The Container Store Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The phone interview was brief but engaging, sparking my interest to discover more about the role. However, in the subsequent one-on-one meeting, the interviewer was 15 minutes late and appeared disengaged, almost falling asleep during our discussion. I found this lack of respect to be a waste of both my time and the interviewer's. If respect and attention cannot be given to candidates, it would be better to reschedule. No offer was made, and frankly, I'm not surprised given the apparent lack of engagement during the conversation.

So, the interview process involved a phone call, then a face-to-face with the Area Manager, and another in-person with the Regional Manager. I heard they can do up to 9 interviews, which is wild, but I got lucky and was done after the third one. The total time was about 3.5 hours. A few things to know about The Container Store: they've been a Fortune 100 Best Company for ages, and that's super important to them. Their philosophy is basically hiring one great person instead of three average ones, so be ready to do more work without triple the pay. They only hire 3% of applicants, which is even less than Harvard or Stanford. This means 97% are considered not good enough. So, you gotta ask yourself, if they're already unhappy with 97% before hiring, how happy will they be with the 3% after? Do they really think people have a strong work ethic? They seem to, since they filtered out all the 'riff-raff'. They also claim to offer over 260 hours of training compared to the typical 8 hours in retail. Is that training or brainwashing? Remember, if you're hired, you're already in the top 3%. Now about pay, they say they pay 50-100% more. That's not true, they got rid of bonuses and incentives. I would have taken a $15k pay cut. The only way to get a 50% raise is from minimum wage to like $12/hr. The interview process requires knowing a lot about the company. If you don't do your homework, you're in the 97%. You need to: check their website thoroughly, including all tabs, videos, blogs, and comments (which are heavily moderated to be positive). Visit the website again. You MUST know the Foundation Principles, the President's name, and what Elfa is, or you're part of the 97%. Go to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Google. Basically, obsess over the company. You'll notice there's absolutely nothing negative said anywhere about the company. No criticism, nothing. Because you're in the top 3%, the company is perfect! It all adds up to a company that's doing everything to ensure they only hire people who will keep them on the Fortune 100 list. These are the 'rah-rah' types who don't think for themselves. The only way to get on that list is through employee feedback on company-submitted questionnaires. Only the 'awesomes' can apply.

The interview process included a recruiter call where I was asked several questions about myself and my motivations. I was asked to introduce myself, describe myself, explain what makes me unique, state why I want to work at the company, what about the role interests me, what my motivations are, what I am passionate about, and why I am leaving my current job.