Frequently Asked Questions...

Hi All!

Over the last couple of years, my Linked In network has grown from a few hundred connections to now almost 5,000. My favourite thing about this is just how many people some (not all!) of my posts reach - the most has been 100,000 views; and from that how many ex/serving military I get to help with their transition into civilian life. As you may be able to tell, I’m also extremely passionate about Aldi; whether that be the Area Manager scheme; or the many different roles available both in our stores and our warehouse and logistics teams too, so I also love answering questions about all of this, and try to give an honest and useful account of what it’s really like.

With this in mind, I thought I’d put pen to paper about some of the questions/messages I receive most often; mainly under two headings: 1) The Transition from Military to Civilian Life and 2) Working at Aldi.

Please let me know if this is in any way helpful to you, and feel free to share/tag anyone in the comments if you think it’ll help them!

The Transition from Military to Civilian Life

“I don’t know what I want to do.”

I think this thought has hit a lot of us forces leavers at one point or another. The first thing I’d say is are you sure you want to leave? I’m sure your Chain of Command will have this chat with you; but have a good think about why it is you want to leave, and what sort of jobs you would be interested in. On the flip side of that; once you know it’s time for a change, you know.

I would say my best bit of advice would be to branch out and just talk to as many people as possible out of the military. Go to networking events, recruitment days, ask your civilian friends what it’s like working where they work - everything. You’ll see a hell of a lot of things you don’t like, but you’ll also find so many interesting jobs out there, suited for you. Before I decided to leave the military, I went to networking events in the banking industry, went to a recruitment day for JP Morgan, quizzed my friends working for Amazon or in recruiting; basically everything and anything until I found the Area Manager role at Aldi, and my decision was made.

“What should I do with my resettlement period?”

The simple answer to this is: everything you possibly can do! I speak to so many people who are approaching the end of their resettlement period and haven’t used any of their allowances, and it’s a shame. There’s great support available to you; to list a few: your POC for actually signing off (in the Army usually your Squadron/Company 2IC), Resettlement Magazine, others who are actually going through resettlement, the Officers’ Association, plenty of pages and people on Linked In who specialise in Military to Civilian career transitions, there’s a workshop you automatically get loaded onto when you sign off - I can’t actually remember the name, CRE I think - anyway, this was incredibly useful. You can also think about using Enhanced and Standard learning credits - any qualification to substantiate your experience will go a long way.

“Can you give me any tips on how to use Linked In?”

Of course! I am in no way a Linked In expert, far from it, but I read an article on the Do’s and Don’ts of Linked In, and picked up a few pointers from others over the last couple of years. I would say the following are some good guidelines to follow:

• Spend time on your profile. In my opinion it should be an extended CV - explain a little bit about each job you have done (main responsibilities/achievements for example). I would also split each separate job you have done in the military and explain it - because we are so lucky to get to do so many different and unique things in the military, so talk about it! Ten two year jobs with a short description of each one looks a lot better than “British Army - 20 Years”. I read that it is also good to include every job you’ve had as it shows what your life was like before your current job, and also to include your fundraising etc; essentially, fill up your profile!
• Have a professional profile photo. Linked In is here for professionals to network and possibly hire people - so why wouldn’t you want to look your best + professional? I would seriously advise against a photo from you in Malia 2007 with your friends.
• Treat Linked In as what it is - a way to meet professionals, network, and possibly even get yourself a job. Don’t treat it as another Facebook - think, your future boss could be viewing what you post or comment on.
• Build your network. You’ll have plenty of recommended people to connect to, and I’d also recommend joining groups too (possibly of the sector you currently work in, those you are interested in etc) and connecting with people within them. I’d also say it probably wouldn’t hurt to add people in recruitment positions, and would definitely recommend connecting with Ex-Military/Military to Civilian Transition companies. The more people you are connected to, the more people are seeing your posts and activity, the more chance you have of growing your network.
• Don’t use military jargon! A recruiter/potential employer might not know what a CSM 3 Coy, or a Flt Lt - Ops Offr or a Sect Comd, REME is. So take the time and get rid of anything that can be confusing. Also, I don’t mean just write “Section Commander” instead of “Sect Comd”, I mean write that as your title, but write what that actually means - for example “As a Section Commander, I was responsible for the training and well-being of 8 soldier junior to me…” etc. 

