Walmart opens hiring center in Delray Beach

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - Walmart this week opened a hiring center for its new SuperCenter in Boynton Beach, scheduled to open Oct. 26.

It needs about 220 employees, said Store Manager Ken Barnes. A steady stream of people are making their way to the hiring center, where top managers are staffing sign-in tables.

People are ready to work, said Libby Bryner-Metcalf, an assistant manager. She's been struck by how many professional people are applying –– bankers and real estate agents, Bryner-Metcalf and fellow Assistant Manager Curt Hensley said. One woman had worked 14 years for the sheriff's office before being laid off, Bryner-Metcalf said.

In a nearby room where applicants used computers to fill out the applications, Lisa Valentin of Boynton Beach said she was a housewife who needed a job to cover the basics. Her son, Edward, 18, was applying as well.

"Now things are tight," Lisa Valentin said. "I need the money to feed my family."

Walmart's average hourly salary in Florida is $12.23. Barnes said he has already received thousands of applications and managers are setting up interviews.

The 93,000-square-foot store is under construction at 3625 Federal Highway, at the corner of Gulfstream Boulevard. The hiring center is just across the street at 500 Gulfstream Blvd., Suite 109, which technically is in Delray Beach.

Though it's smaller than the usual SuperCenters, it will have all the departments: grocery, deli, pharmacy. "We really feel that is going to be convenient," Barnes said.

Applicants can go to the hiring center and use the computers there, or go to walmartstores.com/careers.

Barnes said he is looking for outgoing people who can interact with customers and fellow employees .

"I need to work," said Mary Ann Harris of Boynton Beach, who was applying Wednesday. She hopes to land a full-time position at Walmart because it has "great benefits."