11/12/2011 - I saw that Macy's was looking to hire seasonal sales associates for the holiday season on Craigslist.org so I decided to apply at macysJOBS.com. I filled out the job application which was pretty easy.
11/14/2011 - I received an email from Macy's to set a date for my interview on their website. I scheduled my interview for 11/29 because there weren't any other dates available. Also, for the first week, the sites did not offer any available days at all, but after checking in regularly, that interview date opened up. Macy's interview days are generally Mondays - Thursdays with time options from 9 AM - 6 PM.
11/29/2011 - I showed up 30 minutes early to my interview and it was located at the Human Resources/Tourism/Executive Offices location. I dressed in an all black turtleneck dress with black stilettos, and I had taken the time to do my makeup because I heard that you're placed in different departments depending on what the hiring manager thinks you'll fit into (for me, I was looking to either be in cosmetics or fine jewelry). Several people were also waiting to be interviewed, too, so I'm sure Macy's likes to conduct their interviews in clusters for efficiency. And note that work diversity is an issue Macy's still needs to work on. Everyone in the HR office seemed friendly enough although executive employees and upper management will frequently ignore you.
I was called into the interview room which is roughly the size of a small walk-in closet with two chairs, a coffee table, and a desk phone. My hiring manager was extremely nice and chipper throughout the whole process. I wouldn't call what happened in there an interview and I will do my best to explain why. As soon as we sat down, she asked me how much retail experience I had. I told her I had none. She had printed out a copy of my résumé which I submitted online through the job application and she noted the large amount of customer service experience I have from having worked at fine restaurants, food food restaurants and newsrooms. I reassured her that I knew how to handle customers and it was in my best interest to know my product and make sure the customers were more than satisfied.
Delighted, she told me that the starting pay was $9/hour. I did not mind as long as it wasn't $7.25/hour. We negotiated on my availability as I requested Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, but those turned out to be the days of the larger sales. However, working on both days consecutively was not mandatory. She said that two departments had openings and asked me how I felt about cosmetics. I told her I had previous experience in that field having been a makeup artist for the drama committee in school. She told me that I would also be getting my base hourly pay plus commission, too, since I was in cosmetics. And as a seasonal hire, I should be expecting to stop working by early January.
Another thing, I had applied specifically for part-time as the ad said, but she told me that I would be on-call and I could make my own schedule. For most people, this sounds like heaven, but not when the full-timers have set hours already, part-timers have their pick 1-2 days before the on-calls even get to "see" the available shifts. By the time you're allowed to choose shifts in the system, you either get the super early opening shifts starting at 6:45 AM or the super late closing ones that last until 12:15 AM, and this is even if you're lucky enough to find shifts at all. If I could go back and catch her at that, I would. So please make sure you are getting what you signed up for, if not, turn around and leave. It's not worth it.
Afterward, the hiring manager handed me a post-it with the extension number of the cosmetic manager I would be reporting to. The interview was roughly fifteen minutes or less. The receptionist then asked me to hop on the computer across from the HR lobby and fill out a few forms. Then the receptionist clocked out and told me someone would get my New Hire packet ready for me. About forty-five minutes later, another associate in HR rummaged through the file cabinets and compiled a packet for which had information on dress code policies, attendance policies, the Code of Conduct, a 30% discount for new hires to purchase their black attire (you can combine this with the 20% employee discount that Macy's gives to you either in a Macy's card or a prepaid Macy's card). However, he forgot to give me the sheet of information that verified the times and dates of my training days, so it was a good thing I had written them down myself earlier.
So all in all, that interview was extremely easy and like I said, I don't even consider it one since I was basically hired on the spot. Take it easy and just make sure you get the position you originally applied for.