one of my good friends works there and i used him as a reference. when you turn in your application they will automatically ask you two questions: 1. why trader joes, and 2.whats your favorite product. i got a call about a week later for an interview with a mate (full time crew member) and thanks to glass door and preparation i kicked butt. pretty basic interview. they say to check back in a week, so i call them a week later and they told me "here's the deal, we like you, we want to give you a second interview, however we're overstaffed right now. so check back in FOUR WEEKS and we'll give you another interview." luckily only 3 weeks go by and i get a call to come in for a 2nd interview. for my 2nd interview, the store captain (manager) is the one to interview me. his attitude was rushed and uninterested from the start, saying like "so yeah, your stuff looks good, i know you had a pretty in depth interview with (the first interviewer), so i dont have that much to ask." he had a few questions like "whats your idea of hard work" "tell me the pros and cons of your previous job" "what do you think a day at trader joes is like?" and here was what got me: "what questions do you have for me?" i had a couple great questions and then he asks "what else, more questions" "more questions" "more questions" i eventually ran out of questions and that pretty much wrapped up the interview. he thanked me for my time. a week later i call in and talk to the manager about my application. when he returns to the phone he says "im sorry, we're not able to hire anyone at this time"... are you kidding me? two things struck me about that. first, they gave me a second interview the week prior. why would they go through the trouble if they werent hiring? secondly, when i told the manager who i was on the phone he says "hang on let me go get your paperwork" when he returns and says we're not hiring you have to wonder. why did he need my application to say they werent hiring? im fairly certain he was using a euphemism (lie) for "we dont think you're the right fit" or "someone else has filled the position" overall, the process wasted about 6 weeks of my life, the manager wasnt very interested, and i learned nothing from the experience.