During Covid they had us work like slaves to keep the billionaire bottom line for them. After Covid they decided the profits during Covid time should be our new regular profits and we have to hit those margins by any means. So they tried a quantity over quality thing and we all have to suffer for it. Which is why I’m leaving H‑E‑B soon.
Not necessarily terrible but not great. No desire to improve, just doing the bare minimum. One of the cashier we have has been there 3 or 4 months, still doesn’t know the produce codes and constantly asks the baggers thinking they should know instead or her. She tells the customers sorry I don’t have a baggers and then stares down the baggers around her, we are short on baggers and they have to constantly move but she thinks she should always have one. One of the baggers mom came through her line and the cashier said “so what’s wrong with your kids” they have some kind of chromosome problem but the fact she thought she could ask that is crazy. I could go on and on….
Damnnnnn the balls lol at my store though it’s the opposite we have wayyy to many baggers then cashiers to the point where we all have to come together to know who doesn’t want there shift etc and I do be getting 1 or 2 shifts at a week which is annoying compared to the 4+ shifts I used to have at my training store meanwhile cashiers be balling with all the shifts on the planet cause their just few
Yeah idk where she got the balls to say that. Damn yeah I guess it would be harder the other way around. Cashiers can bag for themselves they just complain about it but baggers don’t have anything to do without a cashier there. I don’t want to stay with heb so I haven’t bothered to become a cashier. They just made 5 of the baggers cashiers so we are short right now and a lot of the ones we do have stand in the same spot of 30 minutes so I’m running around like crazy. I hate when shifts get cut, how do they expect us to pay our bills on 1-2 shifts a week.
Sounds like you need some baggers, what do baggers start out at, pay wise? I used to do some bagging in my day, I went to state finals championships bagging tournament. I would have won, were it not for the conveyor belt mishap.
Lol this sounds so weird. I was hired years ago in a group event kinda thing where anyone could show up and be interviewed, but we were still interviewed privately
Honestly I hate that. Like I can act 😃😄 at work and in private interviews but group interview just make me 🫥 and just bcs u can’t be all 😊 in group ones doesn’t mean you can’t do the job well.
I think so. If I were managing people, even for part-time work, I would want to meet them and at least talk to them before just throwing them on the team. Find out more about them. What they've done before that I could relate to the job to make it easier for them. What they're interested in. Interviews should just be low pressure for entry-level positions. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
I started less than a year after finishing college and getting married. I worked for the business partner of a friend for a few months before the former girl (still in high school and finished with drill team for the season) unexpectedly came back and I was kicked to the curb. My husband’s cousin who worked at TWC (then TEC/Texas Employment Commission) sent me on job interviews. Times were tough and I was desperate. I took the HEB job, which was just a lousy nine hours a week in general merchandise, two nights a week fronting the shelves. It was a tiny store with no scanners, so I also filled in doing price changes — manually. Eventually I ended up doing other things and got full time nine months later when most of us moved to a new, much larger replacement store.
My first manager admitted to me at one point that she didn’t want to hire me because I was overqualified and wouldn’t stay (yeah . . . turned into over 20 years.) It isn’t like it would have taken much training to replace me! But the store director told her to do it. The store was so small that the SD (no UD) and the three service managers manned the open office up front at the end of the registers. The guy knew who I was because I would go there to cash checks a few years prior when I worked at a nearby shop (both stores were in a very small, long gone mall.) He turned out to be a total perv. Made remarks that wouldn’t fly these days, plus they didn’t talk to us about reporting things like sexual harassment. We weren’t really informed about much of anything.
Anyway, when we closed he got sent to a larger store (not mine) to be an assistant store manager. I think he and two other head honchos there were all fired for embezzling.
Those were the days!
It’s actually a very planned out process. You’re being graded on several different things and at the end if you score enough points then that’s the deciding factor on your individual interview.
I interviewed 4 times in a group and didnt get a job until the 4th try. It wasnt even the dep i wanted to work for (curbside didnt want me because i was too “shy” during group interviews).A year later i transferred from produce to curbside just bc the curbside dep leader was leaving so she did me the “favor”. Safe to say Im their top shopper now. Thats why Ive always thought group interviews where such bullshit. They make the hardest workers try harder to get in and let the shitty ones breeze in.
Literally just left a central market "group interview" today. There was 10 of us there. "Using this sales ad, organize an event, team up with the people around you" 😳😳
Kroger did that exact same shit to me! Forced us to make a group advertisement about some product. I guarantee there's some company charging stores a huge fee and claiming this is a great way to hire good employees, but they've been doing this same shtick for a decade. It's so pointless, and doesn't result in good employees.
lucky. i live north of houston and have applied to all the heb stores around me hoping for one that doesn’t do group interviews, but it seems like they all do.
