I saw that they were hiring for the crew member position on the TJ website. I printed it out, filled it in, and went to the store to hand it in. I made sure to be very polite and friendly and all smiles when I handed in my application and resume.The person who took my application was very nice; asked me what my favorite TJ product was, my availability, and if I shopped there often. That person told me that they had received A LOT of applications and that they were currently reviewing them and to wait about a week for a call if they want to interview me.
The very next day I got a call asking me to come in for an interview 3 days later. I was ecstatic! I had applied once before a few months ago, but never got called (this was the second time I had applied). I wore a button down shirt and dress pants and shoes to the first interview but realized that wasn't entirely necessary because the interview was very casual; it was in some kind of backroom/employee area. The captain interviewing me was very friendly and nice and smiled a lot. It was pretty short- about 10-15 minutes. Super easy questions. I was told that they were going to do interviews for the rest of the day and that I would get a call back that night if they wanted to do another round of interviews with me.
A few hours later I got a call to come back the following day for a second interview with a different captain. The second interview was a lot of the same questions as the first. Again, I wore a button down shirt and dress pants. I was told more details about the position and the captain who interviewed me was super friendly. All in all, a good experience- took about 20 minutes. I was told that I would get a call back within a few days if I would be offered the job.
I got a call back the same day offering me the job and I accepted :)
APPLICATION TIPS:
-write neatly
-open availability- especially on weekends- is super important
-Write something funny/witty/unique in the area where it says "describe any unique abilities, experience, aptitude that you believe would be helpful in your job" (Try to be as concise as possible while still giving them a fresh, out-of-the-ordinary view on what you are all about) Don't just put "i have x amount of experience in retail and I love people/ That's BORING!
HANDING IN YOUR APPLICATION:
-Be polite, smile, say hello, and look bright eyed and bushy-tailed! (Keep in mind- The person taking your application is happy to see you and likes that you are interested in working at TJ's)
-Be prepared to be screened when handing in your application (The person who takes your application might look over it right then and there and ask you simple questions, i.e favorite product, availability, are you a frequent customer, where you go to school, etc.)
-Be nice and smiley in general while in the store handing in your application (other managers and crew members (quite possibly your future co-workers!) might be looking at aka judging you.
INTERVIEW TIPS:
-Study, study, study! Go on the TJ website, go on Glassdoor (wait- you're here already reading this- good job!) go on the Wikipedia entry for TJ and learn the company history. I actually wrote down my favorite things about TJ (environmentally friendly, care about their customers and their employees, debt free, progressive, ethical, food donation program) and I learned more things about their product line (gluten free, dairy free, no preservatives, organic, low sodium, vegetarian, something for every diet and tastebud) and studied them before going on the interview.
-Look nice and clean- TJ employees have a chill look to them but don't go looking like you're stoned to the interview.
-Smile! Laugh! Engage the person interviewing you. Don't just answer their questions/ have fun with it and let your personality shine. (Nothing crazy though- no jokes that might be offensive, don't badmouth customers or previous bosses/jobs)
-Ask the person interviewing you questions! Ask about the food donation program, ask about store activities, ask how that store connects with their community, ask anything about the store and/or position you are applying for. Do not ask about your salary (not at this point in the process at least)
Phew! I think that's it. All in all, it was a pleasant experience. Good luck, y'all!