“Can you have a look at my CV?”

I’d love to. If you send me a private message I can have a look for you and give you some guidance - I do get quite a lot of messages though, so I can’t promise a rapid response.

“I have 20 years’ experience in the military, why isn’t this recognised?”

This is a very common question I get. The short answer is: your experience is 100% recognised and valued in the civilian world. However, we need to be very careful here not to feel entitled to any job in the world, just because we have military experience; which is unfortunately sometimes the case. If you are leaving the Navy for example with 18 years of management experience, and are applying for a generic management position (i.e. where you don’t need specific knowledge of that industry), then brilliant, I don’t think you will have a problem. The problem comes when you may have 18 years of exemplary service, but you are applying for a role that requires specific qualifications in a specific field (a management position in a civil engineering company for example, where you would be directly managing the work of 6 engineers) - then I don’t think it’s unfair for the company to want to hire somebody else with the experience and qualifications required.

My advice here would be to firstly be realistic with what roles you apply for. Secondly, I’d say be prepared to explain at interview (and point out/explain on your CV and Linked In profile) of just how exactly your experience will be beneficial in their company/a specific role. I have direct experience with this, as I left the Army as a Captain, so had good management experience, but it was just generic management, I didn’t have a specific area of expertise. I interviewed to be an Area Manager for Aldi, but had no retail/supermarket experience, so I had to explain how my management/leadership style would work at Aldi.

Another idea would be if you are working in a specific area of expertise, find out if your qualifications are recognised in the civilian world. If not, talk to/network/connect to individuals in that industry, and find out what the best course of action is here. There may be a course you can do as part of your resettlement which employers would need for example.

“Do you regret leaving the military?”

I also get asked this question a lot!! The answer would be yes and no. For me, it was the right time to leave the military, and I would never push anyone to leave early, as it is a great job with fantastic opportunities. I miss the comradery of the military, both with the people I worked with, and the people I lived with in the Mess. I miss going to the gym or a run as part of your working day, that definitely doesn’t happen anymore! I miss the social aspect of the job, definitely!

But I 100% don’t regret my decision to leave at all. I have never been more motivated to succeed both on a daily basis and as a company as a whole as I am now; and I have a great work/life balance. I’m excited with my work, and that’s something I unfortunately lost during my final year in the military.

Working At Aldi

“What’s it actually like working for Aldi?”

It is fantastic. That’s the honest truth - Aldi don’t ask me to post about them on Linked In, they probably don’t even know I do, everything I say on here is 10)% my own opinion. I have never worked for a company (albeit I’ve only had 2 long term jobs at this point in my life!!) where everyone is so motivated to succeed and do well. The atmosphere is incredible. If you add to this the benefits you get for working for the company, the great people you work alongside and the excellent career prospects available to you, there really isn’t anywhere else I’d rather work.

During my interviews to initially get the job (and decide if this was the right place for me!), I asked each of the 3 interviewers what their favourite thing about working for Aldi was. Bear in mind these were three different interviews with people at different jobs and roles within the business; and their answers were all the same: the people. I can only echo that now, the people working at this company make the job what it is.

“Can you pass my details onto the hiring manager?”

The short answer to this is, no I can’t I’m afraid! If I’m recruiting for my own stores, I’ll put that as part of my post, and then that would be different; but usually people ask me this when I post something about Aldi. I’m here to give you as much information as possible about any roles or questions you may have, but I’m not part of the hiring team I’m afraid, so you’ll have to head to the Aldi Recruitment website to apply.

“Can you give me any tips on the application/interview process?”

