I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Good Vibrations (California) (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2010
Interview
I applied online with a cover letter and resume and received an email back within a week to set up a phone interview, which is the first step interview. Afterwards I was never asked for an in-person interview, and received a letter in the mail thanking me but no offering me the job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Nothing out of the ordinary. I hate phone interviews and bombed it due to my nerves.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Good Vibrations (California)
Interview
Extensive. I had a phone interview, then in person (was rejected due to looking too alternative). Was asked by a different manager to apply again, interviewed with her, then with both of them, then was finally hired.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
What would you do if a customer said "anal sex is disgusting!"?
I was a walk-in and was invited back for an interview a few days later. I submitted a typed resume and also submitted an online application that included extensive questions about how comfortable I would be working in their environment.
Most of the questions in-person revolved around retail experience. They also wanted to know other jobs and situations that required me to work as intimately with the public and about my sexual health education and sex positivity background.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked many hypothetical questions about how I would handle a customer who was being inappropriate. For example, a man asking me how I would personally use a toy that he was looking to buy. Or, how to handle a person loudly making fun of an item in the store. They expect their employees to be as respectful as possible and to take into consideration how other customers may feel during these incidents.
I did ask how safe of an environment the company was and how often customers put their employees in an inappropriate position. They were confused and told me that it was just like any other store, almost as if to point out that I was being judgmental by asking them about my safety. Hypothetical questions were one thing, but I wanted to gain some insight into how they kept the environment safe for their workers. The vibe that I got was that there was nothing unsafe about working in a store that sold sex items to begin with, and the conversation took a strange turn and didn't really answer my question. I think it was my question that cost me the job.