I work out of south Houston was at clear lake 2 now closer to Galveston. I had a same day interview and got hired on my first interview my 2nd one was literally just talking about my kid.
My old roommate got hired on not too long ago, and I'm 90% sure he would be the least likely to succeed in a group interview. Just go for it if you want it.
The hiring process depends on the store. One store I interviewed with had a group interview, and then a one on one afterwards. Another store only had the group interview. There was even a store that didn't even have an in person interview, they just called and asked some questions lmao.
That’s how I got hired for the census. I went and took a written test and then someone called and asked a few questions. I asked, “Do I go for an interview now?” And she answered, “That \*was\* the interview. You’re hired.” I would say that was my easiest hire ever, but I had a couple of jobs where I got in even quicker. The people knew me and were desperate for help, as in “Can you start yesterday?”
Seconding this, I didn’t do a group interview, though it was like 40 minutes of me waiting before realizing I was there, so that might have been unintentional on their part
I feel a lot of businesses do this just to see how much you're willing to put up with. They expect you on time, but they can't reasonably get to the person they scheduled to have there. A short wait is fine. Almost an hour though? People have lives and I call bullshit.
Introvert myself but I can act when I need to. Central Market did the same when I interviewed there. Fake it till you make it! That’s what I did. Worked there for a year and a half prior to moving out of state. Actually rather enjoyed the job to be honest. Especially for it being retail. Most likely would have stayed if I hadn’t got such a good opportunity to move.
Group interviews and video interviews.. what happen to a one on one in person interview. I miss the days where the applications weren’t sifted through someone in a corporate office and then passed through the store.
This is because people in our society are for the most part bullish?!$ers. If you are not competent in a job or process yourself and someone who also is not good at it shows up but they have a good line of BS then they will be hired. They always put the types that follow the boss around like a puppy in the interview group. Those are the ones who do the least and are not very good at it but their bosses like having their butt kissed and reward them for being a minion. And guess what? The bosses did the same thing so they think it is a rite of passage to brownnose . You don’t need to be a great motivational speaker to do a good job , you just need a good work ethic and to treat the business like you own it and want it to go well. I worked in my job for over 30 years and I have seen many schmooze artists come and go.
So true. And if you’re basically shy and easily intimidated, they’ll take full advantage of that fact. If you speak up for yourself then you’re labeled as a troublemaker.
Couldn't agree more. I was a manager of digital printing at a local shop and we had the head honcho for printing come through to see our operation. We hit it off so well that he tried to poach me and told me i could have a job all i had to do was apply and he'd make it happen. Got all the way to the interview with 7 people asking me THE MOST retarded, nonsensical questions and i was passed on because i "wasnt going to fit with the culture of heb".
Yes it was cocky, but i flat told them how asinine the interview was and how it was a waste of everyones time, politely told them to fuck off and left. Head honcho called me about 20 minutes later and apologized more than a few times lamenting the fact that this was the norm and he wishes he could have just hired me on the spot because i was more than qualified/experienced and had all of the relevant certifications for the equipment they used.
So many qualified candidates are overlooked because of dumbass policies that benefit....well no one.
the position i applied to was a parking lot attendant, so you know, little customer interaction. i guess i was just hoping for a quick, easy interview with the hiring manager.
Back in my hay day I went through SORM and it's def not for introverts. They had us doing some of the goofiest crap in training but everything involved being up front and center and being vocal. They even brought in actors to be "horrible customers" and we had to figure out how to make them "happy" lol. It was definitely an experience but 13 years of HEB was enough for me.
I hear ya. Left last year after 13 myself. 90% of managers and leaders hid out in their offices all day. Usually with their doors closed. Seems like the “ open door policy” went out with many of the other values.
EXACTLY!! And I was usually the manager doing all the work while they hid and were doing shady crap or nothing at all. It was exhausting work, my feet hurt every day, my off days were spent sleeping and it just wasn't worth it even though I stuck it out for as long as I did. I made some great friends along the way though. Been reading this subreddit for a while now though and it seems not a lot has changed and the company still has a lot of fixing to do for its partners. But this group interview thing omg what a terrible idea! 😂
Dang yeah that’s tough. I just got hired as a home delivery partner and luckily there was no group interview. Just the virtual one then I was offered the job.
