link and also the job spec for the vacancy which I applied

Thanks Robert. That's appreciated but I really need the telephone number or the name of someone in HR/graduate recruitment. Thanks mate.
E.

I don't think they wish to give it out - when they call me the number is blocked, and alsotheir emails to me tdo not contain any contact info. Anyone have a reply to my original question?

Hi Robert,

I was lead to believe there was one last stage after the group presentation too and can't find anything online about a third stage. Were there any tricky questions that the district manager asked you that you can share? What was the task like? good luck in the final stage- if it is the final stage!

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Robert, for some reason it's not letting me read your reply? Anyway, my experience so far is as follows: sent CV and covering letter. Within a week was invited to a group presentation. It lasted around three hours and consisted of a short dvd about the company, a full explanation of what the company is about and the chance for applicants to ask lots of questions. There would have been a short (5-10 min) 1-to-1 interview too but as there were around 15 people in the room they didnt bother. They handed out a maths test which was about 20 mins (no calculator but had scrap paper- just revise long multiplication and division). Was invited to a second interview by letter a few days later. This consisted of a 1-to-1 interview in a lidl store with both the district manager and the store manager present. The questions weren't hard- what do you know about company, why are you good for the job etc. Also had a quick tour round the store and did some shelving for about 45 mins. My advise to anyone in the interviews is to relax- its really not bad at all; think of it as your chance to show them what your made of! Anyway, they will let me know within 2 weeks if I'm through to the last interview with a sales operation manager (which, like Robert, I didn't know about till the end of my second interview). Hope this has been of some use to people trying to find some tips ! Robert let me know how the third stage goes mate!

Third stage was more or less a recap of the second interview. Lasted only 20 mins, then received a job offer today. Not for grad store manager though but rather dep store manager which pays £3k less - bit dissapointed really! Clearly should have sold myself more...

Well done for getting an offer anyway. And good luck if you go for it! I've been invited to a final interview scheduled for an hour with a sales op manager. Just out of interest have you been in management or retail before? Just wondering whether their offer was based on lack of experience or what. Seems a bit of a let down to offer you a job you didn't apply for.

hey, i had been invited for an interview with the sales operation manager which consisted of a group interview and a maths test a verbal test and a one on one interview. There were only six of us but they were all men that was alot older than me and all seemed to have alot of management experience, where as i have just come out of university. I recieved a phone call the same day inviting me to a second interview which the sales operation manager said was the final interview so im abit confused becuase you all seemed to have a third interview. However The district manager called me an said it was the second interview and it was a work trial at a local lidl store but that is all he said. As some of you have already been through this stage would you be able to tell me what its like? and what kind of questions they ask please?, and robert said something about a task, what kind of task did you have to do? thankyou. Congrads on the job offer robert!! x

Hi,
first stage is the group interview. Some people have a one on one at this stage, but sometimes if the group is large, there is no one to one interview. Second Stage is in Store, which will involve putting out delivery, stacking shelves, and then an interview with the district manager. He or She may also give you a task to do, which in my case was going around the store and picking up on pros and cons around the store. Third stage was an informal chat with the Sales operation manager going over questions already asked - more of a second opinion really. I think the decision was probably made at the second stage, and third stage is just a double check. All the best. Also, whether you have tons of experience or fresh out of uni, I don't think it make much difference with the Lidl system. You are more likely to get a graduate scheme if you are fresh out of Uni. I am now deputy manager, and have a first class BSc. Hons, however, I have been out of Uni for some time now. There was a chap on my induction day who finished Uni about a year ago, and he was offered a District Manager's position with company car - he was 5 years younger than me. So, don't be intimidated by the competition around you. Just believe in yourself. I was the only person who got through in my group of 20, and one of the people there was already a district manager for a large retailer, and he was unsuccessful.

All the best.

thanks for the info and advice about the interview robert, you have been really helpfull!! The district manager didnt ask any tricky questions on the one on one interview did he.

