ALDI's bizarre fitness test in job interviews sparks debate

"They made me do pushups and star jumps on Zoom..." a recent applicant revealed. So, is this a standard procedure or an isolated incident?

A woman recently posted to an ALDI Facebook group, totally baffled about their interview process. 

It’s not your typical "tell us about yourself" deal. Instead, she said it was more like a home workout session.

Now, she's asking if doing push-ups and star jumps on a Zoom call is a part of the regular interview process at ALDI, or if it was just a manager going rogue.

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Image: Supplied/IStock

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The at-home fitness assessment over a Zoom meeting

The woman began, "I’m not bagging out ALDI with this question but is there an employee here who can answer this please?"

She explained, "My relative recently interviewed for a position in-store and then later that day she was asked to partake in a Zoom meeting in her home and was asked to do push-ups, sit-ups and starjumps to show her fitness level."

"Is this really a part of the interview process or just an overzealous manager?" she asked.

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"I would exit that Zoom call so fast"

In the comments, some people were as shocked as her. "I work for ALDI and I've never heard of this in an interview!" one person said. 

Others were straight-up creeped out.

"That’s creepy" and, "This is just weird," were some of the reactions.

And a few shared what they would have done in this situation.

"I would exit that Zoom call so fast," one person said, while someone else claimed they would have asked the interviewer why they needed to see that. 

Then others questioned the logic behind the test, "Why do push-ups? They sit down at work all day."

"This should have been done in a medical centre"

Then a lot of comments said that a fitness test was a requirement for a job at ALDI, but noted that Zoom was the wrong setting for it. 

"Fitness requirement or not, this should have been done in a medical centre when the whole physical can be completed, not via Zoom," one person suggested.

Then others raised concerns over the qualifications of the interviewer.

"And what qualifications does the interviewer have to supervise this activity and be able to 'grade' the applicant? I would be happy to attend a registered organisation for a fitness test, but this to me screams dodgy and inappropriate. I wonder if this would pass a discrimination hearing."

Image: Supplied

"You need a certain level of fitness to be competent in the job"

However, not all comments were critical.

One person confirmed the practice, saying, "My housemate interviewed and currently works for ALDI, and this is legit. The Zoom call is with their physio to be able to determine that you can perform certain duties and you aren't hiding any existing injuries so later you can't pin them with work cover or a lawsuit."

Another added, "Started at ALDI a year ago now, and I had to do a Zoom medical assessment. Thought it was weird at the time, but now I realise how necessary it is. You definitely need a certain level of fitness to be competent in the job… Yep. Part of the process."

Kidspot has reached out to ALDI for comment. 

Originally published as ALDI's bizarre fitness test in job interviews sparks debate