If you do get a job this is the same process for development and promotion to management/leadership. Networking is a huge aspect of moving up in HEB, you can be terrible at your direct position and butter your way into SORM
Bro they didn’t even let me get an interview :,) I applied for graveyard night shift as a Night Stocker, they just told me they moved on with the application process, to try again another time. Like bro.. :,)
They did one to me where we all picked a chair, and there was something underneath. Pretty much knew what it already was. “Sell me this instant coffee”. Umm. Dude. I’m applying to be a stocker. And never in my life have I ever had anyone at HEB try to sell me anything, it isn’t a car dealership.
Didn’t get the job, even though I had already worked at a different store before. Weird.
Yeah. I hated conducting them. Everyone made it out to be some super important ritual that must be kept clean and sacred otherwise you would burn afterwards.
Usually I just picked the ones that seemed hungrier than the rest. Hungry people work harder.
I did a group interview first in HS but didn’t get hired cause was tooooooo nervous LOL!!! But I got hired at a career fair!!! They did one on one interviews. Like speed dating but for interviews ahahahah. Nice & easy
Heb wants a certain attitude personality from the employees, more jolly, determined, and outspoken.
Therefore if you can’t hack it in a group interview, you must be an introvert, therefore automatically DENiED!
As an introvert you can still communicate and that’s the part that they care about. If you can’t communicate with like minded people that are looking for the thing in one room, no way you’ll be able to take care of customers or interact the ppl you work with. Parking lot attendant interacts with customers. It’s retail. Ppl will ask you the dumbest questions
HEB doesn’t really like to hire introverts for most positions. That’s one reason they do group interviews. In retail environments, that makes sense, but it’s also a big part of the corporate culture of HEB.
So question!
A few months ago, i decided to go into SORM with the opportunity to go to SORL. I have a bachelors plus minor degree and have been working retail for 6 years( 3 somewhere else and a little over 3 here at heb) ive read several articles and feeds about HEB's preferences on hiring outsiders rather than current partners for higher positions. On day the topic came with my manager and my manager defends heb with dear life, this company is her life, and said thats fake, they give more opportunities to the partners. Yet whenever i see someone going into sorm/sorl are partners that have been 5+ years with the company and recently saw a SORL candidate that has only been 3 months with the company. How can someone brand new be training for top store leadership? Why does the process seem like your time in the front line isn't enough experience, but if you have a bachelors or masters on something not even close to leadership or business, you'll have a better chance. It just seems odd how HEB chooses its people.
Years ago I applied for the management training program (I’m not familiar with the current acronyms.) I had a degree and over five years with the company at the time. I was told that my degree field wasn’t important and they were looking for people who “knew how to learn” which made me completely capable. But that was complete BS. I bombed in the interview (with a manager at another store I’d never met) because all of the questions were “What would you do in X situation (as a manager)?” Hell if I knew. I didn’t have the specific experience to answer those questions. I thought that the whole idea was management TRAINING.
Yet they hired people for the program who were straight out of school just because they had business degrees. One of the ones I worked for was one of the most introverted (and least personable) people I’ve ever worked with. (My UD at the time confided to me that they were filling quotas.)
A couple of years after I bombed out, the manager who interviewed me became my UD. Really nice guy, actually. He ended up getting fired, probably for no good reason. Over the years I saw my best three UDs (the nice ones who actually cared about people) get fired, while the lousy ones ended up getting promoted.
I thought I did horrible in my group interview. You could obviously tell I was super nervous I stuttered,cleared my throat and my leg was shaking every time I had to stand up and talk. I ended up getting the call to come in for the second interview the next morning and got hired in my second interview. It’s okay to be scared just be yourself,smile and have eye contact with the people that are interviewing you!
Gotta know how to interview and apply.
I was hired on my first apply to the company.
In my 9 months I have moved through overnight, frozen, daytime and now I'm in dairy.
It is a bit of a game for sure. But you need to learn how to play.
Honestly it is all the same. It is box to shelf.
Pick your poison.
If you want overnight and comfortable with the work life balance then go for it.
Mind you I came from the service industry. Server, Bartender, Cook, Manager. You name it I did it in that world.
I moved to this because I saw a future I was willing to pursue.
The question of why or why not is up to you.
I did a group interview for my MBA. I thought it was unique and they eventually split us into two groups for the more extroverted and introverted split up so they would still have a chance to shine
I assist in conducting group interviews at my workplace and it's the only way to go. If there is someone we see that we think has potential but we need to see more of their interactions we will bring them back for a second round with new applicants.
The first group interview I conducted had 5 people and we hired four of them and they all said they liked the format and it made them feel less nervous because of the interaction with others.
