I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale (Union, NJ) in Jul 2012
Interview
The interview process was typical. I waited for an hour just to be told to come back the next day, and the same thing happened to me day next. When I was finally interviewed, the hiring manager profusely apologized and assured me that Costco is a great company and that they were suffering from staff shortages, which is why I received the run around. I made it past the first round and was interviewed by a second manager; after making it through the second round I submitted to a drug test and background check to be eligible for employment. Very straightforward process; I would imagine most anyone would do well in an interview.
You sit at a table in the food area with two managers. If you have a heart beat you got a job. They drug test immediately. They take you into a back room to suck on a dry sponge for about 5 minutes to see if you pass the test.
Initial phone screen with a manager. Went on to do in person interview with other managers (previous experience in a team, what i did to prepare,etc.) Clarified my schedule and started the onboarding a week later.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Time you worked on a team, mistake you made, communicating something new
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale in Nov 2025
Interview
This was for a seasonal position. Went in and got seated in the breakroom. They called me in after about 15 minutes. I was interviewed by the Admin manager and the Front end manager. It went really well! They dud an amazing job of making me feel comfortable. I handed them copies of my resume and they were just pointing things out and asking me about that and what my plans were at Costco, considering the prestige of my college degree and my professional experience thus far. After that they asked me general situational questions. Told me to wait in the breakroom again to speak with GM. Conversation with him took less than 5 minutes. He told me my resume was impressive, also asked me what I was hoping to gain at Costco. Afterwards told me to be on standby to get my drug test done. That took about 15 minutes and I had orientation 2 days later.