I submitted an application online. Received a call from a recruiter about a week later for an initial phone screen. During this brief 15 minute conversation, I was asked about my current responsibilities at my job and how it relates to the ASM position, and how my education (BA in Business) has prepared me for the role. Of course, you will also be asked "Why Starbucks?". It's good to answer that question with a story of a great experience you've had at Starbucks and why that has shown you that you want to be a part of the culture. Be prepared to answer what the highlights of your career have been so far, and if you have experience with profit and loss statements (trust me, they will ask this). If you have no P&L experience, be up front about that, but tell them about what financial documents you do have access to (I have no P&L responsibility in my current role, but I have access to sales numbers and guest survey scores. I also mentioned that I took three accounting classes in college and am very familiar with P&Ls as a result). It was all informal, not technically an interview, but you do need to make a good impression to get asked for the real phone interview.
The next step is a more in depth phone interview, about 45 mins, with the same recruiter. All behavioral questions, STAR format. They will go over the "hows" of your resume more than the "whats". Be prepared with specific examples. Feel free to use names of co workers to help make your stories more real and personal. The questions I was asked:
-Tell me about a time when you had an uncooperative coworker or a coworker you didn't get along with. What was the situation, why were they uncooperative, what was the result?
-Tell me about a time you had to plan out a project. What was your role, etc.
-Tell me about a time you had to have a tough conversation with someone at work.
-Tell me about a time you had to bring a co-workers performance up.
They will ask probing questions about additional actions you took, why you think coworkers were acting in a particular way, etc. Make sure you're able to get as specific as possible about these situations and your actions in them. I passed and was immediately asked for possible dates for a final interview.
The next interview is in-person with two District Managers at a local Starbucks. It will take place on the floor within earshot of customers, so be prepared to that. Be sure to accept the offer of a free drink, because you want to show that you love coffee. Obviously, don't ask for a caramel Frappucino or something ridiculous. I kept it simple and got a Venti Pike Place blend.
The two DMs will probably both have an interview packet, but it will be mostly one asking the questions and one writing your answers (for me it was a little bit of both). These questions are largely the same as the phone interview questions. My questions were:
-Tell me about a time when you had a communication breakdown with a co worker or with your team.
-Tell me about a time you had to have a tough conversation with a co worker (exact question from the phone interview)
-What are your strengths? Give an example of a time you displayed this.
-What are your weaknesses? What are you doing to work on this?
-What are you doing for your personal and professional development?
-Tell me about a time when you didn't have all the answers or didn't know what to do next (this may be the most important question, because they told me they usually never get good answers to this. Luckily, mine was high scope and relevant)
-Tell me about a time when you had to plan out a project. (Same as phone interview question. Make sure you give a high scope answer)
They'll ask you if you have any questions and if you have anything to add. Ask about community projects at Starbucks and how you can get involved, how much autonomy ASMs have to make decisions, why the DMs themselves chose Starbucks, etc.
I interviewed on a Friday and got the offer Monday afternoon. I'm incredibly excited for this opportunity. I want to make sure everyone can prepare for these interviews as well as I did, so I wanted to make this as detailed as possible.