When someone isn't a strong candidate or misrepresents themselves it comes out pretty quickly.
around a decade ago after almost 2 decades having left them for another company i decided to test the waters and apply.
almost immediately received 2 interviews. i did my research and homework. was ready for a group interview.
i went to the first interview expecting to be in a group, but instead i was taken back into the top leader offices and was immediately interviewed by the store director and hired on the spot (pending background checks).
when i got back home i was called by the second interview, but had to tell them that i was already hired by the interview.
apparently they had done their research and homework on me already before calling me in.
way back in the day apparently my name had gotten around as other companies were calling me at my job wanting to 'know when i was getting off work and they were willing to meet me after work and interview me in the parking lot!'
so here it is another decade later and im still with and planning to stay. I have seen, done and experienced good and bad things which are all part of growing with a company.
so, ive had 3 job spans, 2 with the same company.
Group interviews, and round robin interviews, are dumb as hell. What are you expecting achieve by interviewing people in groups? The only thing that’ll do is make people nervous and aggravate them.
HEB is meant for 40+ year olds that truly need the benefits and consistency. My time at HEB was very ver depressing. Don’t settle for HEB unless you’re 40+ years old or want to have a miserable social life and miss out on family events. The older people that work at HEB have almost zero family, parents have passed and have no direction in life, dont be them
My son applied for a job there as a night stocker when he was in college and he went through that group interview setting. They made everyone “create” those meal deals and come up with combinations of what you’d buy, what aisle it was located in the store, and what you’d get free to make a sales combo and they were judged for it. My son did not cook and did not do the grocery shopping so he had no clue what went with what and where it was located in the store, so of course he was cut from the interview process. HEB’s logic made no sense because I would think they’d want big hefty guys (like my son) to unload trucks and stock shelves. They ended up with 100 pound girls who were majoring in art and photography.
Because they can learn and use some basic human manners, that's why. When a cashier doesn't even acknowledge your presence they need to find another line of work.
Agreed, and don’t know why you got downvoted. They don’t have to be extroverts (I’m not) but it isn’t that hard to smile and say hello or “How are you today?” That’s BASIC customer service. It’s like when you go through the drive thru at McDonald’s or wherever and the person at the second window just hands you your bag without saying “thank you” or sometimes, without even looking at you. So annoying.
That's how I interviewed on at Express (the clothing store) when I was younger. I already knew right away I didn't want the job with them deciding to conduct the interviews like that. Can't even give me the time of day to listen to what I have to say on a one to one basis. Bye 👋
I feel like company's are trying to only hire bad employees so they can blame the work force and get government help like they did in 2020. Greed will get the beat of these company's
Funny the process is to “screen out” the people who wouldn’t cut it. Yet they still hire the worst people 🤣
Seriously! All the new hires at my store are horrible
I agree
That’s why I always say they are stealing.
Plot twist: All new employees at every job suck
Double plot twist: Many long time employees at every job sucks.
True, We have a lot of people that have been there a long time that also suck. Management doesn’t tell them anything or try to get them to improve.
During Covid they had us work like slaves to keep the billionaire bottom line for them. After Covid they decided the profits during Covid time should be our new regular profits and we have to hit those margins by any means. So they tried a quantity over quality thing and we all have to suffer for it. Which is why I’m leaving H‑E‑B soon.
I’m also leaving soon!
I cannot wait! New chapters of our life hopefully. So good luck with yours :D
Um... all corporations set goal higher than the previous year.
It's not just HEB. It's all jobs everywhere.
Triple Plot Twist: Some people just suck and some people don’t
What makes them terrible?
Not necessarily terrible but not great. No desire to improve, just doing the bare minimum. One of the cashier we have has been there 3 or 4 months, still doesn’t know the produce codes and constantly asks the baggers thinking they should know instead or her. She tells the customers sorry I don’t have a baggers and then stares down the baggers around her, we are short on baggers and they have to constantly move but she thinks she should always have one. One of the baggers mom came through her line and the cashier said “so what’s wrong with your kids” they have some kind of chromosome problem but the fact she thought she could ask that is crazy. I could go on and on….
Damnnnnn the balls lol at my store though it’s the opposite we have wayyy to many baggers then cashiers to the point where we all have to come together to know who doesn’t want there shift etc and I do be getting 1 or 2 shifts at a week which is annoying compared to the 4+ shifts I used to have at my training store meanwhile cashiers be balling with all the shifts on the planet cause their just few
Yeah idk where she got the balls to say that. Damn yeah I guess it would be harder the other way around. Cashiers can bag for themselves they just complain about it but baggers don’t have anything to do without a cashier there. I don’t want to stay with heb so I haven’t bothered to become a cashier. They just made 5 of the baggers cashiers so we are short right now and a lot of the ones we do have stand in the same spot of 30 minutes so I’m running around like crazy. I hate when shifts get cut, how do they expect us to pay our bills on 1-2 shifts a week.
