I submitted my application online, which included several "essay" questions that take a lot of thought. I got a confirmation that my application was received, and it said that I would hear "very soon" if they were interested in moving forward.
A few days later I received an email from the store manager inviting me to a group interview. I was asked to come prepared to teach the group something in 2 minutes or less, and "make it fun." The initial email from the store manager invited me to ask any questions, and I asked two simple ones, neither of which were responded to.
When I arrived at the interview we were given a name tag, we just kind of milled around for awhile, and then were given yoga mats and headed outside. We sat on the ground in a circle and the interview was "popcorn" style. There were about 10 other candidates, a store manager, and an assistant manager. It was unclear which position we were actually applying for. While we were answering our questions, i watched the Store and Assistant manager, and they were making faces at each other at some responses. While I agreed that some responses were completely off track, I think that the professional thing would have been to maintain a poker face while still in the interview.
The interview was popcorn style, and we answered as we wanted to. After the questions and doing our 2 minute teaches, we were given the opportunity to ask questions of the store manager and assistant. The store manager answered with "I love the people I work with, I hire my best friends and people just like me." The assistant manager shared that she enjoyed working there because she's constantly challenged and is able to combine her passion for fashion and athletics into a career. At this point I completely agreed with other reviews that said the selection is not about qualifications or experience, but about personality.
After the interview I was able to talk to some of the other candidates, but when I attempted to introduce myself to the store and assistant manager I wasn't able to, as they were talking to other candidates that they clearly knew prior to the interview.
We were told that if we were being considered further we would know by the end of the day following the interview. No communication would be given if we were not being considered.
The interview was fun, very casual, and low stress.