Oriental Trading Company Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and then got a call a few days later about an interview for the next day. During the interview, I watched a quick company video and took a simple test. The interviewer reviewed my application and test results while I waited briefly. The interview itself was standard with no tough questions. I was told I got the job pending my background and drug tests. About a week later, those results came back, and I went in to complete paperwork and prepare for training. I was happy with how fast everything moved and that they hire on the spot, which was great for my seasonal job goal.

The supervisor called me unexpectedly for a phone interview. I didn't get his last name because he said it was too hard to say and he didn't give me any contact info. I didn't hear back for about a month. Then they asked me to come in for 3 one-on-one interviews the next week. It was good to talk with people at my level without the supervisor, but some questions were repeated. I was curious about management changes after the company came out of Chapter 11 in 2011. An employee who'd been there 5 years said it hadn't really changed, which I think was what I wanted to hear, but I wanted to make sure they were changing their business model. Since I hadn't used a required software in a while, one interviewer showed me a sample printout. Nobody gave me contact info or a business card at the end. After learning more, I decided I'd probably turn down an offer. After over two months of silence, HR messaged me saying they'd hired someone but would keep my resume.

It took a couple of months for the whole hiring thing to wrap up. They started with a quick phone call to chat about my background. Then, I went in for an on-site interview with a manager. They asked me some standard stuff, like to talk about a tough situation I handled at work, details about my experience, and my strong points. After that, I met the folks I'd be working with to learn more about what the job is like day-to-day. Lastly, I had a sit-down with the department director. They asked a few more questions, but nothing too tough.

I had two interviews and a skills test. First, a phone call with the recruiter, which was friendly. She then scheduled an in-person interview for the following week with the head of studio and a design manager. They seemed very interested in my experience with a competitor and the job description seemed a bit different from what they were actually looking for. The recruiter said they needed someone independent, but the in-person interview suggested they wanted a "team player." After that, I was asked to do a lengthy skills test on my own time. I followed up a few days after submitting it, but never got a response or confirmation of receipt.