[Abi24]

(Original post by Jasmine.815)
just to clear things up, I work as "model" at Hollister and me and my co-workers there are actual models too, and taken seriously in the modelling industry. Yes I am short but modelling agencies can make exceptions it turns out. So it's not really career suicide, it was actually thanks to that job I became a model

Agencies take exceptions to short girls. Thats nice...what work do you actually do and who for? Not being nasty but any short girl i've heard with an agency is being/has been taken for an absolute mug, so just curious. Do you get legit fashion jobs for major companies? or commercial/catalogues?

[Rachlizzieb]

Well I work for Hollister and I love my job! I'm overnight, get a great wage and actually like the whole image Hollister go for with the staff, it makes them stand out and judging by how many people apply for jobs each week it seems other people agree with me. Just saying :L

[Bethy11]

(Original post by Abi24)
Thats my impression.

I stand by what i say though - modelling at Hollister is career SUICIDE if you ever want to be taken seriously in the modelling industry. Most of the girls they hire are too short for agency work anyways though so it doesn't really matter. But if I were to get taken on by Hollister (which I doubt as i have no intention of applying) I could bet any money that I wouldn't work as much in the modelling industry.

I made more in one hour doing the same job than they usually make in a week.

Hey, dont wanna cause a war or anything.
Just want to add that working at Hollister is totally not a career suicide. Agencies are actually impressed when you mention you were approached by Hollister. As a female Hollister model I am a 'short' 5ft 11inches and am so serious. In addition to other comments, working in Hollister does not make you thick (I got straight A's/A*s like a boss). Hollister built up my confidence, which defiantly benefited me in the modelling industry.
p.s. wish you all the best fellow modelers and hollister family xx

[cool pilot dude]

(Original post by mikl_c)
So I'm 19 years old and currently working part time at McDonalds whilst I study. However last week a brand new Hollister store opened up near me, having heard alot about the brand but having never bought anything or even been to one of their stores I was excited to visit. Turns out I friggin love the shop seriouslt! The layout, the clothes, the atmosphere Now I really, really want to get a job there! I've been reading alot the process of applying and their group interviews etc. Does anyone have any advice as to how I could go about getting a job there?? Should I just go into the store and ask at the cashier if they have any application forms? I've looked online and the store is so new it's yet to be listed on their actual site! Now I know you may think if it's just opened that the chances of them recruiting are slim to none at all, but I've heard all Hollister's are generally over staffed and the company likes that because it creates a "party like" atmosphere don't know wether I believe that, but please can anyone give me any advice?? Thanks

(Original post by mel0n)
You have to say 'Hey what's up?' in an American accent to every single person that walks in, apparently!!!

(Original post by epilepticfitz)
I have created this information to give anyone who is considering applying for a job at Hollister some prior warning before applying for a job here. Although it may seem like a great place to work at, with lots of young energetic people, it is not as great as it seems.

I would like to tell you a few things about Hollister and I will run through the following things,

• Who I am and how I am related to Hollister
• What I was promised before starting my job
• What I actually received as an employee at Hollister and things they failed to mention
o The real number of shifts I can expect
o The number of employees at the store
o Exactly what they expected me to wear
o The way ridiculous you have to collect your rota
o Salary
o The length of shift they forgot to tell me about
• The job itself
• Questionable ways in which Hollister operate
• Finally, what I think of working for Hollister

Who I am and how I am related to Hollister

I am a 23 year old student living in Manchester, in my final year of studying Marketing and I am currently staff member at the Hollister store in The Trafford Centre in the UK. I have recently been through the interview process, been asked if I would like to join, accepted, taken my induction and performed my first shift.

I applied for a job as model but was offered the role of Impact which consists of working in the stock rooms and taking deliveries. I had no problem with this as I can appreciate that I may not have to Hollister look and I would therefore be happy to work in Impact.

What I was promised before starting my job

I was told the following things about what I can expect from this job,

• As a part timer I was likely to get 3-4 shifts per week and I would be operating on a 0 hour contract.
• Shifts would usually be either 5 or 6 hours long.
• I had to look presentable and dress with the Hollister look

The reality of what I received as an employee at Hollister and things they failed to mention

After going through an induction of sorts and performing my first shift, I have uncovered some details that Hollister failed to point out to me and what is actually likely to happen when working for Hollister.

