I applied online. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Costco Wholesale (Burbank, CA) in Sep 2012
Interview
You cannot get an interview JUST by putting in an online application. You MUST make personal contact with a manager either in person or by phone.
I had 3 interviews, 2 standing at the end of a checkout line and one in the manager's office. They asked very generic HR questions, and the interviews lasted less than 5 minutes.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The last manager asked me to tell him something none of the other interviewees had told him....something about myself that would make me a good Costco employee. Well, I'm not sure how he thought I'd know what the other people had told him! Ridiculous thing to say.