So, I went in for a job interview for a management position today that I was very excited about. The interview seemed to go extremely well, and the interviewer explained how the training process would go. He told me, initially, that you are trained to do the tasks of the floor employees so that you can fill in when necessary - but you still receive your management pay. Cool, sounds fine to me.

Interview goes on a little longer and he starts rolling it back a little more. He tells me that you START OUT as a floor employee (even though I applied as a manager) and then after 3-4 weeks become a manager. At this point I'm a little concerned, but still on board.

The rest of the interview seems to go abnormally well. The only question I was actually asked was what my availability was. No scenario questions, no "tell me about yourself," The rest was just chitchat about what the job entailed and me asking questions to clarify how exactly the training process was supposed to work.

After I leave the manager calls me while I'm driving and leaves me a message. He tells me that in order to be hired for the MANAGEMENT position that I ALREADY APPLIED FOR, I need to go to the website and reapply as a floor employee. (??!!)

What is this? Am I being taken for a ride here? This makes me extremely uncomfortable. I need a job sooner rather than later, but I'm highly qualified (good work experience at previous employer, bachelor's degree, excellent references). It seems wrong that a multi billion dollar company with a snazzy corporate website that has specific positions listed would require you to re-apply to a lower position in order to be hired for a higher one.

What should I do? This is not normal hiring practice, right? It seems really dysfunctional or even predatory.