• The real number of shifts I can expect. I was told by a manager that new starters were more likely to get 1 or 2 shifts per week.
• The number of employees at the store. There are about 300 employees at this store. In my opinion this is a huge detail they failed to point out to me and it creates two problems for me as an employee.
Firstly with such a large number of employees it makes it incredibly difficult to get the number shifts I was told to expect during the interview process.

Secondly with such a large number of staff, it is probable that the managers do not know many of these people as I would expect they should from my experience in other similar jobs. This quickly became clear to me as I was repeatedly told by the managers and other team members that they would not remember my name and that this is a common occurrence. This does not really do much for my moral and I would guess the same is true or the moral of the other staff with a similar role to me.

• Exactly what they expected me to wear. Looking through my hand book it says that I can not be forced to wear Hollister clothing at work, as long as I wear clothing which has the Hollister look. This was fine with me, but after my induction I was told to come in half an hour early for my first shift to “try on some shirts”.
On my first shift I did as I was told, came in half an hour early (unpaid of course), tried on a couple of shirts, some jeans and some flip flops and thought, “yeah, these clothes are very nice”, but I could see where this was leading. I asked if these would be free as uniform and I was told that I had to pay for them there and then. I was given no option as to whether I wanted to buy them or not.
I came dressed in my own Hollister T shirt and unbranded jeans and shoes which was in accordance with their rules in the hand book, but was then strongly obliged to spend over £60 on uniform. There was no mention of this during the interview or induction (if you can call it an induction as I will explain later). What if I did not have £60?
Later in my first shift I was told, again by a manager, if I was not wearing a Hollister shirt to work, I would be sent home. Same for the any other unbranded jeans. This does not sound like what I agreed to in my contract.

• Receiving my rota. During my first shift I was told that the rota in my store is created every Thursday to allow staff to see when they are scheduled to be working over the next week. This seemed fine so far, but I was then told that I would have to come into the store every Thursday to receive it and this is the only way to receive it. I am not allowed to call up or email and ask for it, or to have it emailed to me, I HAVE to be physically in the store.
This is far from ideal as I can not drive and my bus journey takes about an hour each way. This means every Thursday, I will have to waste two hours of my life simply to see when I will be working, and of course my time and travel costs are not paid for.

• My salary. I have yet to be told officially what it is. According to the other staff it is probably £6.25 per hour as “that is what all new starters receive”, but I haven’t been told this by the manager who hired me, the manager who talked me through my induction or the manager who was guiding me on my first day. I am just expected to accept whatever salary and not care about it. This is ludicrous.

• The length of shifts. My first shift was 4 hours long, this possibility was not mentioned to me at any point during the interview or induction and I am again expected to take it, and continue to up beat and positive about working at Hollister.

The job itself

Working in Impact, I work in the stock room and will be doing such tasks as picking stock for the shop floor, folding stock, moving large boxes, unloading stock from boxes onto shelves and other such activities. I am happy to do all these tasks and there is music being played and other people my age to talk to as I do it, but there are some points about the job role that are not at all desirable and even dangerous as I will explain in the next section.

Questionable ways in which Hollister operate

While working at Hollister, I have noticed several other ways in which Hollister operate and some of them may put you off.

• Wearing flip flops. This is what I was expected to wear as my uniform. Is this really the best or safest foot wear for working in a stock room handling heavy boxes and apparatus? I think not.
One of my jobs has been to move large, wheeled cages full of stock from one stock room to another. “Wait until one of these runs over your feet, it kills” the girl with me told me, giving me the impression that it WILL happen.

• Instructions on manual labour. I know that manual labour can be dangerous, and I am fairly sure that by law, I have to be told how to do this properly. Have Hollister given me any indication on how to do this? No. Do they expect me to do manual labour? Yes.

