I applied online, answered all questions with complete sentences and in ways that generated my excitement about the positions I applied for. Made sure to make the correlation between my values and the core values of Whole Foods (environmental conservation, healthy vegan and gluten free lifestyle, dedication to genuine customer service). I included my resume and a cover letter with my application again reiterating what I had stated within the application. I was called back the next day for a panel interview. I was nervous, since I had never been interviewed by five people at once before.
I was escorted through the back hallways of Whole Foods by a very nice man. We engaged in small talk, and he was friendly and inviting. So that gave me a good feeling of what was to come.
Anyway, i was escorted to a weird little room, literally 10' by 10' (I was told the conference room was being used) and was immediately introduced to four other people. Four of the people in the room were male, and there was one woman. The ones on the panel with the highest positions were white males, while the other three were of an ethnic background. The interview began with the average "tell me a little about yourself question" asked by the Store Team Leader. Then the other people present asked me one question each. Along the lines of tell me your greatest strength and weakness, tell me a lesson you've learned at your previous position, tell me why you want to work at Whole Foods. All typical and expected questions. The interview was only about 15 minutes long, including about 5 minutes of my own questions being asked. I thought that was quite short.
I have to note that there was one individual on the panel that seemed like he didn't like me right off the bat. While I was able to engage the others and make them smile, he was stone cold. He did not want me there. The question he asked was so typical, it practically took 0 thought. "What's your greatest strength and weakness"... I believe that he was the reason I didn't get the job. Or that they had an internal candidate that they wanted to hire from the get go, but needed to consider other candidates to make it look good. Or because I was a white female applying to a leadership position. I have four years of management experience in a small company and am currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Business Economics. They didn't ask me any situational questions such as "tell me about a time when" ... I thought that in order to get a grasp on what I've experienced and how I would act in certain situations, they would have asked me some of those.
The Store Team Leader called me back about three hours after I left the interview saying that they had selected another candidate. No more of a description other than "another". Then they offered me an interview for a cashier position. -__- I sent the Store Team Leader a thank you email to practice professionalism. He responded with "Your (sic) welcome". Geeze!!!!
All in all, I believe that for one reason or another, I wasn't given a fair shot. Guess I'll learn from this. Ha!