Pros
Fun Hippy work environment! People are always friendly, and outgoing. They encourage store tastings so you know what to tell customers about specific products. I work full time and get great insurance(Blue Cross). If you've worked a certain amount of hours you can qualify for 401K. Once you opt to get insurance they send you a "fit card" which is basically a card you can use to go to any area gyms that acknowledge it, in other words a free gym membership. L.A. Fitness were I live accepts it so I basically have free access to their gyms. Occasionally Depending on how well TJ's is doing that year the company rewards ALL of its employees. Last year(2015) all of us got $25 TJ's gift cards at the end of the year, and they also did it in 2014. Also employees get 10% discounts on anything in the store. The Company heavily promotes from within(check cons as well on this topic). Depending on the "Captain"(store manager) they may arrange company outings and parties. My store's captain took everyone who opt'd to go, to Dave and Busters. Everyone does everything, and everyone does the same task which is great for your resume(see cons). Meaning you WILL be a cashier, you WILL stock, you WILL bag, you WILL get carts from outside, you WILL clean, you WILL consistently lift heavy and light boxes, you WILL use pallet jacks(if you know how, its not hard), you WILL greet customers, etc. etc. All of this will happen at different times and may or may not happen everyday, but expect it because it WILL happen. The company may alter tasks for certain individuals with special needs. If you have been in a car accident and have a bad back they wont have you lifting heavy things. My store had a person who was hard of hearing so they altered their routine and put up signs for customers to let them know this person was deaf, as well as buying a sign language book so all of us can learn and communicate to them. All in all its a great company to work for, not too many companies give raises every 6 months, and not too many companies respect their employees. I love it so give it a try! Or at least give the food a try! ~Tj's Crab State
Cons
Depending on store location hours can vary even if you are a section leader. I helped open a store in Houston, TX. and in a month I was a section leader. Texas is supposed to be the second largest market for Trader Joe's, with California of course being number one. When I Started I was working 37.5 hours a week but since it was new a new market area, our store was a little slow so they cut all hours to employees except mates to between 27-32 hours a week, some under-performing people were even cut to one day a week. I now work in Maryland and as a section leader, guaranteed 37.5 Hours. So it depends on were your store is located and how much business they generate. Trader Joe's gets two trucks a day, one in the morning and one at night. So you may have to be at work as early as 4 A.M. and the latest 12 midnight, although depending on the load you may leave at 12:30 A.M. "Mates"(supervisors) work 10 hours or more a day, and have descending schedules. So if they work 4am-2pm on Monday, Then Tuesday they may work 6am-4pm, and Wednesday 8am-6pm and so forth and may restart the next week. So there really is no set steady schedule for them. The company encourages promotions from within. While it's not impossible to get hired as a "Mate" if you have the exp. of course, but it is a-lot harder and more challenging because, TJ's is cautious of hiring someone from another company. Lets say for example someone from Walmart who may want to come in and run and implement things like they did in walmart, they strive to be different. Everyone does everything, so if you like to be a cashier but don't like to stock this isnt the job for you, if you dont like lifting boxes this isnt the job for you. ABSOLUTELY NO OVERTIME! For anyone but mates and higher ups. Boxes and cardboard drying up my skin, boooooo :-(.