Had an initial round with the recruiter only. The recruiter was ready to send me forward to the hiring team until we were confirming the pay range. The position is in NYC area, so pay range is usually stated in the job posting. But perhaps there was a system glitch on that posting at the time, and the pay range was missing, and I went into the interview without any idea. When she confirmed the pay, it was way below my expectation and very much below industry standard (yes, even in the fashion industry, which is infamous for lower pay). I told her I had to withdraw in that case and told her my expected pay range. The recruiter then apologized for the system glitch and said they will double check the job posting to make sure pay range is visible, and went ahead to re-assure there are senior analysts / planner positions available within my expected range and "please don't be a stranger and apply". I thanked her and expressed I will have continued interest in this famous fashion house. Months later, several senior (and non-senior) positions have been posted and I have applied, and I've been auto-rejected ever since. I have a feeling that the fact that I turned the previous opportunity down due to pay left a bitter taste, even though I was encouraged to apply to senior levels. This experience just gives me a sense of pettiness within the corporate culture.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Coach (New York, NY)
Interview
Long interview process. I had 1 phone interview and I had to come in to the office twice. I met with a total of 6 people. I meant with all managers in my department and senior management. They asked a lot of questions regarding how I could apply my current skill set to the position I was interviewing for.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Most difficult question was how did I feel about work long hours. Obviously, you don't want to work long hours but you do what you ahve to do.
The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Coach (New York, NY) in Feb 2011
Interview
Marathon interview. I met with 6 people for 30 min - 1 hour each (4 one-on-one interviews, and 1 panel interview), starting from 9am and I got out around 1pm. It was like a test of endurance and by the end I was exhausted. Each interview in itself, however, was not too difficult if you have endurance, and people who are smart and know fashion merchandising succeed. Also, Coach has really invested a lot into its systems and system training, so it's a good idea to emphasize your knowledge of excel, access, sql, sap, etc. Everyone who I met with is very personable and gives information readily, which is amazing since I met with people at all levels, from the Planner level to the Executive VP.