Best wishes

hi,
i have an interview coming up for a Deputy Store manager role soon and would like to know if anyone knows what they pay as a starting salary, i live 2 hours away from interview location and am self employed so would need to take a day off, the website used to say "market leading salary" but now says starting salary £21,000 (less than i currently earn) i asked lidl but they couldnt tell me until the interview. any help or info would be great help!

regards

John

 Hi, 

Lidal have the worst "Graduate Scheme" ever! I put Graduate scheme in inverted commons as there is no actual grad scheme they offer. I applied for a grad scheme that offered an Area Manager job with a company car offering 33,000 per year. So I thought great. I applied and got through to the first interview which were a presentation with around 20 people and a maths text (trust me not hard). I was successful and got through to the second interview which was a one to one interview where I was told I was going in for the area manager job with great opportunities such as travelling back and forth to Germany etc.. Again I was successful and was invited back for a final interview. This again was one to one but with a different person. I was told in this interview that the job consisted of stacking shelves and cleaning toilets and the job I would be offered was a store manager on 28,000. I thought id still go ahead and have a look at what the job entailed at the final interview which was at a store. I was at the store for 5am until 7. During that time I stacked shelves and had a chat with staff which was interesting. I was told at previous interviews that you can move up the lidal ranks within a couple of weeks; however this assistant store manager had been working there for 2 years. He did not have a degree so I through it would be different for myself. Ok so I went into a room with an area manager after stacking shelves for 2 hours to be told that the job was now an assistant store manager! I questioned this as there were 4 “assistant store managers” at this one little store and that seemed to be the name for all staff. The whole process was complete waste of time and after reading many wiki posts it seems that everyone who got a job at lidal regardless of area ended up being an assistant store manager. The job at lidal is falsely advertised and should not be allowed to call it a grad scheme!
Excuse the rant but just wanted everyone else not to waste their time.

Hi I applied for the Graduate Store Manager position and have a group asessment in two weeks time!!

I am a bit worried about all the negative wiki posts!! is the application process as bad as everyone says it is?? and more importantly once in the job is it also that bad?? if we do in fact get a graduate store manager position, will we have to be stacking shelves and cleaning toilets?? Is there any support, training or development plan?? Any positives other than the money?

Any mesage would be of great help!

Regards

Revs

Hi All.

Info. above has been pretty good, along with a couple of other forums. I have an assessment day next week, and the letter inviting me suggests there are group interviews and individual tests. Can anybody explain this further, as from what I have read there is not even an interview per se in the first stage, rather a presentation aimed at the candidates (as opposed to the other way round) and a maths test.

Any help would be GREAT.

Thanks.

Hi All.

Info. above has been pretty good, along with a couple of other forums. I have an assessment day next week, and the letter inviting me suggests there are group interviews and individual tests. Can anybody explain this further, as from what I have read there is not even an interview per se in the first stage, rather a presentation aimed at the candidates (as opposed to the other way round) and a maths test.

Any help would be GREAT.

Thanks.

I got onto the graduate scheme. I am not going to go into detail about it but all I want to say is that I applied to this job for the management experience, the good salary and training.

However after I experienced the non-existent "training program", depressingly repetitive days (which mean no time for yourself let alone your mates and family), and saw the way Lidl treats its staff, they could offer to pay me 60k a year and I wouldn't stay another day. (...And that's saying something because I am very money motivated, am always up for a challenge, thought I knew the field I was entering as have supervised in other supermarkets before etc...)

Hi Harry

Are you able to explain the process at the assessment day please?

I have heard similar opinions to yours, however I am very interested in the job.

Thanks in advance!

Interested in the job... or the salary? The salary is great but when I worked out what I was earning per hour it was £9.60 due to the amount of overtime they expect you to do- you can't leave the store until the job is done and when there are jobs you cant start till the store closes at 9pm it regularly means working late into the night- sometimes having to be back in store by 5.50am the next day and if they put you in a store an hour away that means leaving home at 4.50 which as you can imagine doesnt give you very long to re-charge let alone see or speak to friends and family. And thats just the surface. Is your soul really worth £9.60 an hour? One of my more experienced till staff was on nearly £8 an hour...

But to answer your question, the process seems to vary slightly depending upon which area you are in. But generally there is an initial interview with district manager with a job trial then a group interview with a presentation done by lidl, a maths test and a possible short 1 to 1 interview if they have time. Then a final interview with the sales manager. There is nothing to it - the questions are the same as any other interview all you have to do is be confident in yourself.

