To submit a Costco job application, go to careers.costco.com, search openings by zip code, create a candidate account, and complete the online form with your employment history, education, and weekly availability. Most external hires go into part-time, entry-level warehouse roles that start at $20 per hour or above depending on position and location. The form itself takes about 15 to 30 minutes if you have your details ready before you sit down.
Where to Apply
The application lives on Costco’s careers site. Use the search bar to look up openings by zip code or city, and you’ll see which nearby warehouses have active postings and what roles they’re filling.1Costco Careers. Costco Careers You can apply to more than one location in a single session, so if several warehouses are within commuting distance, cast a wider net.
Two situations don’t fit the standard search. New warehouses under construction begin accepting applications roughly 12 weeks before opening. And if a warehouse is open but not appearing in your search results, Costco’s guidance is to apply in person at that location.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Gather these before you open the form so you’re not stopping to hunt down details:
- Employment history for the past several years: employer names, job titles, exact start and end dates, and supervisor contact information. Rough estimates invite follow-up questions.
- Education: high school, any college or trade school, degrees, and graduation dates.
- Weekly availability. Costco’s busiest shifts are nights and weekends, and merchandise stocking runs in the early morning, so open availability is a real advantage.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
- Resume, for positions that ask for one. Save it as a PDF so formatting holds up when the system processes it.
The form also includes a short questionnaire tied to the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives employers a tax break for hiring people from groups that have historically faced employment barriers. You’re not claiming anything yourself; Costco uses your answers to determine whether it qualifies for the credit if it hires you. Answer honestly.3Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Filling Out the Form
Create a candidate account with a username and password before the form opens.4Costco Careers. Costco Careers Sign In That same account becomes your dashboard for checking status later, so use an email address you actually monitor.
A few things trip candidates up. Listing only weekday daytime hours when the warehouse needs evening and weekend coverage. Vague employment dates. Skipping supervisor contact information. Costco selects candidates based on transferable skills, prior experience, and member service ability, so frame past jobs in those terms even if they weren’t in retail.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
Review every field before you finalize. Submission creates a permanent record tied to your account, and an electronic signature at the end confirms that everything is accurate. Under federal law, that signature carries the same weight as a handwritten one.5National Credit Union Administration. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
After You Submit
Each warehouse gets hundreds of applications, so the online submission is only the first move. Costco’s own career resources recommend visiting the warehouse in person to introduce yourself to a manager after applying. That face-to-face contact separates your name from the digital stack.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
Your application stays active for 90 days. If you haven’t heard anything by then, submit a new one to keep your name in the current pool. There’s no penalty for reapplying, and hiring managers pull from the current pool rather than the archives.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
Log back into your candidate account to check status. If a warehouse wants to move forward, expect contact by phone or email using the information you entered, so keep both current.
Veterans
Veterans applying for part-time, entry-level warehouse positions get a priority interview. After you submit the online application, email the regional representative listed on the careers page to flag your veteran status and claim that priority.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
Interview and Pre-Employment Screening
Interview questions tend to focus on why you want to work at Costco, whether you’re willing to work holidays, and how you’d handle an upset member. Come with a specific example of solving a problem or de-escalating a situation at a previous job. Some positions include a skills demonstration or business-related test, such as a typing test for clerical roles. The careers site doesn’t spell out which roles require testing, so ask the hiring manager if you’re unsure.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
Costco maintains a drug and alcohol-free workplace policy that applies to all applicants as a condition of employment. Screening covers marijuana (including in states where it’s legal), cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and phencyclidine, among other controlled substances. A positive result disqualifies you.6Costco Wholesale. Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace Policy
After a job offer, federal law requires Costco to verify your identity and work authorization. You’ll complete a Form I-9 and present original documents: either one that proves both (a U.S. passport, for example) or a combination of an identity document like a driver’s license and a work authorization document like a Social Security card. Costco cannot tell you which specific documents to bring; the choice is yours as long as they appear on the I-9 acceptable documents list. Have them ready before your first day.
A background check is also part of the process. Employers who run checks through a third-party service may ask for your Social Security number to complete the screening, and you have the right to be notified if information from the check is used against you in a hiring decision.7Federal Trade Commission. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights
Positions and Starting Pay
Most external hires go into part-time, entry-level warehouse roles. The positions Costco fills most often from outside applicants are front end assistant (cashier area), food court, member service, and merchandise stocking. Corporate and specialized roles exist too, but Costco fills most of those by promoting from within.2Costco Careers. Resources for Applying
The company’s minimum wage for new employees is $20 per hour as of 2025, with scheduled increases built into the employee agreement.8Fortune. Costco Workers Now Officially Make $31 an Hour Part-time employees are eligible for health, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k), paid sick and vacation time, and paid holidays.9Costco Careers. We Take Care of Our Employees