Abercrombie & Fitch is the most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with in terms of employment/interviewing. After being recruited at an A&F flagship to be a "model" I chose to interview for the MIT position in order to put my new Bachelor's degree to use. I interviewed at an A&F location closer to home. They were quick to grant me an interview with the DM and give me the password to fill out the online application. I interviewed Friday of that very week. The interview was very stiff and robotic. There wasn't much room for human conversation. The DM basically read off of a prepared script verbatim (which had the questions, benefits, and their "look policy") the whole entire time and barely even looked up to make eye-contact. The DM did not have a business card to give to me after the interview. She neither gave me any contact info like e-mail or phone #, but rather just told me "call the store if you need to." (very unprofessional!) She said she'd let me know either way by "Friday of next week." I waited till that day and called the store. I talked directly to her and she claimed, "I haven't finished the background check I will get back to you early next week." (very unprofessional, once again!) I called the Friday of the second week. I left a message with her which was left unreturned. I called Monday of the third week. The GM answered saying, giving the excuse, "The background check probably hasn't been completed b/c the our system is down. It may not be done for a while." I left the DM another message with which was left again, unreturned. FINALLY, Thursday of that 3rd week, I receive a generic postcard neither addressed to me, nor signed by anyone. Not via e-mail, but rather, post-mail. It said the generic stuff "Thank you for your interest in A&F... we have decided to pursue other candidates..." A&F is unprofessional by: 1. Not giving any business card/direct contact info 2. Not acting within the promised time period 3. Giving a non-personalized, generic rejection I know that to be accepted in the Manager-in-Training program, one only needs to "look good/have A&F style" and have a BA/BS. While some MIT's can work there with a degree in Dance, I have one in Marketing/Business. Something more pertinent to A&F. It didn't matter. While others have told me I'm "attractive", I have modeled and competed in pageants as a teen, I got "recruited" to work an the A&F flagship recently, and "recruited" at Hollister Co. back in 2006, it didn't matter. I still got rejected. At least I don't need to abide by A&F's "look policy" and I can wear as much eyeliner/nail polish colors to my heart's content now.

The interview process took 3 rounds, first speaking with the Store Manager, then the General Manager and finally the District Manager. I had a pleasant experience during the interview process in the first 2 rounds. The interactions with GM in particular were great, with him assisting me to follow up on the application process throughout and he was very friendly. Initial interview was a group-type interview, with me and another candidate taking turns to answer the same questions which were read out from an interview form. The final interview was not as pleasant. I was kept waiting for a substantial period of time (around 30 mins or more). Throughout the interview, there was also a lack of eye contact and attention given to the candidate. Interviewer offered an explanation that it was due to typing down the information, but it still felt inappropriate and disrespectful to the applicant. Despite the role being a Manager-in-Training position that I understood to allow cross-industry transition with relevant training provided, the last interviewer focused mainly on my lack of experience in the retail industry as a potentially disqualifying factor. Toward the end of the interview, I was asked if I would consider working as a Part-time Sales Associate as an alternative, which I understood to be an hourly-rated part-time role. I felt this question was inappropriate as it was irrelevant to the type of role I had applied for.