I applied through an employee referral. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale (Seattle, WA) in Apr 2010
Interview
Interview process began pretty standard for Costco -- apply, then receive a voicemail or an email with an interview invitation. The first in-person interview was with the three assistant buyers I would be reporting to directly and indirectly. They asked a lot of questions that are on the standard interview form for Costco and some that weren't. Things like: why are you looking to leave you current job? Describe a time when you were given constructive coaching - why and how did you feel? Describe a time when you had to work on a group project and one of your team mates wasn't pulling their weight - how did you respond? What makes you stand out as the right person for this job compared to all the other candidates? What are your long term career plans and how would this job fit into them? The interview was a little intense and I definitely got the impression that they were trying to throw me off base for the interview (see if I would loosen up too much) -- three of the four interviewers were very funny, joked around a lot -- I was later told that one of the reasons I was selected for the 2nd interview was that I did not succumb to the tactics and maintained my professionalism throughout the interview. At the end of the first interview I was given a timed math test (story problems and basic merchandizing equations,) as well as an MS Word test (write a letter.)
The 2nd and 3rd interviews were more intense and lasted longer (hour+) they included several managers as well as several directors of the division. These interviews were aimed more at how well do you do under pressure. The questions were the same but came much more quickly and the managers wanted much more detail drilled down on each.
It's an interview both ways - after meeting more of the group - I did not feel that it was a good fit for me personally and did not continue the interview process beyond the 3rd. They hired a new grad instead. I am looking for a group that enjoys what they do and works well as a team without all the games.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Describe a project you worked on for a long period of time (weeks, months, etc.) Even if you succeeded, what are some areas you failed on that project and how could they have been avoided?
I applied online. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale (Pearland, TX) in Sept 2015
Interview
Disgusting interview in Pearland, TX. Interviewed with 1 female and 1 male employees, with little or no experience in hiring. These were people they had there just to ask a bunch of stupid questions. Rushed and asked stupid questions. Does not matter how good your resume is or working knowledge. They also wanted people to come back for 2nd and third interviews, if they liked you,
What a joke!!
I knew before the interview that they were only going to hire people under 35 based on how they acted before the interview. They avertised job as full time, only wanted people that could work part time any day they needed help, which is were selfish on Costco part. Some people are looking for part time have other full time jobs and can not afford to leave a full time job just to work for them part time and some people need a full time job with benefits. There is age discrimination in their hiring also. They are not looking for hard working people. They are looking for young people like themselves and only part time where they can dictate what days and hours you work, preventing you from having any other part time or full time job.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale (Seattle, WA) in Aug 2015
Interview
Two interviews, very nice and very friendly. It was a phone interview and they asked about ten questions. It was with two of the assistant buyers that interviewed me. It was for their corporate office in seattle and I don't live there so I had to do a phone interview.