Careers at Lidl
In their own words, working at Lidl is “a career a Lidl less ordinary”, and as an employer it is highly regarded. With more than 800 stores, 13 regional warehouses and 25,000 employees across the UK, Lidl is on the lookout for more people to join the expanding business.
Careers at Lidl can be segregated by job area. Store team positions include customer assistant, store manager, cleaner and area manager. Warehouse positions include warehouse operatives, desk clerks and team managers.
In the regional offices, HR, administration, supply chain and customer services roles are available.
A career at Lidl – at every level – includes competitive rates of pay, discounts in-store and at high street retailers, employee assistance and wellbeing programmes, discounted gym membership and much more.
The graduate placement programmes that Lidl offers are well respected, with a comprehensive training opportunity available to put graduates forward to the management level by the end of the (usually two-year) programme. Graduate schemes are available in the following business areas:
- Logistics
- Sales
- Promotional Activities
- Buying
To qualify for the graduate programme, you must have achieved (or be working towards) a 2:2 degree in any subject, have the right to work in the UK and hold a valid UK/EU driving licence. It is also desirable that you live or are willing to move to within a one-hour commute of the regional office you will be completing your programme.
There is an undergraduate placement scheme that offers a 48-week training programme designed to expose you to various areas of retail, from the shop floor, through the warehouse and into the back office.
Lidl Application Process
-
1
Online Application
-
2
Aptitude Tests
-
3
Video Interview
-
4
Assessment Centre
The application process for a role at Lidl is simple and straightforward, with extra steps for those wishing to pursue a graduate programme placement or any direct entry placements for management.
For all roles at Lidl, the application process starts online. The online application form will be different for each role, but you will need to include an up-to-date, tailored CV and cover letter.
Once this is received, you will be invited to take some online aptitude tests to judge your competencies, approach to work and culture fit.
If you are successful in the aptitude tests, you will then be invited to a telephone or video interview, followed by an assessment centre where you will complete a group exercise and at least one face-to-face interview.
Throughout the whole process, Lidl expects you to be honest about your strengths, skills and abilities – and to have done your homework about the business and the location, too. This can be demonstrated with a coherent CV and interesting cover letter, as well as your answers to the aptitude tests and the questions asked in the interview.
Lidl online application
You can search and apply for jobs from the Lidl Careers Portal, and this is where your application details will be stored. The application form is the first contact you will have with the recruitment team, so make sure you create a specific CV and cover letter for your Lidl application. A generic one will not usually make you stand out as a potential candidate.
Your answers to the simple questions on the application form will be scored. It is points-based, so the more information you can provide, the better. This means that even if the information required is presented in your CV, it is a good idea to replicate this in the application form too, rather than directing the recruiter to look at your CV.
The application form is a top-level overview of your education, experience, volunteering and extracurricular activities, with a view to highlighting your transferable strengths and skills.
If your application form earns enough points, you will receive an invitation to complete a series of online aptitude tests.
Lidl Aptitude Tests
Lidl numerical reasoning test
Lidl uses Cut-e (AON) for its aptitude tests. The Cut-e numerical reasoning test is designed to see how candidates can apply mathematical knowledge to answer questions. The maths skills required are basic – GCSE-level or equivalent – but the analysis of the data is the important part.
In the numerical reasoning test, you will be provided with some data (usually in the form of tables or graphs) and have to decide if a given statement is true, or false or if there isn’t enough information in the data provided - cannot say.
Cut-e numerical reasoning tests allow 12 minutes to answer as many questions as possible (out of a total of 37). The challenge in the numerical reasoning test is to find the answers to the questions while under time pressure.
Remember, numerical reasoning tests are not challenging in terms of the maths skills needed: basic operations like ratios, percentages and fractions is all that are usually tested. Completing practice tests can help boost your confidence and increase your chances of success, so familiarity with both Cut-e numerical tests and numerical reasoning tips will give you an advantage when you take the aptitude tests for real.
Lidl verbal reasoning test
Verbal reasoning tests are similar to numerical reasoning tests in that they provide all the information you need to answer the question. The test is assessing your ability to read, understand and analyse the information to come to a considered answer in a short time frame.
You will be presented with a short paragraph of written information in the Cut-e verbal reasoning test. This will be followed by a statement and multiple-choice answers: is the statement true, false, or you cannot say? There are 49 questions available to answer, but there is no expectation to answer them all, as the test has a strict time limit of just 12 minutes.
You can practice Cut-e verbal reasoning tests here, and it’s worth remembering that all the information you need to correctly answer the question will be provided in the text, so do not refer to your own knowledge or bias when in the test. No previous knowledge is required, other than basic language skills.
Lidl situational judgement test (the Lidl Fit Test)
A situational judgement test assesses how you would react when faced with certain work-based scenarios. This evaluates your behaviour at work and the way you deal with challenging situations.
In a situational judgement test, you will be presented with a scenario based on a real-life issue you might face at work. There will be a choice of answers, and you must choose the best course of action to solve the problem.
The number (and type) of questions in this part of the online assessment package will depend on the role that you have applied for. The Lidl Fit Test is looking to make sure that your personality will be a fit for the culture that exists in the workplace at Lidl, so the best way to do well here is to answer honestly.
You can practice situational judgement tests to get an idea of what to expect, but this is not a test that is assessing your skills as much as it is assessing your behaviour and personality.