• Fire Safety. I have barely been told a thing about fire safety. At all the other places I have worked, I have been shown all the fire exits and shown exactly where to go in case of a fire. At Hollister I have yet to be categorically shown the fire exits and the instructions on where to assemble in case of a fire was roughly as follows,
Manager: “in case of a fire, you need to go to car park 4”
Me: “where is car park 4”
Manager: “I have no idea”
This manager then proceeded to laugh this off as if it was a joke, although I am fairly sure this is also against the law and again is certainly not common practise in other places I have worked.
The only thing that I could consider to be fore safety training is when I was told to read a poster which I would then be quizzed on. The focus of this poster was the tag lines used in store, the cut of the women’s jeans, the competition Hollister customers can take part in and right at the bottom a very small feature asking about whether I had been instructed correctly on fire safety.
During my quiz, I was asked about the cut of the jeans, the competition and the tag lines, but had to mention the fire safety part myself and told my manager I had not received these instructions, to which she replied “OK” and we continued with something else. I have yet to be instructed in this area.

• Health and safety in the stock room (or lack of it). My first job at Hollister was to pick stock from the stock room to replenish the good which had been sold on the shop floor. The stock room has large shelves full of stock which I would guess are between 9 and 12 feet tall and stock going right up to the top shelf.
I noticed that there was a ladder in the stock room, so I expected this is what I would be using. However, when I was told by the stock room manager how to pick the stock on the shelves I couldn’t reach, they said the following, “don’t use the ladder, climb on the shelves”. I was categorically told NOT to use the ladder. I am fairly sure this is to stay in line with Hollister’s expectation of their pickers to pick one item every 20 seconds, which with a ladder, I am sure would be more difficult.

• Hollister constantly employ new people. I asked the managers what the staff turnover was like, and apparently it is quite high, people are coming and going all the time. Is this due to people quickly realising that Hollister is far from the ideal place to work? I think so.
I have spoken to one of the managers further about this, and they told me that they are constantly “trimming” their staff. I can appreciate that they want their staff to work hard, but how can they expect this when they give these staff such ill treatment and there is constantly the shadow of knowing there are always people to replace you hanging over your shoulder. This seems far from ethical.


What I think of working at Hollister

I left another job for this at a highly reputable high end fashion brand to join Hollister and I knew that there would be a slight cut in hours, and likely to be a cut in wages, but I was willing to accept this from what I was told throughout the employment process.
Upon starting the job at Hollister, I quickly realised it wasn’t as rosy as it was made out to be, and that the company have little regard for their staffs moral, and safety and is entirely focused on making money. During my induction I was told by one manager “my safety is their number one priority”, this is clearly not true due to the lack of safety regulations or fire training.
I find the way they treat their staff without any regard for their own lives to be disgusting and completely unethical and I would not recommend a job here to anybody.

(Original post by Gemma2010)
I went to an interview when one opened up in my area a few months back, not really sure how you apply though - did you just go up to them in the store? The staff are pretty intimidating

(Original post by LondonB)
The staff are all like stuck up in my opinion, they think to much of themselfs. but in saying that i really think i could get a job in there purely on my looks not being big headed. but i wudnt be like the modal wannabs in there, that think they are to good for you....

About me....

Ive been shopping at Hollister since God knows what age and love it! (probably because Los Angeles is my second home?) I shop alot at Hollister, but most o the time I do my shopping in LA when I go to visit my dad.

I have always wanted to work in Hollister but after doing so much research and the way staff are like, I think its a no.... It would be a no anyways..... why? Because Im not up to their standards (even though I have the cali look than some of the guys that work there). I think if I ever worked at Hollister here in the UK, I would do a better job than some of the staff here....

Most of the time I have experiened rude Hollister staff both herre in the UK and LA. Though, most of the staff here seem to be rude and stuck up. Well guess what?! your only on minimum wage and Im the person who is paying you! I would also like to say to those stuck up people at Hollister that when you get a real modelling coctract and start making the big bucks, then bragg all you want.

Also, what is it with the: Hey, wassup? is the most worst imitation ever! Even I could do a better job since Ive got the twang....

