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The Interview at Aldi - Intermediate German with Herr Antrim #22
Rainer: Hello.
Manager: Hello, Mr. Antrim.
My name is Daveed Häselhof.
I have been the store manager for this Aldi branch for four years
and will be conducting this interview with you today.
Tell me a little about yourself.
Rainer: I am 18 years old.
I am from the USA
and recently moved to Germany.
Manager: Why did you move to Germany?
Rainer: I would like to study in Germany and improve my German.
Manager: And what are you studying?
Rainer: I am not yet studying,
but I plan to study business and economics at Humboldt University.
Manager: How do you previous job positions connect with Aldi?
Have you ever worked in a grocery store or in retail before?
Rainer: Yes. In my hometown I worked in a grocery story called “Kroger”.
I was a stock clerk and cashier for four years.
I was employee of the month twice.
Manager: And why do you want to work for Aldi now?
Rainer: There aren’t any Kroger branches in Germany.
Therefore I am looking for something similar
so that I can expand my knowledge and skills as a cashier.
Manager: Can you be relied upon?
Rainer: Yes. In the four years I worked at Kroger,
I was never late.
I often was alone for hours on end in my department.
Whenever the department manager took a break,
I took over for him.
Manager: What are your strengths?
Rainer: I have a lot of energy.
I can work for hours on end and accomplish a lot of tasks.
My ability to see what needs done and do it is also very good.
Manager: What are your weaknesses?
Rainer: German is not my native language.
I have to admit, it is sometimes difficult
to find the right words.
I am at the B1 level.
It is easy to talk about groceries, but the technical words
for example this thingamabob that lifts pallets and one can position the pallets better with it…
Manager: The pallet jack?
Rainer: Exactly. Words like that are sometimes difficult for me.
Manager: What is your greatest failure?
Rainer: In 2016 I tried to start a YouTube channel.
I made 15 or 20 “Let’s Play” videos.
Finally I found out that no one want to watch “Hotel Mario”
and gave up.
Manager: How do you deal with defeat?
Rainer: It is sometimes disappointing when you don’t get what you would like,
but I think there is always something one can learn from a defeat.
For example, with my YouTube channel,
I learned a lot about videos and social media.
Manager: I would like to describe a few hypothetical situations to you.
You simply say what you would do in these situations.
Rainer: OK
Manager: You have to put the new products on the shelves,
clean up a mess
and help a customer with a question.
How can you address all of these problems?
Rainer: One must, of course, prioritize.
If the mess is a liquid,
it could cause a danger of slipping.
If it is pressing that I clean it immediately,
I would get a coworker.
One of us could clean up the mess
and the other one could answer the customer question.
If I can’t find a coworker,
I would at least put up a warning sign before I answer the customer question.
If the mess is just flour or something like that,
I would simply answer the customer question first and then clean up.
There are almost always new products to be put on the shelf.
There will be time later to put these things on the shelf.
Manager: Good. Another situation.
It is Christmastime
and the cash register of a coworker has been missing a few Euros multiple times.
What do you do?
Rainer: I hope that the store manager is already aware of this,
if a few Euros are missing.
If not, I must bring this to his attention, of course.
Manager: Tell me about a time when you had too much to do and not enough time.
Rainer: Sometimes I feel as if life is always like that.
Then we come back to the point of prioritization.
What has to be done now and what can wait?
For example: At my previous job, there was always a lot to do.
Questions from customers, filling the shelfs, scanning in new products, cleaning and so on.
The customers are priority number 1.
If they have questions, one answers these before one does anything else.
The shelves must be filled as well as possible.
If all of the products are already on the shelves or if all of the shelves are full,
one can improve the product presentation or clean something.
There is almost always something to clean in a store.
Manager: Ok. Now a very important topic.
Have you ever stolen anything?
Rainer: No. Never in my life.
Manager: Good. How would you previous coworkers describe you?
Rainer: I believe they would describe me as nice, polite, helpful, hard-working and detail oriented.
Manager: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Rainer: I will graduate from Humboldt University.
Then I will get a management job in a store,
maybe at Aldi.
I will definitely still be living in Germany then.
Manager: How flexible are you? Can you work all shifts?
Rainer: For the time being, I am very flexible.
I’m not studying yet at the university and I don’t have any other activities
that require my time.
When I start studying at Humboldt, I that might be a bit different.
Manager: Can you lift at least 20 kilograms?
Rainer: Yes. That is no problem.
Manager: Do you have any questions for me or our company?
Rainer: How long have you been working for Aldi?
Manager: In 1990 I was hired as a cashier.
In 2000 I became shift manager.
In 2010 I was promoted to assistant manager
and in 2014 I received this job as the store manager.
Rainer: What is the most difficult part of this job?
Manager: It can sometimes be a fast-paced work environment.
Some people find that difficult,
but others see that as a challenge.
Any other questions?
Rainer: No that is all.
Manager: Ok. In a few days I will come to a decision
and if you get the job, I will call you.
Rainer: Ok. Thank you for your time. Good-bye.
Rainer: Good-bye.
Manager: Good-bye
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