I applied in-person. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Trader Joe's (Boston, MA) in Sep 2012
Interview
I dropped my application off in person and got a chance to talk briefly with the store Captain which I think helped to get the first interview. The first interview was with that same Captain and was pretty straight forward. It only lasted about 30 minutes and there were no trick/unusual questions. The next step was meeting with one of the Mates (assistant manager) at the store and it covered basically the same material as in the first interview. A couple days later I received a call from the Mate who offered me the job of Crew Member.
The main focus of the interviews was on why I wanted to work at TJs and what made me a good fit for their stores.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
As I mentioned above, there were no overly difficult or unexpected questions but the toughest for me to answer was "Describe a time when you had to overcome a difficult challenge and how you handled it."
Very chill, asked things a lot of job interviews don't, more personal down to earth questions. Made me feel very comfortable. Professional but also cool vibes from everyone who interviewed me. Went to one interview with mates and another with the captain.
I had 3 separate interviews. 1 was over the phone. 2 were in person. I never heard anything after the third interview. I called the store about a week later and they let me know they didn’t actually have any available positions. Really felt like they wasted my time.
I applied in-person. I interviewed at Trader Joe's (West Hollywood, CA)
Interview
Casual, took place outside of the store. First I had a phone call interview. Then another which was in-person with 2 of the mates in the store, and finally a third in-person with the captain of the store.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was something I did for a friend that was above and beyond?