The Container Store interview questions

My first interview was a phone interview with one of the general managers. The interview was about a half hour long and the questions were based on my experience. The manager also shared some information with me about the company and their views. I then did a 1:1 interview with the general manager of another local store. The interviewer asked questions that would assess my ability to fit in to their company culture, which is quite unique. I did extensive online research prior to the interview, which was quite helpful. A store manager joined us for some questions. The next interview was with the district manager ("area manager" in Container Store terms) and 2 general managers. Their questions were all directed toward my ability to fit into their company culture. Every person that I spoke to was very professional and passionate about their company. I enjoyed meeting and talking to each of them. For anyone who is applying to this company, be prepared for a drawn out interview process. The only negative part of my experience was the length of the process and the time it took for them to get back to me after each step. You will probably need to intiate all follow-up.

The Container Store held a series of group interviews (for 5 full-time and 45 part-time positions) in anticipation of their first store opening in Las Vegas in mid-May. I believe they said they had received 1300+ applications to fill these 50 positions (all other positions were filled with Container Store employees and hand-picked management staff.) Over the course of several weeks they held 3-4 group interviews per day, with maybe 10-12 per session, so you do the math. I made the first cut after filling out an on-line application and was invited to one of the group interviews. It was quite the pep rally for The Container Store. There was an HR person, 3 managers from the LV store and a couple store representatives from other Container Store locations in attendance. Prior to the group interview, we were asked to bring a printed copy of a Container Store product photo and description from their website and explain to the group how it would improve our lives. We saw a video about The Container Store, learned about the corporate culture and products (for those who weren't familiar.) There was a good amount of interaction with the candidates and way too much rah, rah about the company. We were also asked to fill out a schedule of our availability for the weeks (for training) leading up to the grand opening. Anyway, I received a call back for a second interview in much less than a week (something they seemed to be quite proud of -- they would contact us either way within one week of our interview.) Second interview was with the GM of the Las Vegas store and the GM of a store in Washington State. I thought it went quite well. However, after a week and a half, I had not heard anything (at that point they were still conducting group interviews.) I called and spoke to another manager who said the GM was extremely busy and would be in touch soon. Did they call me to let me know one way or the other? No. So much for the hype. Just like any other potential employer these days. They have so much talent to choose from, end up interviewing way too many people and become overwhelmed. Things/people fall through the cracks.