I applied online to the position of Operations Manager. After about a week I received a call and set up an interview. The first interview was with another Operations. Manager. I found this manager to be very personable and he put me at ease during the interview. He was very upbeat and really seemed to love working for Petsmart. The next day the Store Manager of the store needing to hire an Operations Manager called me and we set up an interview a few days latter.
This Store Manager had a very different personality then the previous one. He seemed to be a bit cold and was very direct. To this point I was not asked any really difficult questions but I did start to wonder if I would enjoy working here. He described the position of consisting of five 10 hour workdays. What ever happened to the 40-hour workweek in America and the idea of work/life balance? Anyway, I received a phone call from the Store Manager about 2 hours after leaving. He wanted me to come back in right away for my third interview this time with the District Manager and we set up a time for the next day.
When I arrived at the store the following day for the interview I alerted a cashier that I was here and if she could let the D.M. know. She stated that she didn't think the DM was in but she would tell Store Manager. Within less then 30 seconds two women one of them being the DM approached me. I was escorted to a small conference room where the interview would take place. As we were walking to the conference room we passed by the Store Manager who hardly even acknowledged me.
I am still not sure who the other woman was in the room with us as she said almost nothing and remained stoned faced throughout the interview. I assume she was from the HR department. Once the interview began it felt more like an interrogation then an interview. For the next hour I was drilled on my background, what I did, why I did things, how I did things and the outcome, what I would do differently etc.
Now I understand behavioral based interviews but I felt as though I was put on the defensive and I even felt as though the DM was a little condescending. Needless to say I did not come away with a good feeling I actually left feeling a little upset by the experience. Oh yes and as I was leaving the store the Store Manger was walking past me with another associate, again he hardly even acknowledged me as I walked past him.
The most unexpected thing that happened to me during the interview was at the end the DM asked me what questions I had and when I asked about growth opportunities. The DM responded in a way that made me feel like I was in a performance review. She said something along the lines of, "Well I think this position would be challenging for you because you don't have a lot of inventory experience. You have great experience in people development and coaching which is something that many of our Operations Mangers lack but I think you would have a lot to learn about our services and inventory systems etc."
Of course with any new position with a new company I expect challenges. I welcome them and I hope to learn new things. However, I have 20 years or retail experience and I have managed up to 100 employees at a store that did over $20MM in annual sales. During my 20 years don't you think I would have been responsible for inventory results? Don't you think I would know a little something about operations, inventory, shrink, scheduling etc? During my career some of the positions I have held have been Customer Service Manager, Assistant Manager, Inventory Coordinator, Store Manager, Associate Manager, General Manager and others. I have had Assistant Managers whose division of responsibility was inventory/operations report directly to me. So I was not only surprised but I nearly fell off my chair when she said this to me. I was so shocked by her statement that I was at a loss for words.
Being a customer of Petsmart I no longer feel like I even want to shop here never mind work here.