In LA, I see a lot of Hollister staff who are outgoing and you of course get the odd one who is moody and reserved.However, they seem to be moody and reserved here.

Overall, I love Hollister's clothing; but hate the people who make up the Hollister company!

[Abi24]

(Original post by Bethy11)
Hey, dont wanna cause a war or anything.
Just want to add that working at Hollister is totally not a career suicide. Agencies are actually impressed when you mention you were approached by Hollister. As a female Hollister model I am a 'short' 5ft 11inches and am so serious. In addition to other comments, working in Hollister does not make you thick (I got straight A's/A*s like a boss). Hollister built up my confidence, which defiantly benefited me in the modelling industry.
p.s. wish you all the best fellow modelers and hollister family xx

Not sure if serious?

If serious, possibly one of the most contradictory posts ever.

[Bethy11]

(Original post by Abi24)
Not sure if serious?

If serious, possibly one of the most contradictory posts ever.

Serious. You said that all hollister models are short and thick.I am proving your posts incorrect and stereotypical through the art of sarcasm and calling myself short

[Abi24]

(Original post by Bethy11)
Serious. You said that all hollister models are short and thick.I am proving your posts incorrect and stereotypical through the art of sarcasm and calling myself short

Where did I specifically say 'thick' in my post?

Speaking from personal experience, Hollister models in my area are generally too short to model with a legit fashion agency, doing legit jobs in a major market. Girls I know who HAVE fit the mould soon end up leaving Hollister to pursue bigger and better modelling opportunities.

For someone so intelligent, your spelling and grammar were severely lacking in that post as well, hence the "not sure if serious" ...

[Jack74]

I know somebody who worked there for a whole summer and didn't get paid and had to take hollister to court where he finally got payed , doesn't sound worth it to me

[Psalm347]

Hi I work there here's a few tips

Describe Hollister in 3 Words
I said - Awesome Diverse Cheeky

Explain how you you would fit into Hollister
I said something a bit cheeky - I have a soft face so it will invite customers to talk to me and I'm tall and approachable so customers would have an easy time asking for help.

How would friends describe you in 3 words
Talkative Bubbly Energetic

Then they ask you to say the tag line
Add on something extra to the end not to long though
I said Hey welcome to Hollister 'check out out all our hot new clothes'

It's just about being fun and bubbly but not trying to hard if that makes sense. In terms of the enviroment best job by far I've worked at however the pay is just about okay and at my store they aren't giving regular shifts so it's annoying.

This is just my personal experience don't let it change your mind too much hope I helped!

Pay is £6.50/h at my store. London Westfield.

[Theturnbull9]

(Original post by Jasmine.815)
just to clear things up, I work as "model" at Hollister and me and my co-workers there are actual models too, and taken seriously in the modelling industry. Yes I am short but modelling agencies can make exceptions it turns out. So it's not really career suicide, it was actually thanks to that job I became a model

Which agency are you with?

[honeyandlemon]

I think Hollister is a complete joke and their "only good looking workers" policy is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of in my life. Nearly all of the people I know who work there are completely shallow and totally vapid. I find the clothes in the shop nothing special and the loud music and lighting unbearable. I don't know anyone vaguely interesting who would ever consider working there. And no, I'm not really fat and unattractive. I just don't find people who want to walk around a shop posing all day appealing.

It's always complete cringe to go on someone's facebook and see them listed as a "floor model" at Hollister.

[honeyandlemon]

I think Hollister is a complete joke and their "only good looking workers" policy is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of in my life. Nearly all of the people I know who work there are completely shallow and totally vapid. I find the clothes in the shop nothing special and the loud music and lighting unbearable. I don't know anyone vaguely interesting who would ever consider working there. And no, I'm not really fat and unattractive. I just don't find people who want to walk around a shop posing all day appealing.

It's always complete cringe to go on someone's facebook and see them listed as a "floor model" at Hollister.