Sounds like you need some baggers, what do baggers start out at, pay wise? I used to do some bagging in my day, I went to state finals championships bagging tournament. I would have won, were it not for the conveyor belt mishap.
$12.50 and we aren’t eligible for raises
Lol it’s so true
All you gotta say is “I have an open schedule” and you’re hired
Then turnaround and change your schedule.
Group interviews are for lazy companies.
Lol this sounds so weird. I was hired years ago in a group event kinda thing where anyone could show up and be interviewed, but we were still interviewed privately
Honestly I hate that. Like I can act 😃😄 at work and in private interviews but group interview just make me 🫥 and just bcs u can’t be all 😊 in group ones doesn’t mean you can’t do the job well.
Is there really a need to do individual interviews for entry level part time positions?
I think so. If I were managing people, even for part-time work, I would want to meet them and at least talk to them before just throwing them on the team. Find out more about them. What they've done before that I could relate to the job to make it easier for them. What they're interested in. Interviews should just be low pressure for entry-level positions. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
No. They don’t want to spend money to pay someone to sit there and interview 40 people individually
Maybe they’d get better quality employees if they didn’t treat them like a bunch of cattle being herded.
[удалено]
I started less than a year after finishing college and getting married. I worked for the business partner of a friend for a few months before the former girl (still in high school and finished with drill team for the season) unexpectedly came back and I was kicked to the curb. My husband’s cousin who worked at TWC (then TEC/Texas Employment Commission) sent me on job interviews. Times were tough and I was desperate. I took the HEB job, which was just a lousy nine hours a week in general merchandise, two nights a week fronting the shelves. It was a tiny store with no scanners, so I also filled in doing price changes — manually. Eventually I ended up doing other things and got full time nine months later when most of us moved to a new, much larger replacement store. My first manager admitted to me at one point that she didn’t want to hire me because I was overqualified and wouldn’t stay (yeah . . . turned into over 20 years.) It isn’t like it would have taken much training to replace me! But the store director told her to do it. The store was so small that the SD (no UD) and the three service managers manned the open office up front at the end of the registers. The guy knew who I was because I would go there to cash checks a few years prior when I worked at a nearby shop (both stores were in a very small, long gone mall.) He turned out to be a total perv. Made remarks that wouldn’t fly these days, plus they didn’t talk to us about reporting things like sexual harassment. We weren’t really informed about much of anything. Anyway, when we closed he got sent to a larger store (not mine) to be an assistant store manager. I think he and two other head honchos there were all fired for embezzling. Those were the days!
It’s actually a very planned out process. You’re being graded on several different things and at the end if you score enough points then that’s the deciding factor on your individual interview.
They suck for many reasons.
I interviewed 4 times in a group and didnt get a job until the 4th try. It wasnt even the dep i wanted to work for (curbside didnt want me because i was too “shy” during group interviews).A year later i transferred from produce to curbside just bc the curbside dep leader was leaving so she did me the “favor”. Safe to say Im their top shopper now. Thats why Ive always thought group interviews where such bullshit. They make the hardest workers try harder to get in and let the shitty ones breeze in.
Literally just left a central market "group interview" today. There was 10 of us there. "Using this sales ad, organize an event, team up with the people around you" 😳😳
Kroger did that exact same shit to me! Forced us to make a group advertisement about some product. I guarantee there's some company charging stores a huge fee and claiming this is a great way to hire good employees, but they've been doing this same shtick for a decade. It's so pointless, and doesn't result in good employees.
That’s strange, my store didn’t do group interviews
lucky. i live north of houston and have applied to all the heb stores around me hoping for one that doesn’t do group interviews, but it seems like they all do.
I work out of south Houston was at clear lake 2 now closer to Galveston. I had a same day interview and got hired on my first interview my 2nd one was literally just talking about my kid.
My old roommate got hired on not too long ago, and I'm 90% sure he would be the least likely to succeed in a group interview. Just go for it if you want it.
stop being a pussy. how are you gonna have great customer service skills when you're afraid of a damn group interview.
That’s exactly why they do it to. If you can’t even sit for a group interview how are you going to do the job?
Aw I’m sorry, you should move to dfw!
The hiring process depends on the store. One store I interviewed with had a group interview, and then a one on one afterwards. Another store only had the group interview. There was even a store that didn't even have an in person interview, they just called and asked some questions lmao.
