Group Interview including several group activities. Little to no questions regarding any product knowledge nor retail experience. From my perspective REI cares little about prior knowledge and experience and has complete confidence in their training. In fact it appeared to me they almost preferred those that were more of a tabula rasa type where they could train them into exactly what they want them to be. It's a great situation for those who are looking at getting into Outdoor Retail but I feel it is pretty limiting for those with experience in the field. I do respect putting everyone on a level playing field, but not certain this works in all situations. For example, when I went in to the store to turn in a resume, I was there for half an hour and not one employee spoke to me. I was about to just leave when I saw someone who appeared to be a manager and I approached her. Everyone there is nice enough but for an operation that seems so confident in their process and their dedication to customer service as a Co Op, I'm not certain the group interview leads to the best result in all cases. But like I said, hard to argue with their success.

Online interview. After viewing question, you get 30 seconds to think and then must record an answer. You get 2-3 min per answer. If not satisfied with your first recorded answer, you have two more chances to re-record, and can then choose which of the three recordings you wish to submit. Five questions total. After this video interview, you may be offered a virtual or in-person interview with real people.