Half Price Books Application, Jobs & Careers (Apply) Today

Half Price Books is a chain bookstore that has an online store as well. Half Price Books sells new and used books, records, movies, and magazines. They currently have stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota. Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, Oklahoma, Ohio, Nebraska, and Missouri.

The company was founded in 1972 by Ken Gjemre and his partner Pat Anderson. They originally opened a used book shop in an old laundromat in Dallas, TX. They began marketing their store by running adds in the local newspaper simply stating “We Buy Books”.

Half Price Books currently has 127 locations and plans to add 4 more locations in 2019. They have about 1,000 employees. The company is recognized for their community outreach in supporting literacy and environmental groups. They have been giving back to the community for over 40 years. The two main non-profit organizations they support are the “Million Book Project” and the “HPB and the Environment”. They support teachers in the communities as well by offering “educator discounts”.

Employees of Half Price Books receive competitive pay, a 401(k)-retirement plan, discounts on store merchandise, medical insurance that includes dental and vision, life insurance, employee assistance program as well as paid sick and vacation days.

Half Price Books has an overall average rating of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. Employees have praised their employer for having good overall management, a laid-back work environment, longer than average breaks, some dog-friendly stores, desirable hours, free occasional lunches, and a family-oriented type feel.

How Old Do You Have to Be to Work at Half Price Books?

The minimum requirement to be able to work at Half Price Books is 18 years of age.

Half Price Books Careers

There are quite a few positions to choose from when applying to Half Price Books. They have opportunities for all levels of experience. Half Price Books promotes from within so there are always opportunities for promotion. If you are particularly interested in working in the literary field there will be a position that suits you. There are positions such as bookseller, customer service representative, cashier, and even warehouse job opportunities. Internship positions are available as well!

Bookseller (PT and FT): A Bookseller is a position where the employee will be performing a lot of multi-tasking. You must be enthusiastic and passionate about books for this position to be successful for the employee. Some of the tasks include sharing your knowledge about books, movies, magazines, games, and music. You are expected to share your knowledge not just with customers but your co-workers as well. Your responsibilities also include buying books from the public, operating the cashier, shelving merchandise, and keeping the shelves organized and tidy. You are expected to be dependable, have high levels of enthusiasm and energy, and be able to work independently without constant supervision.

Temporary Bookseller: A Temporary Bookseller is a bookseller that is expected to have the same duties and responsibilities as a regular part-time or full-time employee Bookseller only the position is offered for employees who are looking for short-term temporary or seasonal work.

Limited Duty Bookseller: A Limited Duty Bookseller is similar to the regular bookseller position, only instead of multitasking a bunch of areas you will be focused on just covering a few main duties assigned to you.

Cashier: Cashiers also have a variety of duties assigned to them such as operating the cashier, handling money, sharing your knowledge of books, movies, magazines, music, and games to co-workers and customers. This position spotlights customer service as one of its key components.

Temporary Cashier: A Temporary Cashier has the same duties and responsibilities as a regular cashier only the position is offered to employees who are looking for short-term temporary or seasonal work.

Warehouse Help: A Warehouse Worker is expected to have high energy and a positive, enthusiastic attitude. This is a back-of-the-house position where you will be retrieving books from the back of the store and working in the receiving/delivery area. You must be able to life 30-50 pounds at one time consistently throughout your shift.

Half Price Books Application

You can apply for any of these positions available by filling out an application in store and speaking with a hiring manager. You may also download an application from their website to fill out at home and bring it in when completed.

Online applications are available as well through Half Price Book’s website by filling out their online form. There is no preference when it comes to choosing what way you prefer to fill out or submit your application.

If you do decide to fill out an online application make sure you are entering all your information in correctly. Make sure you are applying with a valid email address that you check often for any online communication or updates. When you are finished applying online, make sure to call and speak to a hiring manager about the available position you are interested in.

When applying for any position with Half Price Books make sure you answer every question thoroughly and accurate to the best of your ability. Make sure you include a resume with your application. Make sure your resume includes any past jobs you have had, what your duties were, and the amount of time you were working at your past employment. Be sure to include things you learned from your last job(s) as well as including any skills you may have taken with you from your time working there.

If you are selected to come in for an interview be prepared to share your knowledge of books, music, games, movies, and art. Have some examples in mind of what you would like to share. Think about what skills and attributes you have that would make you a good fit for the position. Always have good body language and show respect by simply shaking hands and making eye contact. Last but not least make sure you know what hours you are available to work and when you can start.

Things to Know About Half Price Books

Half Price Books has an employee-centric culture. They are a company known for treating their employees very well so that their employees will treat their customers very well. Employees are to be treated just as good as customers, proving that they are an important and valuable asset to the business.

A few newsworthy mentions about Half Price Books include their donations this year alone. So far in 2018 Half Price Books has donated over 1,000,066 books! Also, 2,013,356 books were bought alone just last month!

Half Price Books is known for their efforts to make literacy available to everyone. You can see this through their donation efforts, mission statement, and great priced books. They want to be fair to all people, and promote literacy.

Their social efforts are widely recognized throughout the states for their multiple organizations and programs they donate to and promote, their donation of their own books alone to hundreds of schools, companies, and organizations, their community outreach promoting environmental projects and literacy awareness, and by having an employee centric culture.