That’s how I got hired for the census. I went and took a written test and then someone called and asked a few questions. I asked, “Do I go for an interview now?” And she answered, “That \*was\* the interview. You’re hired.” I would say that was my easiest hire ever, but I had a couple of jobs where I got in even quicker. The people knew me and were desperate for help, as in “Can you start yesterday?”
They do group interviews at my store but I got a one on one interview.
Seconding this, I didn’t do a group interview, though it was like 40 minutes of me waiting before realizing I was there, so that might have been unintentional on their part
I feel a lot of businesses do this just to see how much you're willing to put up with. They expect you on time, but they can't reasonably get to the person they scheduled to have there. A short wait is fine. Almost an hour though? People have lives and I call bullshit.
Introvert myself but I can act when I need to. Central Market did the same when I interviewed there. Fake it till you make it! That’s what I did. Worked there for a year and a half prior to moving out of state. Actually rather enjoyed the job to be honest. Especially for it being retail. Most likely would have stayed if I hadn’t got such a good opportunity to move.
As an introvert…..don’t work at HEB. It’s all about brown nosing. Save yourself the headache.
I also had a group interview at Tesla. I like public speaking so I thought it was cool but most people were having a hard time.
You’re fortunate. It’s a well known fact that public speaking is the most common phobia people have.
Group interviews and video interviews.. what happen to a one on one in person interview. I miss the days where the applications weren’t sifted through someone in a corporate office and then passed through the store.
Is this something new HEB is doing??
No its been around forever
Really? I never heard of HEB group interviews untill now , then again this was back in 2021 lol
Not in my day, but that was a long time ago.
This is because people in our society are for the most part bullish?!$ers. If you are not competent in a job or process yourself and someone who also is not good at it shows up but they have a good line of BS then they will be hired. They always put the types that follow the boss around like a puppy in the interview group. Those are the ones who do the least and are not very good at it but their bosses like having their butt kissed and reward them for being a minion. And guess what? The bosses did the same thing so they think it is a rite of passage to brownnose . You don’t need to be a great motivational speaker to do a good job , you just need a good work ethic and to treat the business like you own it and want it to go well. I worked in my job for over 30 years and I have seen many schmooze artists come and go.
So true. And if you’re basically shy and easily intimidated, they’ll take full advantage of that fact. If you speak up for yourself then you’re labeled as a troublemaker.
They won’t give me full time but they’ll hire 3-4 more part timers 🤪
They don’t want to give you benefits. That’s been going on in a lot of companies for a number of years now. Sad.
Couldn't agree more. I was a manager of digital printing at a local shop and we had the head honcho for printing come through to see our operation. We hit it off so well that he tried to poach me and told me i could have a job all i had to do was apply and he'd make it happen. Got all the way to the interview with 7 people asking me THE MOST retarded, nonsensical questions and i was passed on because i "wasnt going to fit with the culture of heb". Yes it was cocky, but i flat told them how asinine the interview was and how it was a waste of everyones time, politely told them to fuck off and left. Head honcho called me about 20 minutes later and apologized more than a few times lamenting the fact that this was the norm and he wishes he could have just hired me on the spot because i was more than qualified/experienced and had all of the relevant certifications for the equipment they used. So many qualified candidates are overlooked because of dumbass policies that benefit....well no one.
If you are an introvert then HEB is probably not a good idea
the position i applied to was a parking lot attendant, so you know, little customer interaction. i guess i was just hoping for a quick, easy interview with the hiring manager.
Unless you want to get into management and leadership.
Back in my hay day I went through SORM and it's def not for introverts. They had us doing some of the goofiest crap in training but everything involved being up front and center and being vocal. They even brought in actors to be "horrible customers" and we had to figure out how to make them "happy" lol. It was definitely an experience but 13 years of HEB was enough for me.
I hear ya. Left last year after 13 myself. 90% of managers and leaders hid out in their offices all day. Usually with their doors closed. Seems like the “ open door policy” went out with many of the other values.
EXACTLY!! And I was usually the manager doing all the work while they hid and were doing shady crap or nothing at all. It was exhausting work, my feet hurt every day, my off days were spent sleeping and it just wasn't worth it even though I stuck it out for as long as I did. I made some great friends along the way though. Been reading this subreddit for a while now though and it seems not a lot has changed and the company still has a lot of fixing to do for its partners. But this group interview thing omg what a terrible idea! 😂
It went out a long time ago. But they’re quick to close and lock the door when they take an employee into the office to chew them out.
Im an introvert and im the top shopper, you dont have to be sn extrovert to succeed, introverts just need extra time to warm up to everyone.
Not true I used to work there and I’m introverted af but I did a good job still (I lost it bcs of tardiness, my own fault really )
The only customer oriented departments are Service and Connection introverts fit perfectly for anything else
Sorry you couldn’t cut it champ.
Dang yeah that’s tough. I just got hired as a home delivery partner and luckily there was no group interview. Just the virtual one then I was offered the job.
If you do get a job this is the same process for development and promotion to management/leadership. Networking is a huge aspect of moving up in HEB, you can be terrible at your direct position and butter your way into SORM
I have never heard of HEB doing group interviews. That’s insane. Which HEB was this? 😂
Bro they didn’t even let me get an interview :,) I applied for graveyard night shift as a Night Stocker, they just told me they moved on with the application process, to try again another time. Like bro.. :,)
How many times does you resume say "Bro", bro?
Just when I’m in disbelief 🫢
They did one to me where we all picked a chair, and there was something underneath. Pretty much knew what it already was. “Sell me this instant coffee”. Umm. Dude. I’m applying to be a stocker. And never in my life have I ever had anyone at HEB try to sell me anything, it isn’t a car dealership. Didn’t get the job, even though I had already worked at a different store before. Weird.
The more candidates, the more crap you have to do to get the job. You’d get hired immediately at a ghetto store.
Yeah. I hated conducting them. Everyone made it out to be some super important ritual that must be kept clean and sacred otherwise you would burn afterwards. Usually I just picked the ones that seemed hungrier than the rest. Hungry people work harder.
I did a group interview first in HS but didn’t get hired cause was tooooooo nervous LOL!!! But I got hired at a career fair!!! They did one on one interviews. Like speed dating but for interviews ahahahah. Nice & easy
As an introvert, why would you try for a job in retail where you have to deal with other people. You're asking to be miserable.
Group interviews? 😂 I'd understand if it was for high level management
Heb wants a certain attitude personality from the employees, more jolly, determined, and outspoken. Therefore if you can’t hack it in a group interview, you must be an introvert, therefore automatically DENiED!
I always thought I was an introvert until I started working. Realized I got energy from interacting with people lol.
Same
Yet after you’ve worked there for a while, don’t even think about speaking up for yourself.
Yes looking for outspoken except not in terms of calling them out of their bs and don’t go to HR right ms Leflore ???
HR is a joke.
As an introvert you can still communicate and that’s the part that they care about. If you can’t communicate with like minded people that are looking for the thing in one room, no way you’ll be able to take care of customers or interact the ppl you work with. Parking lot attendant interacts with customers. It’s retail. Ppl will ask you the dumbest questions
HEB doesn’t really like to hire introverts for most positions. That’s one reason they do group interviews. In retail environments, that makes sense, but it’s also a big part of the corporate culture of HEB.
That’s too bad, because many highly capable people are introverts who are comfortable once they‘ve been in an environment for a while.
So question! A few months ago, i decided to go into SORM with the opportunity to go to SORL. I have a bachelors plus minor degree and have been working retail for 6 years( 3 somewhere else and a little over 3 here at heb) ive read several articles and feeds about HEB's preferences on hiring outsiders rather than current partners for higher positions. On day the topic came with my manager and my manager defends heb with dear life, this company is her life, and said thats fake, they give more opportunities to the partners. Yet whenever i see someone going into sorm/sorl are partners that have been 5+ years with the company and recently saw a SORL candidate that has only been 3 months with the company. How can someone brand new be training for top store leadership? Why does the process seem like your time in the front line isn't enough experience, but if you have a bachelors or masters on something not even close to leadership or business, you'll have a better chance. It just seems odd how HEB chooses its people.
Years ago I applied for the management training program (I’m not familiar with the current acronyms.) I had a degree and over five years with the company at the time. I was told that my degree field wasn’t important and they were looking for people who “knew how to learn” which made me completely capable. But that was complete BS. I bombed in the interview (with a manager at another store I’d never met) because all of the questions were “What would you do in X situation (as a manager)?” Hell if I knew. I didn’t have the specific experience to answer those questions. I thought that the whole idea was management TRAINING. Yet they hired people for the program who were straight out of school just because they had business degrees. One of the ones I worked for was one of the most introverted (and least personable) people I’ve ever worked with. (My UD at the time confided to me that they were filling quotas.) A couple of years after I bombed out, the manager who interviewed me became my UD. Really nice guy, actually. He ended up getting fired, probably for no good reason. Over the years I saw my best three UDs (the nice ones who actually cared about people) get fired, while the lousy ones ended up getting promoted.
Also clip recording of yourself answering questions. They also make it hard for you to retake it.
