I was excited to receive a call back from my resume and coverletter, we scheduled an interview for 5 days later. I thoroughly prepared for the interview. Upon arriving, it seemed the interviewer had not read my coverletter and did not know which position I'd applied for (this was detailed in my coverletter). He basically said that although I'd had retail and management experience (8 years), I did not have "high end" experience, something the job description did not list. He reinforced the fact that no one would be accepted into the SMiT position without such 'high end' experience. He urged me to reapply as a sales associate (this for someone's who've managed 4 different retail chains). The only difference between what I'd done in the past and what I was to do now was keeping a client book, although I'd done that in the past as well. Apparently, that alone was important to rule me out of the candidacy. He was however very engaging and seemed to love the company and her job. The staff, who greeted me before my interview was also very friendly. Advice: if you don't have 'high end (not specialty retail)' experience for this position, don't waste your time. The SMiT is broken down into 4 phases, the first being a sales associate phase. However, you can't enter the sales associate phase of the SMiT program unless you've been a Bloomingdale's sales associate. I asked him to reconsider and he said I needed to start at the bottom and would need to apply for a sales position, online. If I was as unqualified as he thought, why even call me in for the interview?

Submit resume for initial round of interviews. If picked, called to an interview with two different recruiting and selling managers. Second round is an online test that determines logic and analytical thinking skills. Third round is on site group interview and then break off sessions with three members of senior leadership