[boba]

the fact that they are so overstaffed is a deliberate attempt to "create a party atmosphere"?
I always feel really awkward and watched due to the ridiculous staff/customer ratios and it makes me not want to go in there

[Jasmine.815]

(Original post by Abi24)
Agencies take exceptions to short girls. Thats nice...what work do you actually do and who for? Not being nasty but any short girl i've heard with an agency is being/has been taken for an absolute mug, so just curious. Do you get legit fashion jobs for major companies? or commercial/catalogues?

Aha no worries you're not being nasty! You're just being a little patronising and close minded aren't you? Well I can understand why you'd be doubtful, you're right to be since I quit modelling and no I didn't do any big jobs just local things like uni cat walks and small advertisements but I don't really care since I wan to focus on medicine myself. But please don't look down me, in my post I did say co-workers too, like one whose shorter than me works for a lot of different agencies and she had to deal with so many people like you who were too fixated on height to believe short people could do it (isn't it a little similar to saying fat people can't just because their fat..?) but she's now on the upcoming VO5 advert.
I still don't get how it "career SUICIDE"?? I have never heard of an agency that would turn down someone/ consider them less just because they work at Hollister, that's a little idiotic.. It's a part time job for goodness sake as a shop assistant which they renamed model! It depends more or less in the individual whether they become a successful model or not, theres no direct relation, I don't think working there will effect anything, maybe not everyone who works there has modelling potential but that doesn't mean they're any less pretty.

[Abi24]

(Original post by Jasmine.815)
Aha no worries you're not being nasty! You're just being a little patronising and close minded aren't you? Well I can understand why you'd be doubtful, you're right to be since I quit modelling and no I didn't do any big jobs just local things like uni cat walks and small advertisements but I don't really care since I wan to focus on medicine myself. But please don't look down me, in my post I did say co-workers too, like one whose shorter than me works for a lot of different agencies and she had to deal with so many people like you who were too fixated on height to believe short people could do it (isn't it a little similar to saying fat people can't just because their fat..?) but she's now on the upcoming VO5 advert.
I still don't get how it "career SUICIDE"?? I have never heard of an agency that would turn down someone/ consider them less just because they work at Hollister, that's a little idiotic.. It's a part time job for goodness sake as a shop assistant which they renamed model! It depends more or less in the individual whether they become a successful model or not, theres no direct relation, I don't think working there will effect anything, maybe not everyone who works there has modelling potential but that doesn't mean they're any less pretty.

Oh don't worry I don't look down at you, all i'm saying is that from experience 99.9999% of girls under 5'7 who model cannot find a legitimate agency and make a reasonable amount of money from it because there simply isn't the market. Sure, the occasional petite model will make a few heads turn but there's far more girls under 5'7 who either freelance locally and keep modelling as a hobby or give up altogether because their height holds them back, than there are girls under 5'7 working in the industry.

I think working for hollister can impact a model's chances of being signed by an agency - its all about habits, mannerisms and how you market yourself. Correct me if i'm wrong but hollister have a quite well-known look policy - that doesn't always mesh with what a modelling agency wants. You hardly ever see girls at hollister with Mia Farrow inspired crops or otherwise edgy hairstyles...they seem to all have the long, beachy locks and thats fine but if the trend is for short hair those long haired girls will either get rejected or advised to cut their hair.

Don't even get me started on the whole "fat model" thing - i'm a plus size model myself and you'd be crazy not to think i've seen rejection before! But the fact of the matter is, there are such things as industry standards and precedents...and they don't favour short girls. Plus size has made ground up in recent years and become more socially acceptable but I can't ever see a day 5'5 girls will make a working wage out of modelling unless it's glamour.

[suffocation1992]

It's pretty sad that young people think that a sales assistant job gives them 'status' and 'cred' lol. When I go in there and hear that annoying fake American accent, I play around a bit and talk back in the accent to them - they revert to their normal Sheffield/Geordie voice.

[F&M]

What's with a password required for applying does anyone know how to get this??

[kimprovising]

(Original post by F&M)
What's with a password required for applying does anyone know how to get this??

if you get "scouted" or go instore to apply, or whatever, they give the password to you.

[hasan4life]

i just got a job at hollisters

[F&M]

(Original post by hasan4life)
i just got a job at hollisters

Brilliant how did you go about it?