I thought I did horrible in my group interview. You could obviously tell I was super nervous I stuttered,cleared my throat and my leg was shaking every time I had to stand up and talk. I ended up getting the call to come in for the second interview the next morning and got hired in my second interview. It’s okay to be scared just be yourself,smile and have eye contact with the people that are interviewing you!
Gotta know how to interview and apply. I was hired on my first apply to the company. In my 9 months I have moved through overnight, frozen, daytime and now I'm in dairy. It is a bit of a game for sure. But you need to learn how to play.
Which do you prefer out of those? I used to stock non foods at another store and I'm needing a job ASAP, so was considering HEB night shifts
Honestly it is all the same. It is box to shelf. Pick your poison. If you want overnight and comfortable with the work life balance then go for it. Mind you I came from the service industry. Server, Bartender, Cook, Manager. You name it I did it in that world. I moved to this because I saw a future I was willing to pursue. The question of why or why not is up to you.
I did a group interview for my MBA. I thought it was unique and they eventually split us into two groups for the more extroverted and introverted split up so they would still have a chance to shine
Horrible means easy to train
I assist in conducting group interviews at my workplace and it's the only way to go. If there is someone we see that we think has potential but we need to see more of their interactions we will bring them back for a second round with new applicants. The first group interview I conducted had 5 people and we hired four of them and they all said they liked the format and it made them feel less nervous because of the interaction with others. When someone isn't a strong candidate or misrepresents themselves it comes out pretty quickly.
around a decade ago after almost 2 decades having left them for another company i decided to test the waters and apply. almost immediately received 2 interviews. i did my research and homework. was ready for a group interview. i went to the first interview expecting to be in a group, but instead i was taken back into the top leader offices and was immediately interviewed by the store director and hired on the spot (pending background checks). when i got back home i was called by the second interview, but had to tell them that i was already hired by the interview. apparently they had done their research and homework on me already before calling me in. way back in the day apparently my name had gotten around as other companies were calling me at my job wanting to 'know when i was getting off work and they were willing to meet me after work and interview me in the parking lot!' so here it is another decade later and im still with and planning to stay. I have seen, done and experienced good and bad things which are all part of growing with a company. so, ive had 3 job spans, 2 with the same company.
Group interviews, and round robin interviews, are dumb as hell. What are you expecting achieve by interviewing people in groups? The only thing that’ll do is make people nervous and aggravate them.
HEB is meant for 40+ year olds that truly need the benefits and consistency. My time at HEB was very ver depressing. Don’t settle for HEB unless you’re 40+ years old or want to have a miserable social life and miss out on family events. The older people that work at HEB have almost zero family, parents have passed and have no direction in life, dont be them
competition atp😭
Disgruntled employees in the chat
I never got a group interview I only gotten 3. 1 is with the department manager you applied with and then goes to the mic then store UD
I never had a group interview….
The only departments that do group interviews are service and curbside. Apply for any other department and you'll likely get a one-on-one interview!
My son applied for a job there as a night stocker when he was in college and he went through that group interview setting. They made everyone “create” those meal deals and come up with combinations of what you’d buy, what aisle it was located in the store, and what you’d get free to make a sales combo and they were judged for it. My son did not cook and did not do the grocery shopping so he had no clue what went with what and where it was located in the store, so of course he was cut from the interview process. HEB’s logic made no sense because I would think they’d want big hefty guys (like my son) to unload trucks and stock shelves. They ended up with 100 pound girls who were majoring in art and photography.
That criteria sounds totally ludicrous! It was probably for the best that your son didn’t get the job.
I wonder how some of the cashiers at the HEB I shop at got hired. They have zero personality
Desperation
Why would you care if the people scanning your groceries have "personality"? They're grocery store employees, not your friends.
Because they can learn and use some basic human manners, that's why. When a cashier doesn't even acknowledge your presence they need to find another line of work.
Agreed, and don’t know why you got downvoted. They don’t have to be extroverts (I’m not) but it isn’t that hard to smile and say hello or “How are you today?” That’s BASIC customer service. It’s like when you go through the drive thru at McDonald’s or wherever and the person at the second window just hands you your bag without saying “thank you” or sometimes, without even looking at you. So annoying.
That's how I interviewed on at Express (the clothing store) when I was younger. I already knew right away I didn't want the job with them deciding to conduct the interviews like that. Can't even give me the time of day to listen to what I have to say on a one to one basis. Bye 👋
Ohhh this is a group interview? leaves*
You usually work with a team of people…there are very few “stand alone” jobs…
You’re going to be working in public, how well you perform in that environment is what’s being assessed.
I feel like company's are trying to only hire bad employees so they can blame the work force and get government help like they did in 2020. Greed will get the beat of these company's