Behavioral Interview with questions on how you would behave in a team environment, and stressful or otherwise adverse conditions. They will also analyze how you align with the company's value system.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker.
I applied online. I interviewed at Publix (Dothan, AL) in Oct 2014
Interview
The interview process was extremely professional. I waited on a bench outside of the office for about 10 minutes while they interviewed another person, and then I spoke with the store manager first, who asked me basic questions about why I wanted the job and how well I dealt with people. I then spoke with the Deli manager, who also asked many of the same questions. Both managers spoke with one another for almost 15 minutes while I waited on a bench, which made it very suspenseful--more so than it had been watching their poker faces during the interview-- and then I spoke with both of them at the same time. They were very hard to read and presented their concerns about my answers as well as what they liked and gave me a chance to explain/redeem myself when they didn't understand or misinterpreted any statements. I spent a lot of time feeling like I was going to have to grovel at their feet for the position due to a lack of clear wording. They picked apart everything I said. At the end, after stressing enough to take 10 years off of my life, the store manager looked at me and told me that he had decided to offer me a position, and asked if I would like to take him up on that offer. I was almost thoroughly flustered at that, simply because I'd just spent 2+ hours trying not to beg for this job. It seemed to me that it was obvious I wanted the job, and it was their choice to hire me. However, I appreciate that they followed through right to the end with professionalism instead of assuming I wanted the job. A few days later I was called for a second interview and they did a mouth swab drug test on the spot and took care of some basic paperwork. About a week later I got a call letting me know that everything came back and that they needed me to come in to take care of more paperwork and discuss orientation times and dates.
They care more about how well you work with people, and how friendly and courteous you can be to the customers. If you talk about how great your work ethics are (completing tasks on time and properly) and how punctual you can be, you'll wind up feeling pretty bad when they tell you that customer service is their number one priority and they don't really want to hear about the other. They certainly care about those aspects, however when being interviewed for a customer service position such as a bagger or cashier, focus on your people skills.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
There was not a specific question that struck me as being more difficult than the rest.
Manager wanting to hear about you, your skills and basic knowledge. Showing respect and enthusiasm. Basic, getting to know the company, a friendly environment and the challenges it may come with.
It was a hiring event so about ten people were doing interviews all at once. They had several store managers doing the interviews. I had a district manager interview me.