I applied online and (the same evening) received an email for an interview with a few dates prompting me to confirm which day I wanted to meet. The email also instructed me to find an area in my home that may need organizing and a product that would help. I picked the soonest date and arrived prepared to explain the item that I could use to organize at home. There was about eight other people at the group interview. The "interview" consisted of watching a few informative videos about the company and the manager explaining more details about the position+ company. The ad I applied to was for FT/PT Retail Sales/visual Merchandiser. She explained that they were only hiring for part time merchandising positions which consisted mostly of breaking down boxes and getting new product on the sales floor. I found the panel to be quite awkward; seating a panel of strangers in a semi-circle and having them each answer the same question was..different . It wasn't so painful though, it lasted about an hr and a half, most of that time being consumed by videos. I did however feel tinges of nervousness, desperation and awkwardness in the air like any normal interview except this time x8. Towards the end we each filled out a sheet with our availability which was supposed to be a determining factor on candidacy. I left the interview feeling unsure but to my surprise received a call about 4 days later for an interview the following day. I arrived and met with another manager who seemed quite nice. He asked me a number of relevant questions about why I chose the Container Store and my work ethic/history but he also kept pressing me about my "passion" and the future of my career. My work experience was relevant to the position so I'm unsure about his angle but it was like my answer just wasn't good enough for him personally and he wanted me to say something else. Lol. Maybe that was just him trying to get to know me but I got the impression that he was judging me beyond a professional level. He explained the next steps; drug test, background check, etc. Long story long, I didn't get the job. A few days later I received a rejection email. Although I am sinking further in my unemployment depression, I really appreciate how fast the experience was. They were very good with letting you know the next steps.

I applied on their website, the next day I received an email asking me to RSVP for an interview the following week. I was supposed to figure out an area in my home that needed organizing, and find a TCS item I would use to organize that area. This item would be presented at the interview. When I arrived at the interview (at 7am!!!), I was directed to an area with a (half) circle of chairs and a TV. I was given a name tag, and sat down. There were 15 of us, we were asked to introduce ourselves, and for the most part, everyone was given an opportunity to answer each question.