Again - no I can’t. One reason is that I actually got this job through a recruitment company through Linked In, so didn’t go through the normal application process, so wouldn’t be of much help anyway! Secondly, the process isn’t there to catch you out, it’s to see if 1) you are the right person for the role and for the business, but more importantly 2) to see if we are actually the right company for you. If you had a cheat sheet of how to act and what to say in your interview, yes you may pass at that stage, but then it may become clear the role wasn’t right for you, and you may find yourself unhappy in the future. If you are passionate about working for Aldi, and believe it’s right for you, then you want the interviewers to see that and not memorise what some Area Manager told you on Linked In!

“I want to be an Area Manager, but I don’t have a degree”

Unfortunately, at this moment in time, the entry requirements for the Area Manager role still state that you need a 2:1 degree. There are a few options open to you here:

1. You can have a look at jobs in our warehouse teams. Logistics/Transport/Warehouse Managers are at the same level as an Area Manager, but you don’t need a degree. These roles have been popular with ex-military, especially those who have Logistics experience.
2. If you are still serving, the University of Lincoln offer several courses where your military experience actually counts towards aspects of the degree - depending on what rank you are. For example, I know a Junior Officer/Warrant Officer in the Army will only need to complete between 3 and 10 essays to get a BSc (I got one in Logistics Management).
3. If you aren’t in a rush to apply and are thinking about it in the future, there are many Open University courses that you can do from home while working - I know this from personal experience as my fiancée is currently studying a 2 year course in Education Studies.

“What roles are available if I want to work in a store?”

There are four jobs available to apply for in an Aldi store: A Store Assistant, a Deputy Store Manager, an Assistant Store Manager and a Store Manager. There’s plenty of information on the Aldi Recruitment Website about each role and how to apply. What I would add is that we are one of the best paid supermarkets at present at any job role you apply for - and on a personal note, I couldn’t recommend it enough.

“I love the sound of Aldi, but don’t want to work in a store.”

That’s no problem at all! Aldi UK is split into 10 regions, each one with a Regional Distribution Centre and Head Office. At each of these there are jobs in the warehouse, transport, logistics, administration, trading, buying, property, quality control - and many more. Again, the best thing to do is head over to Aldi Recruitment and have a good look at what interests you.

“Is the Area Manager training year as bad as it’s made out to be?”

No! It is a tough year, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve heard some horror stories about working 100 hour weeks and the like, this is not the case. As a very brief summary, you spend around half of the training year working in stores (here you will work at every level, starting as a Store Assistant, rising through the different management positions and ultimately you will be running your own store as the Store Manager), and around half learning how to be an actual Area Manager (culminating in running your mentor’s area for them, for a few weeks with no supervision) before getting the keys to your very own area of 2-5 stores about a year after you start. The training prepares you so well for the Area Manager role, and is tailored specifically to you to get the best out of the training.

“Is flexibility of where I can work important?”

This depends. If you are hired to work in a store, you shouldn’t be asked to work in other stores very often at all (unless you want to!), so flexibility of location isn’t a huge problem. The same goes with working at one of our Regional Distribution Centres or Head Offices - this is where you will be working. With the Area Manager role, the Region will try their best to accommodate you (i.e. train you and give you an area close to home); but this may not be possible and you may have to relocate - this is definitely a conversation to have at your interview! For me, I stated I was flexible, so I’m not the best example for this question, but I have worked all across our region, from the South Coast (Chichester, Eastbourne, Brighton etc), all through Kent (from Thanet to Sevenoaks to Ashford) and even in South London and Essex too.

“Am I too old for this?”

NO! There is no age restriction for any of our roles at Aldi. An example would be in my role as an Area Manager in one of 10 regions in the UK, some have just finished university and joined the company, so are 21/22; whereas some of us have come from another job to this role, or have just been with the company for longer, and are closer to 40. There is absolutely not an age limit for applying - you’ll be judged on merit!