You will never understand what working at lidl is like until you get there - I know because I was the same, I didnt listen to people complaining about the company but if you get the job you will find out soon enough...

OK all. Having been the one to start the post, I thought I would finish it. After doing 6 months of slave labour, I decided enough was enough and have now left. It's just a shame that Lidl was not around at the time when the pyramids were built, as it would have been done a lot quicker and with fewer employees. Regret ever working for the company. If you have a family, this job's not for you!!

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Had the assessment day...was pretty relaxed so for any of you who have upcoming assessment days etc. you need not worry!

What did u have to do in the assessment day? what would the group interview involve?
and do we have to give a presentation?

Thanks

Anyone got positive comments??

Really want this job and something positive would be appreciated :-)

nyone got positive comments??

Really want this job and something positive would be appreciated :-)

@ Jenn: i know how it feels really wanting a job or a role so badly, but i think you should take the time to follow the trend of the forum regarding LIDL. i don't think the people on here will lie just so others won't be able to get the job.
I think you should apply, develop your interview skills, do your best . in the meantime you could also visit a few LIDL stores to see how things are done, see for yourself if you're really as interested as you think
if you get posiitve vibes then go for it, and all the best

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.

If you want to get more materials that related to this topic, you can visit:http://freeinterviewquestions.net/retail-sales-manager-interview-questions/"

Best regards.

I went to interview yesterday, I wish i had believed all the comments on here now - Complete waste of my day. I have emailed them the below...

To: magna.careers@lidl.co.uk
Subject: RE: GRADUATE MANAGEMENT SCHEME INTERVIEW
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 11:39:06 +0000

Dear Lidl,

Yesterday I attended a group interview which, from my application, I has believed would have been for the Graduate Management Scheme. This scheme was advertised to me via the student jobs website and I had also read about the scheme in the Times newspaper. When I visited one of your stores however the Manager said they have never heard of the scheme and that did cause me some concern.

Upon arrival it was clear to me that many people within the group were not in fact graduates. I had taken a full days annual leave to come to this interview as well as using half a tank of fuel to drive to the supposed Graduate scheme interview which it appears in all honesty was never being offered in the first place. The first question I was asked in my interview is if I would accept a deputy manager role. Which offers the same fast track learning and management shadowing at £12,000 less a year. I as then told that the Graduate Scheme had an over 80% failure rate; which makes me wonder why it is rated so highly in the Times Graduates Listing. The interviewer went on to say for the scheme you would require management experience and retail experience for a minimum of 2 years to be considered, this is completely the opposite of what all your published material advertises and boasts about being able to take graduates straight from university and be investors in developing people.

The interviewer offered me the role of deputy management role and asked if this is something I would consider. Having had time to reflect upon yesterdays experience I am contacting you to say I would not be interested in this other option and I think it is disgraceful that you attract people to your company under the guise of a fantastic graduate scheme when that offer is in fact not on the table.

I will be highlighting my experience to thebigchoice.com, who sent me the details of your graduate program. Having researched on-line forums I am now aware of several other graduates who have been ultimately disappointed in having their hopes built up from what you advertise to what is in fact offered at interview.

Hello everyone,

I have been working for lidl for two years now and have to say that I agree with all comments which were made above. The fact that it treats employees like rubbish is true.

Lidl is a different ( more demanding ) company than other companies around. If you go to Lidl and count all employees on the shop floor there and go to Sainsbury's or Tesco and do the same thing - you will see the difference. It pays slightly more than other companies to its employees (in some cases it is almost the same), but it expects from them much more. The reason why I still here is because two years ago starting package for deputy manager was much better then it is now £21K ( despite that I am looking from time to time for another job - do not see myself working here any time longer). If you divide that which hours you will be working there, you will end up making less than cashiers.

I do not want to scare anyone, but if you apply to lidl get ready to work very hard and very long hours. Do not even think of having girlfriend/boyfriend or a family (it is very common for a store manager to be single) You will have money but will not have any time to spend it. Thanks and good luck everyone.