Job Event advertised from monster.com to attend and apply at the event only. I attended the event at Holiday Inn in Big Rapids, Michigan that was 7a-7p. I arrived around 3 pm in the afternoon to the hotel.
The first thing I noticed was absolutely no women representatives working the application tables or hosting at the door. That is a red flag to me about the company culture. I counted 17 women applying for jobs at the tables, many were wearing flip flops and tank tops, and only 4 men for the 5 minutes I was there.
Pat greeted me at the door, he was very personable and polite, I liked him. He said everyone starts as a cashier and works their way up. As a Store Manager, he scrubs toilets, mops floors, and stocks shelves. He liked his job he said. He instructed me to sit at a round table, read the job descriptions, watch the 5 minute repeating video about ALDI, and turn in my application. I had already filled one out I had DL online so I did as he instructed. I waited in line behind women turning in their apps at a long buffet table across the room. There were two guys taking applications.
I had listened to them mention certain things on the application they were interested in: education level, hours available, when you can start, and the areas you were interested in working.
The guy who took the girl's application before me mentioned Ferris State University graduate and seemed to circle a lot of things on the little sheet he fills out (I'm assuming telling the next round of interviewers whether they are a good candidate or not). She was wearing denim shorts, flip flops, and had tattoos everywhere. She was maybe 22 years old.
I stepped up to the guy who glanced at me, and he was not impressed. I was dressed in a business casual outfit with jewelry, make up, and heels. I'm 38 years old. He started reading out loud the items on my application like he did hers, but totally missed my BA and MA degrees. He said "o.k. so you've graduated high school, good" and tuned the application page. I pointed my finger out to the page and mentioned my two degrees. He ignored me. Then he looked at my available list and said "what does this mean? O-CL ?" I said "Open to close, i'm available any shift during your hours of operation" He smirked and said "O.k. good". Then he said, "do you have any questions for me?"
I had prepared 6 questions for my interview. I opened up my portfolio and pulled out my resume and cover letter. He handed them back without looking at them and said "save those for an actual interview....if they decide to proceed with you." and I knew by the look on his face, they would never call me for one.
if i had to wager a guess, I would say they were looking for young girls and boys recently graduated from Ferris State University only and anything else would get circles "do not hire."
The man taking my application also said they were calling that night for interviews the next day and I would hear something that night if I was selected.
I didn't get a call, which did not surprise me. I could read body language pretty well and as soon as I stepped up, he wasn't interested in me.