I applied in-person. I interviewed at Trader Joe's (Los Angeles, CA) in Jan 2013
Interview
I went in person for an application and took it home to complete it. About a week after I turned it in I got a call for an interview the next day. All of the employees seem genuinely happy to be working at Trader Joe's and are focused on their job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is your favorite Trader Joe's product was the most difficult question because there are so many good products.
I had 3 separate interviews. 1 was over the phone. 2 were in person. I never heard anything after the third interview. I called the store about a week later and they let me know they didn’t actually have any available positions. Really felt like they wasted my time.
I applied in-person. I interviewed at Trader Joe's (West Hollywood, CA)
Interview
Casual, took place outside of the store. First I had a phone call interview. Then another which was in-person with 2 of the mates in the store, and finally a third in-person with the captain of the store.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was something I did for a friend that was above and beyond?
Different questions than I have experienced in past job interviews, but seem to be their traditional hiring questions. They want to make sure they are hiring sociable people more so than just someone that can do the job.