Citi Trends Interview Questions
& Process

The recruiter reached out via text and then confirmed by email. I noticed she might be an external recruiter, which felt like a red flag. Then I met with the hiring manager, who seemed unprepared and disorganized, constantly checking her watch and not engaging. This was another red flag. Following that, someone from HR contacted me to schedule another interview, which was a better experience. This person was from the company, and the interview was more structured, allowing for a good discussion about the role and expectations. I was told I'd hear back in a few days and was assured I could follow up if needed. However, after a week of no response, I reached out to both the HR person and the second hiring manager. I received no reply. Even two months later, the position was still being posted, which was confusing.

This was one of the most frustrating interview experiences I've had. I went through four lengthy video interviews. After the fourth one, they informed me I'd need a fifth interview with the CEO. By then, so much time had passed that my interest in the job had waned. All the interviewers seemed disengaged and exhausted. I had to reach out after the fourth interview and then wait another two weeks for a rejection email. My advice: four or more interviews are excessive for assessing fit and just waste everyone's time, leaving a bad impression of the company.

I applied online and got a text from a recruiter about availability for a phone interview. After texting back, I got a call and scheduled the interview for a few days later. It was brief and easy. The interviewer was nice and cheerful. She then scheduled me for an in-person interview at the store. When I got there, the manager didn't show up because of personal issues, so I had to reschedule. The rescheduled interview happened a few days later and went okay. I was asked hardly any questions. Mostly, the District Manager talked for about 2 hours about herself, how great she thought the company was, and how bad she thought most employees were. Finally, she asked about my desired pay. I gave my lowest acceptable amount, and she said it was too high. I thought that was the end of it. Later, I received an email to complete an online application, consent to a background check, and a drug test. I agreed, especially since they offered a free copy of the background test results. About a month later, I got the results in the mail (no felonies, death certificates). I still didn't expect to hear back because my pay expectations were higher than they could offer. A few weeks after that, the store manager called and offered me a job at $1 less per hour than I asked for. Since I didn't have other offers, I accepted.

The interview took about half an hour. They asked me about myself and my hobbies. They also asked about my work schedule. I was pretty persistent about getting the job, and it took about a month from my first callback to get the interview set up. They let me know the shift hours and then welcomed me to the team.