I applied online for a job at the East Avenue location the day the job listing was posted, which was a Wednesday evening. I initially found the posting on indeed while seeking employment at various places. I was very excited when I received an email two days later, on Friday, from the Human Resources Department stating that they would like to include me in the interview process and that I should contact one of their representatives by either email or calling the store directly. I responded that night with an email thanking them for the opportunity, giving my availability and asking when the best time to schedule my interview would be.
I was extremely happy as Wegmans is a company I respect greatly, in fact it's probably one of my favorites. I immediately began to research as much as I could about the company and their interview process, but I did not hear back from them until the next Tuesday. The reply from HR I received was short, but to the point. They told me they "wanted to schedule a PHONE interview" and listed three times I could choose from. Interpret the tone of that email however you wish...
At that point I scheduled my interview for the following day and (continued) to study as much as I could about the types of questions they were going to ask. I spent several days straight doing nothing but trying to get prepared for the interview, even disregarding class activities (I was in high school at the time) to look up scenarios and potential questions on my smartphone.
The day the interview came I was nervous, but felt I had prepared enough. The woman who called me was very polite and seemed welcoming. She began the interview by simply going over the application I sent them online, just making sure that everything was accurate. After this basic overview, she moved on to a few questions about my work history, of which I had none. She then moved on to school and future educational plans.
Once we were finished with that part, she began to ask me some tougher, or maybe I should say more in depth questions, such as...
"Why should I hire you?"
"How would you deal with an angry customer?"
"Are there any departments other than the one that you applied for that you would NOT want to work for? Why?"
"What is your expected salary? A set dollar amount?"
"Explain what diversity means to you."
"Name three qualities a former employer or teacher would use to describe you."
"Name a company that you think displays excellent customer service, other than Wegmans?"
"Describe a time you were part of a team. What was your contribution?"
Many of these I was prepared for, but several others tripped me up as I had not seen them online. I gave my best, honest answer to every single one of them, hoping to redeem myself, but I could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't liking what I was telling her. The response I was getting to my answers went from "great" and "perfect" to simply "okay" by the end of the interview process. I asked her a few questions at the end and she finished off by giving me the dreaded "thanks, but no thanks" statement. She told me... "The interview process is now over. Now we are looking at a few more candidates, but hopefully you'll hear back from us within a week or so. Thank you."
I pretty much immediately counted this one as a loss and began looking elsewhere for employment. My intuition was justified when exactly a week later I received an email from HR saying that they appreciated my time and interest, but that they would no longer be considering my application.
Overall my experience was mostly positive. There were a few communication issues at the beginning of the process, but the interview was very professional. I regret that they chose someone else over me, but I respect that decision as I probably did not sell myself as well as I should have. Those of you who are considering Wegmans, I say go for it. They are a great company and I think their reputation speaks for itself, just be prepared for a very thorough process that could pull many surprises and will have many detailed steps.