“Which trading card would you be?” This is the question that Aldi Nord’s new Tiktok channel (spelled TikTok) is launching. The “Vibe Manager”, a young man who is training to become a business administrator in the Abitur program, the dual student with the nickname Süssmaus and the trainee with the title “Top 3 Yapper” are presented in the form of collectible cards and in a mini video.
@aldinord.karriere With us you have the choice: Team high school graduate program or dual study course in sales? 💘 Write it in the comments! #aldikarriere ♬ Original sound – ALDI Nord Career
With the new channel, retail giant Aldi Nord is expanding its social media repertoire in trainee recruiting. It completes the current young talent campaign “Good training for everyone”, whose target group is Generations Z and Alpha. The campaign will also be broadcast via job boards and posters in Aldi Nord branches. The company’s recruiting goals are ambitious: Aldi Nord wants to hire more than 1,000 young people when training starts in 2026.
The fact that Tiktok is also interesting for companies to address young people is – despite all the criticism of the Chinese social media channel – due to its immense reach. According to the State Center for Civic Education, there are almost 23 million users in Germany (as of 2024). More than half (54 percent) of 12 to 19 year olds use Tiktok regularly.
Tiktok as a recruiting tool: Companies need to take this into account
We asked expert Carina Lutze what she thinks of Aldi’s new recruiting tool – and what companies that also want to advertise for young talent on Tiktok need to consider. Lutze is social media lead at Xing.
Human resources management:Ms. Lutze, Aldi Nord recently launched its own Tiktok career channel to promote trainee recruiting. What do you think of this decision?
Carina Lutze: I think it makes total sense. Since 2022, Tiktok has firmly established itself as a platform that is particularly popular with Generation Z. This young target group is very active on Tiktok and uses the platform every day. The advantage of Tiktok compared to traditional channels such as career fairs or job advertisements is that companies can get in touch with potential applicants in a different, informal way.
What are the differences on Tiktok compared to other social media like Instagram or Linkedin?
What’s special about Tiktok is the way content is distributed. With Tiktok, the social connections are less important than the content itself. The algorithm prefers content that users find interesting and entertaining – regardless of whether they know the person behind the content and are linked to them. This differs significantly from platforms like Instagram or Linkedin, where the visibility of content depends more heavily on existing networks.
What does this mean for employers?
For companies, this means that they can achieve greater reach on Tiktok with creative and well-produced content, even if they don’t yet have a large following. This “content-first approach” makes Tiktok an interesting platform for trainee recruiting.
When we talk about trainee recruiting – what should companies consider with regards to Tiktok in order to successfully appeal to young talent?
The key to success on TikTok is authenticity. The target group is very sensitive to content that appears too obviously advertising. If companies only present their career opportunities in a traditional, sober way, this will probably not be well received by the young target group. Instead, companies should provide real insights into everyday work.
How does this work?
It’s about letting employees – especially trainees – have their say and let them share their experiences. When trainees speak authentically about their training and show their personality, the content becomes much more credible and attracts the attention of the target group. This also means that companies should place less emphasis on highly professional productions and instead focus on realistic and tangible content.
As a social media expert, what do you particularly notice about Aldi Nord’s new channel?
The company does it really cleverly. They put their own trainees in the foreground as ‘brand faces’ and then show them in their everyday work. This is a big advantage as it gives the target group a real insight into the lives of the trainees and does not show any artificial scenarios. Aldi even goes one step further and has introduced the term ‘Aldian’ for its trainees, a kind of brand-specific term, similar to fans of artists or brands – this strengthens the sense of community.
However, entertainment alone is not enough for serious recruiting. How can companies manage to convey a balance between fun and professional content?
Entertaining content is important because it attracts users’ attention, but at the same time the professionalism of the company must remain visible. A Tiktok channel for trainee recruiting is all about finding a good mix: you can post humorous and creative content to arouse interest, but you should also always contribute informative content that gives a realistic view of the training and the requirements in the company.
You mentioned authenticity as an important element. Why is authenticity so crucial, especially on Tiktok?
Young users are very good at seeing through content that is not authentic. On Tiktok, users want to see real life. You want to be able to identify with the content. That’s why it’s so effective to get real trainees or employees in front of the camera to tell their personal stories.
What best practices do you recommend to companies that want to use Tiktok as part of their trainee recruiting?
I would advise companies to first take a close look at the platform. You should first look at what is well received by the target group on Tiktok. Which formats work well? What topics are the young generation interested in? It’s worth watching other companies that are successful on the channel and learning from their experiences. And then you should just start and try things out and see what works well – and what doesn’t.
Aldi Nord is a huge company with the appropriate resources, including for social media. Can small organizations also use Tiktok and other channels sensibly?
Basically yes – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a person working on social media full-time. It makes more sense for a social media account if different departments within an organization talk to each other: these are, for example, recruiting and employer branding, marketing and of course HR. You should think about what the goal of a measure is and then develop a strategy.
And the implementation? How complex is it?
You don’t always need super professional videos to be successful on Tiktok. It can also be enough for someone to show their workplace and simply say to the camera: ‘Look, this is our office or this is our construction site. Here is our great team. Write us in the comment if you are interested in working with us.’
The hype around AI-generated content has increased significantly in recent years. Do you also see this trend in connection with Tiktok content?
About a year ago there was a strong wave of a lot of AI-created content, especially videos. However, we can now see that communities on social media are slowly getting fed up with AI content. Even though AI content initially sparked a lot of interest, it is no longer as popular because target groups increasingly feel that this content is impersonal and overly edited.
To what extent will trainee recruiting continue to change as a result of social media in the next few years? What developments do you expect?
I think that social media will continue to play a central role in recruiting, especially when addressing younger target groups. I also see that trainee recruiting will be even more influenced by communities and interactive formats. Companies will have to focus even more on involving young talent in the process – be it through participation in content creation or through interactive formats such as Q&As that take place directly with trainees or future colleagues.
Info
Carina Lutze is social media lead at Xing. She is responsible for the company’s brand presence and B2B content on social media channels.
Christina Petrick-Löhr is responsible for the research and teaching section of the magazine as well as reporting on training and further education. She is also responsible for the editorial planning of various special human resources publications as well as the German Human Resources Prize.
