I had an initial phone interview with one of their recruiting managers from Atlanta, Georgia. The phone interview went very smoothly. The hiring manager was upfront about what the position entailed, what was expected, the salary, and the job relocation requirements. She also said that in order to advance with the company, you must be willing to relocate. She asked me basic questions:
1. How did I hear about this position?
2. Tell me a little bit about your background
3. How would you describe your ideal job position?
4. What attracted you to this position?
I passed the initial phone interview and she emailed me a store visit guide (preparation for final interview) of questions that needed to be answered from management of the particular store I was directed to visit (close to where I lived).
The second part of the interview process was the store visit. I had a store visit in Riverview, FL. The management was very welcoming and friendly. It was very informal meeting. The manager gave me a tour of their store, introduced me to their business processes, and introduced me to all store personnel. The manager took an hour out of his day to sit down with me to answer all the questions I had from my store visit guide. I was also able to get a better perspective from the position from two of the current Management Trainees that were placed in the store. The two Management Trainees were very personal and friendly. They answered all of my questions I had, and gave me a better insight of the actual position since they had recently started in the program. Overall, I felt that it was a good meeting. The manager seemed impressed, and said that he would provide positive feedback to the district manager (final decision-maker).
The final interview took place in Orlando, Florida with the district manager of the Orlando market. Normally I am pretty tense during interviews, because I try too hard to make a good impression and don't know what to expect. However, he made the interview very comfortable. The questions that were asked entailed:
1. What did you think about the store visit?
2. Is there anything that you would change or improve upon from a management standpoint based on your store visit?
3. Is it what you expected? What was unexpected? Anything you learned?
4. He asked me what my strengths were?
5. Also, asked me if I were placed in a store as an assistant manager and did not agree with the management style, what would I do in that particular situation to overcome it?
He also told me a little bit about his background, and how he got to the point in the company that he is presently. Also, he told me how they restructured the company during the recession to gain more market share in the long-run.
The outcome: he verbally offered me the position. I told him I would need some time to think about my decision, and he respected that. So I gave him a few business days to decide to get back to him at a reasonable time.
Overall, it seems like a very good company based on my research, interviews, and store visit. I was impressed with their hiring process. It was a lot different than your average hiring process. Not many companies provide their prospective employees with as much exposure to learn about the company and their operations. It seems like they put a lot of investment in their employees. They want their employees to make a career out of their company, and place a lot of emphasis on the overall well-being of their employees to gain a better retention rate.
