I found the opening on Indeed and followed a link to their application portal. It requires you to create a pretty in-depth profile where you upload your resume, and a cover letter if desired, in addition to describing additional departments you are interested in and what skills you have in each of those departments. I enjoyed this part as it allowed me to showcase a variety of skills and interests throughout the Specialty department (which includes beer, wine, coffee, cheese, chocolate and the olive bar) where this position is located. I was contacted by phone about 6 days after applying for a roughly 10-minute pre-screening phone interview with the Assistant Team Leader. I was asked a couple of basic questions like "what do you know about Whole Foods?", "why would you like to work for us?", and questions about my resume and background. Additionally, I was asked questions relevant to the department like what local beers I had recently enjoyed (I had just moved to the state but fortunately I had already had 6-7 different local beers), what my favorite cheese is, what my favorite wine is, etc. The Assistant Team Leader I was speaking with informed me that he was pre-screening candidates and that his boss, the Team Leader, would be making final decisions on who to schedule in-person interviews with so I was informed that I would be contacted within a day or two regarding a further interview. I was contacted the next day by the Assistant Team Leader and scheduled an in-person interview for three days later. The interviews with Whole Foods are panel interviews and there were 4 people present for mine. Some interview questions I was asked: What makes a Trappist beer Trappist? What is your favorite cheese? What wine would you pair with that? What are three different white wine styles besides Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc? If your manager gives you a long list of tasks and a coworker asks you for assistance doing something and you also notice a few messy areas in your department, how would you prioritize? Describe the difference in taste between coffees from each of the 3 main regions of export? What would you prepare and pair (presumably they were open to pairing with wine or beer) for us if we were coming over for dinner tonight? What changes would you make in the wine department? What would you do to increase single-glass wine sales at the bar? What would you do to create repeat business at the bar? If you received a single case of a rare beer where would you display it within the store? I was asked what pay rate I am looking for, I had read that the average pay for this position was $12-$13/hour so I opened with saying that my skills and background would like to see me in the range of $14 to which they briefly cringed before I had the chance to add that it was negotiable because I'm passionate about this opportunity and am sure they have a budget. The interviews were tightly packed, presumably I was led into the room right after an interviewee and I was told we were "out of time" about 30 minutes into the interview when one of the managers walked me down so they could also guide the next interviewee up. I was told I would be contacted by the next day at the latest. I was called about an hour and a half after I left with a "unfortunately we aren't selecting you for this position." I was asked if I wanted feedback and was told that my wine knowledge wasn't sufficient, that all of the other candidates already work for Whole Foods at that location and that it came down to another candidate having more knowledge. It's strange, I put a lot of effort into creating a well thought out action plan and having thoughtful and informed responses in my interview. I believe I only answered one wine question incorrectly so either they are very strict about this or that outsiders just really don't stand much of a chance when there are candidates from within who are applying as well. He told me that I was very intelligent, well-spoken and seem very passionate and they would love to have me on their team in another position. He instructed me to apply to any open positions online and that they were looking for part-time cashiers if that interested me.