I had an interview at Build-A-Bear Workshop this evening, it has to be one of the funnest job interviews that I have ever been to. To begin with it was a group interview, which I have never had before. There were 6 girls (including myself) at the interview, when we first arrived we were asked to put on a name tag and then told to choose a bear...
...I actually chose the bunny, almost exactly like this one. When we had chosen our "bear" we were told to pick out an outfit for our "bear" (seriously where else would you get to pick out an outfit for a stuffed animal during an interview!), I chose these cute blue jeans with brown boots and this super cute sweater that all the associates at Build-A-Bear told me it was their favorite and I told them all that I wished I could buy one in my size (to which they all agreed :D).
After everyone had picked out their outfits we went out between the stores and sat in a circle where they had some chairs/couches. We began by introducing ourselves to our partner, talking to them for a little bit and then when the time was up we were asked to introduce our partner to the rest of the group.
Next came the questions, the interviewer asked several questions and we were given the option to answer them, but we didn't have to (I tried to answer every single one because everyone that I had talked to about going to a group interview had told me to go in with lots of energy, answer questions and not get lost in the group).
This next part was my favorite (besides getting to dress the doll of course :D)...the interviewer pretended to be a customer and we were supposed to pretend that we already worked at Build-A-Bear. She was a different person for each one of us (a boyfriend looking for a present for his girlfriend, a grandma looking for a grandchild, a little boy, etc.), for me she was a daughter wanting to buy something for her mother for mother's day. Everyone else had just said something like "how are you doing today, what can I help you with...how about this___" and I knew that I didn't really want to introduce it that way so I began somewhat the same but then changed.
"How are you doing today? Is there something that I can help you find? Tell me about your Mom, what does she like to do, favorite colors, animals?"
After we had set kind of the ground level I then suggested the rabbit and told her a little bit about what he was wearing, etc.
Next we talked about suggestive selling, where you are supposed to convince the costumer that there is something else they need that would make their purchase even better. The two girls that went before me both talked about how there is a sound box that you can record a message on and then put it in the bear, I didn't want to copy them and so asked if I could make up a product...I then talked to my "customer" and told them about this cute little chalkboard that would be a perfect addition, she could write a note to her Mom on it and because she had mentioned her Mom liking art she could draw on it and have an "artsy" rabbit.
She had one more question for us, she asked what our association with Build-A-Bear was and why we were drawn to work there. I explained that I had never actually been there because there was no Build-A-Bear nearby but because I wanted to be a kindergarten/first grade teacher it was perfect because then I get to play with kids all day and because I could be a kid too (as I was answering this question she started scribbling very quickly :D).
She asked if we had any questions and then told us that she would get to us in the next week. She explained that if we didn't get a job to not be too angry with ourselves, she gets at least 15 applications sent to her a day and that we made it to the interview was good.
As I was putting my rabbit and the clothes away she came up to me and asked if I could stick around until after everyone else was gone. When everyone was gone she asked me to come to the back and fill out a survey, I asked her if it was a good thing and she told me it was very good--it was the next stage in them looking at being able to hire me.
I took the survey (100 questions!), it was one of those things where they give you a statement and then a scale of 1-5 of how much you agree with it basically. When I was done she told me thank you and said that she would get back to me in the next couple of days...
So...I hope that means that I will have a job! There was no one else that was asked to remain behind and do this so hopefully that means something really good :D I am really excited about the prospect of working here, I think that it would be a really fun job and that I would enjoy it a lot. It will begin as a seasonal job but with the opportunity to turn into something more. Hopefully in the next few days I will have news to report!
