Is Costco employment for you? If you have retail or customer service experience and an interest in moving through the ranks, it's possible that a career with this company is a great option for you.
About Costco
Costco Wholesale, with its home office in Issaquah, Washington, has a presence in eight countries. It's a multi-billion dollar retailer that offers great benefits, a positive atmosphere, opportunity to advance in your career, and stability. It was voted as one of the top three places to work by Washington CEO Magazine and is a major American employer.
Costco looks for energetic self-starters to add to their team and generally starts out new employees in the warehouse setting, then promotes from within. Overall, there are several areas in which you can work while employed with the company.
- Warehouses
- Call centers
- Costco Wholesale Trading
- Packaging plants
- Meat processing
- Costco Home
- Business delivery
- Professions such as licensed or certified opticians, optometrists, hearing aid dispensers, dispensing audiologists, and pharmacists
- Regional and home offices (accountants, buyers, lawyers, and human resources representatives)
- Information Technology
You can view some of the job descriptions on the Costco website. For information about currently available jobs and where to apply, visit the Career Opportunities page. You may also apply in person at your nearest location.
Achieving Costco Employment
The good news: Costco employment offers great benefits and a job atmosphere that inspires its employees to learn and grow. The bad news: You'll have to work your way up through the ranks, starting as a cashier, for example, in order to make it big within the company.
The Benefits
Benefits include:
- Health: This includes two options, the Choice Plus and the Freedom of Choice plan where employees choose their own doctors and facilities.
- Vision: This includes up to $60.00 on an eye exam and an allowance for glasses and contact lenses.
- Dental: Full-time employees choose between basic and premium plans.
- 401(k): Costco matches employee contributions by 50 cents per dollar up to $500.00, and later makes an annual contribution to the plan depending on how long the employee has worked for the company and eligible earnings.
- Pharmacy: Costco employees may pay as little as $5.00 per generic prescription and no more than a 15 percent co-pay on other medications.
- Dependent Care Assistance: Qualifying families can pay for child or adult day care pre-tax
- Care Network: Counselors that help employees navigate personal as well as work related issues
- Short-term and Long-term Disability: Short term disability covers employees if they cannot perform their job due to illness, pregnancy, or injury. All hourly employees who have worked at Costco longer than 90 days automatically get enrolled in short term disability. Long term disability could pay up to 60 percent of an employee's salary past 180 days of absence.
- Life Insurance: Employees don't have to pay anything for basic life insurance if they're eligible for benefits through Costco employment.
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan: This allows employees to avoid the typical fees associated with buying stock by allowing them to purchase Costco stock by payroll deduction.
- Health Care Reimbursement Account: This benefit provides employes with an opportunity to have money deducted pre-tax for health care. Employees can pay for co-pays, deductibles, and other medical-related charges.
- Long-term Care Insurance: Employees who have worked with Costco for 10 or more years can get a basic or supplemental policy designed to pay for nursing home care for themselves, their spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws (including grandparents), or children.
Costco claims to pay more of the premiums than other similar employers and allows employees to pay their premiums before taxes are applied, saving them money over each year. There is a gradient of when employees are eligible for the benefits, with part-time hourly employees becoming eligible after 180 days and salaried employees becoming eligible the first of the month after the hire date.
A Final Word
To obtain Costco employment, your best bet is to speak with someone from your local warehouse, depot, or other business center since the company usually promotes from within. You'll have to work your way up the ranks, but you will learn so much about the business on the way, you'll most likely feel comfortable once you reach that professional role you've determined to be your goal.
