‘My incredible career journey’
Aldi is a great place to work, which is why Jade Shallow is sharing her story of progressing from graduate to store manager in just 13 months. She’s hoping to inspire others to do the same — and never look back
“I KNEW I wanted to work for a company with lots of opportunities to get involved, make a real difference and continually develop and progress,” says Jade Shallow, who is now an established store manager based at Aldi’s Ewell store.
Jade had already started to think about her future career path while studying business management at university — planning the steps she would need to take in order to reach her career goals.
“I knew I wanted to get into business in some way, shape or form,” she says.
“I enjoyed learning about and understanding the inner workings of a business and what it took to make it a success.”
Although she started her career with another company, Jade quickly learnt that Aldi offered more opportunities to work her way up, as well as chances to expand her knowledge and skillset through taking on different projects.
“The career development prospects at Aldi are second to none — in fact, our own CEO started as a graduate, which I find really inspiring,” says Jade.
“So, I decided to leave my previous role to join Aldi as an assistant store manager, progressing to store manager after just 13 months in the role, and I haven’t looked back since.”
‘SUPPORT TO SUCCEED’
Reflecting on her promotion, Jade champions the support of the team around her in helping her to reach the next step, as well as her hard-working attitude and determination to succeed.
“I was given real responsibilities from day one, including managing a team, ensuring stock rotation was run effectively and points of sale always looked presentable, as well as supporting the store manager with general management of the store and customer enquiries,” she says.
“I was of course supported by my team and area manager, who would regularly check in with me to see how I was enjoying the role. I believe that being given this level of responsibility straight away encouraged me to learn quickly, work hard and get stuck in and prove to myself — not only to my manager — that I had what it takes. Thanks to this, I was awarded a promotion and given the opportunity to run my own store.”
‘TRAINING WAS BRILLIANT’
Jade was given an in-depth, on-the-job training programme which helped her get up to speed quickly and spent time visiting other Aldi stores in the area to take learnings from others and shape her managerial style.
Commenting on the training and opportunities provided, Jade says: “The training offered is brilliant.
“I value learning on the job as it helps me to understand how each role and tasks work together. This is something you can’t achieve from classroom learning.
“I also enjoy training my team. If a new person starts or we implement a new system or initiative.
“It’s so rewarding to see someone you’re working with grow within their role, and it is extremely satisfying when you get to promote them or put them forward for additional training or projects to aid their development.
‘ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE’
“The people side of being a store manager is definitely the part I enjoy most,” continues Jade, who believes in hard work, working as a team and delivering the best in-store experience for her customers.
“I like to challenge my team, in order to help them in the long run, but I am very approachable and put the team first to ensure I have a happy workforce who can come to me with anything.”
Aldi has an ambitious growth target, aiming to operate 1,200 stores by 2025 and expand its presence across the capital.
Jade has played a key part in this expansion, saying: “It was fantastic to be involved in supporting Aldi to reach this goal.”
‘MY CAREER HIGHLIGHT WAS...’
As a new store manager, Jade was given responsibility of opening Aldi’s first Aldi Local store in Balham.
She says: “It was a huge honour to be trusted to run a grand opening, especially as this was the first Aldi ‘Local’, meaning there were quite a few eyes on it.
“I found it hugely beneficial to be involved in a grand opening as you are exposed to another side of Aldi and can see how your one store can directly impact the success of the wider business.
“I’d say it was my career highlight to date, as I got to work with different people and departments, from planning and logistics, to recruitment and marketing.
“I took a shell and turned it into a successful store, and I am very proud of that. It looks fantastic and I now look forward to planning and managing many more new store openings across London in the coming years.”
DO YOU WANT A CAREER OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS?
If Jade’s story has inspired you, find out more about working at Aldi and the roles available in your area by visiting aldirecruitment.co.uk.