I applied online. I interviewed at Olexa's (Mountain Brook, AL) in Jan 2022
Interview
The owner is very alluring and kind, she made me feel comfortable. I’ll admit I’m not an expert cake decorator but I could easily learn: even during the interview the owner showed me a few tips and stated that I was one of the most teachable people she’d encountered. She was very generous with her interview but not so much with her offer. She told me to go buy my own supplies, go home, bake cakes, make icing, and practice in my own time over the course of a few weeks and come back and interview again. This was frustrating to me because if you’re so desperate to find someone to fill the job that you have it… posted ? Why can’t you hire them then take a week or two to train them ? Especially if they’re so incredibly “teachable”. I have a degree in fine arts and was the head Confectionery baker at my old job, though I didn’t do much decorating. But the point is that I would be well able to learn. If you tell me to go home and teach myself for the chance that I come back and *maybe* get the position then I’m not going to take time out of my life and my own money to invest in your company. You should invest in your employees and hire to train. The pay rates were below average for someone who would have been expert and laughable for someone who maybe was still learning. You can do much with $10-$14hr though businesses don’t seem to understand this. Also, the amount of urgency one person was expected to decorate cakes with was flabbergasting. Maybe I’m not aware how professional cake decorators function but expecting someone to fully decorate a beautiful cake with smooth ice, boarders, roses and script in less than 5mins is nothing I want anything to do with lol. If your dream is to become a professional cake decorator, maybe this is worth biting the bullet and working at. The owner seems very willing to work with people…but less willing to train or pay them much. But if you’re just looking for a job, this is not it.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
She had me smooth ice decorate a cake and timed it. She expects one to be able to do this in under a few minutes. She had me make icing roses and write script on a cake.
I applied in-person. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Olexa's
Interview
You work what they call a "working interview", which is an unpaid two hour shift. After that they decide whether they are going to hire you or not. It's very easy.
I applied in-person. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Olexa's (Birmingham, AL) in Sept 2011
Interview
Went in for a scheduled interview and trial decoration of a cake. When finished they said they would contact me. They had me come in 3 more times over the next 2 weeks to complete actual cake orders without pay. A week later they offered me full time hours but scheduled me at part time hours for the first 3 months.