I applied in-person. I interviewed at Big 5 Sporting Goods (Phoenix, AZ) in Sep 2012
Interview
The only way to get into upper management with Big 5 is to start in the Management Trainee position. The interview is relatively simple and all an applicant has to do is convince the interviewer they would be a good sales person and leader in the store.
I applied through college or university. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Big 5 Sporting Goods (Vista, CA) in May 2016
Interview
Receive a phone call and go to interview at time and place specified. Show up in business causal clothing and greet the cashier at the front (common courtesy. Interviewing manager will introduce himself and ask you a serious of questions from your resumé. Then the manager will ask you other questions related to the job. The whole interview process doesn't take long (15-20 min).
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Big 5 Sporting Goods (Riverside, CA) in Nov 2016
Interview
There was a brief interview with someone from Human Resources, which was fairly basic with simple questions. After that there were two members from the technical team who asked about my related experience/skills. All interviewers were reasonable and easy to talk to, and the technical questions were mostly simple and very fair.