Staff writer
Applicants encouraged to apply online before Monday
POST FALLS -- Outdoor retail giant Cabela's is on target to interview hundreds of applicants next week for about 250 associate positions for its store expected to open in November near the state line.
Ron Brekhus, recently named general manager of the store, said that as of Friday about 400 people had qualified for and been assigned an interview after responding to the company's online application and questionnaire.
Brekhus said stores typically have between 800 and 1,600 apply at startup, but he expects the number will increase for Post Falls with the usual last-minute application rush.
"That number will climb a lot this week, and hopefully we'll get over the 1,000 mark," he said.
Those interested in receiving an interview for the "mass hiring" week should apply online at www.cabelas.com (click on "About Cabela's," "Our Story/Careers," "Post Falls") before Monday. Interviews for the initial hiring period runs from Monday through Aug. 12. Applications received after Sunday will still be considered in the future or if positions remain open after the initial wave. All applications are submitted online.
If applicants qualify for an interview, they are immediately assigned an interview time at North Idaho College's Workforce Training Center.
Associate positions start at $9 per hour and can pay as high as $13 an hour, depending on experience, Brekhus said. The store's 25 managers have been hired.
Benefits include health and dental insurance after 90 days, 401K with a company match after a year and product discounts of up to 30 percent.
Brekhus said the Sidney, Neb.-based company seeks employees who are knowledgeable about the outdoors and the products the company sells.
The 125,000-square-foot Post Falls store will be the company's 24th retail location and second in Idaho after one opened in Boise last year.
The store, along Interstate 90, is expected to draw some 2 million visitors per year, making it a major tourist attraction in the region. It will include a towering mountain replica, an aquarium, wild game displays, a deli-style restaurant, gun library, indoor archery range and atrium.
The location will be Brekhus' sixth move with the company.
"I felt like I'd won the lottery," Brekhus said of his hiring. "It's beautiful here. That's the only way to describe it. Growing up in western North Dakota, hunting and fishing is a way of life."
Idaho beat out Liberty Lake as the store's location, in part because Idaho offered a better package of incentives.
Among the lures was a bill that allowed California developer Foursquare Properties to be reimbursed from state sales taxes for the cost of a freeway interchange leading to the store. According to the bill, once the developer invested at least $8 million in an interchange, it would be eligible to apply to the Idaho Tax Commission to be reimbursed with state sales tax from mall stores.
Design work has started on the estimated $30 million interchange at Beck Road. Construction could start in spring 2009 and take about a year to complete.
Cabela's will anchor the 200-acre The Pointe at Post Falls retail center. The Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, currently on Sixth Avenue, and visitor's center, at the factory outlets, plan to be under one roof at the project. Home improvement giant Lowe's and multiple hotels are also zeroing in on the site.
my opinion wrote on Aug 2, 2007 7:59 AM: